Antiques Roadshow

GUEST

My grandpa dug it up in Oscoda, Michigan, in 1927. We kind of think it was from the missionaries to the Indians there in Michigan.

APPRAISER

Well, that's almost correct. It's what we call trade silver or in the style of something we call trade silver. And when you first showed this to me I wasn't entirely sure this was real because maybe even 95% of this material is something made in the last 30 or 40 years. Trade silver is something that was made originally in Britain and France and traded to the Indians through the fur trade and then later on, in the colonies--mostly in Canada -was manufactured for trade purposes. Usually, when you see something this big--and this is gargantuan--you're just very suspicious. However, I am 100% certain this one is real. And I also am pretty certain who made it. I think it was made by, by somebody in Montreal. He was actually born in London, England, moved. His name was Robert Cruikshank. And he moved to Philadelphia in the 1760s and then on into Canada and Montreal in the 1770s. He was sort of the Rembrandt or Picasso of trade silver. And there's a reason why I can't confirm that. If this is, indeed, Robert Cruikshank he would actually have a touch mark or his signature on the back of it.

GUEST

It wouldn't be worn off it? It should still be there.

APPRAISER

Probably not, it should still be there or, or a faint marking of it. However, when I went to turn this over I couldn't do that.

GUEST

It's glued down.

APPRAISER

Unfortunately, whoever you had do this for you glued this down, and that is a bad, bad thing to do. What we like to tell people is learn everything you can about an object before you have anybody do anything to it because this is actually quite a valuable object.

GUEST

Oh, my.

APPRAISER

I estimate that this is worth between $12,000 and $18,000.

GUEST

Oh, my goodness.

APPRAISER

And if we can, at some point get this off and have a look at it we can confirm. If we can confirm it's Cruikshank it's even a little more.

GUEST

That might be worth taking the frame apart, huh?