Antiques Roadshow

APPRAISER

You've brought us some scrimshaw teeth here. Where did you get them?

GUEST

Well, they belonged to my great- great-great-grandfather.

APPRAISER

Mm-hmm.

GUEST

He was a ship's captain uh, sailing out of New England.

APPRAISER

Uh-huh.

GUEST

He was a merchant marine. He probably picked it up at one of the ports as a souvenir.

APPRAISER

I've never seen a polychrome pair as good as this before. They're just wonderful. And we're seeing this, uh, gentleman and lady on the front.

GUEST

Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER

Uh, but I think the backs of them are the decoration that's really spectacular. And this is a wonderful ship. And you can see the whalers heading out with their harpoons, and there are birds flying above.

GUEST

Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER

We see the whalers actually encountering a whale.

GUEST

Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER

It just shows what an incredibly dangerous job...

GUEST

Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER

that these sailors had had. I would probably estimate them in the $30,000 to $50,000 range.

GUEST

Mm-hmm, great.

APPRAISER

Sound good?

GUEST

Yup, family's proud.

APPRAISER

Good!