What’s It Worth? 2010

“What’s it Worth?” was more than a boring fundraiser dinner or black tie event.  It was an intimate museum experience that provided the opportunity to have personal valuables evaluated.  The event staged wifi-equiped evaluators throughout the museum in specialty lit stations.  Adjacent to the historic guns exhibit Ken Swanson evaluated guns, and military items, alongside Steven Allen our hunting and fishing expert.  A group of fantastic ladies sorted through general items outside the Sherman General Store while our experts from SICC parked themselves in front of the saloon and bar and examined collected coins.  It was as if the exhibits themselves came to life and stepped out from behind the glass to share in the day’s excitement.

Fiddlers roamed the museum and members from VPS played records as patrons toured the museum, waited on evaluations, or told tall tales over food and drink.

A table piled high with baked goods welcomed guests on Sunday.  Most patrons brought three items ranging from crystal, book, fine-art, Native-American artifacts, to clocks.  Many attendees planed to sell their items on Craigslist or Ebay, and the event gave them a solid starting figure for resale.

After the event’s success The Friends B.O.D. voted to continue “What’s it Worth?” every year on the last Sunday in February.  Thanks to our generous sponsors – URS, MK Foundation, and Boise Legacy Constructors, “What’s it Worth?” bolstered the Idaho State Historical Museum’s coffers.

If you're a junkie of the PBS series but never have been able to attend, the Friends of the Idaho Historical Museum have a treat for you.

Their event, Friday and Saturday, is called "What's It Worth?" Participants will take prospective treasures to the museum; evaluators will reveal what they're worth.

Ever wondered whether Aunt Bertha's spinning wheel or great-great-grandfather Fred's Civil War bugle would bring a pittance or a pretty penny? This is your chance to get an educated opinion. Think of it as an Idaho version of "Antiques Roadshow."

"A lot of people think things are valuable just because they're old, " volunteer evaluator Victoria McFadden said. "They aren't. This will give them a chance to find out what their things are really worth."

McFadden is one of a dozen volunteer evaluators who will appraise oddments from clothing, jewelry and small furniture to coins, clocks, books and firearms.

Art? Absolutely.

China? Silver? Dolls? Quilts?

No problem.

Tools?

You're covered. 

There'll even be evaluators for vinyl records and frontier and Indian artifacts.

Several evaluators demonstrated their skills recently with collectibles provided by the show's organizers and the Idaho Statesman.

One was show chairman Kathy Allen's Fenton Coin Dot lamp, circa 1940."The cord has been altered, " McFadden said. "It originally was a rayon cord with a Bakelite plug. It's been completely rewired. It's probably worth about $75. If it was all original, it would be around $125. But she didn't ruin it by rewiring it. She probably saved it."

That brought a wry response from Allen.

"We all fought over this lamp in my family, " she said. "We thought it was worth zillions of dollars,  and it's worth $75."

The same was true of a Statesman reporter's 1883 edition of Mark Twain's "Life on the Mississippi.""The former owners' handwriting in the front lowers the value, though I personally like it, " evaluator Nancy Zurcher said. "It's not a first edition
because it has two copyrights, and it's in poor condition. I'd say it's worth about $4 or $5."The most unusual item evaluated that day: a purple, velvet suit once owned by former Boisean Paul Revere, of Paul Revere and the Raiders."I think it was hand-made in England, and it's in great condition, " Zurcher said. "The question is whether it's really his signature on the waistband. If it is, I wouldn't give it up for less than $2,500. If it isn't, I'd say $200 to $250."

Age, condition, authenticity, artists' signatures or their absence, even production mistakes can dramatically affect an item's value. Evaluator John Mutch cites as an example an early 20th Century trade token from John Roonan's Pastime Club in Sandpoint. He estimates its value at $20 to $40. But misprinted tokens giving the club's location as Sandpoint, Ohio, have sold for $150."What's It Worth?" proceeds will be used to finish the Pioneer Village in Julia Davis Park."We still have landscaping to do in the village, and we want to do some bulletproof historical exhibits there, " museum director Jody Ochoa said.

"We want to finish it up and have it open to the public during museum hours. We want want it to be a nice, free educational opportunity in the park."