Dateline Dayton — This past Saturday was the Learning Tree Farm’s 11th annual Antiques Appraisal Event. I have been involved with the Learning Tree for over thirty years, and presently I am President of the Board.
For the years the Farm has sponsored the Antiques Appraisal, I have been active in some capacity, starting with a display for the Cash Register Collectors Club. The following year I did a display of my Silver Strike collection and later an appraiser of National Cash Register items.
After finding a friend to do the NCR appraising, I started a post card swap as part of the appraisal event. That continued until this year. It consumed a fair amount of my time and was just being used as a promotional tool for the event.
For All It Is Worth
For the past four years I have been chairing the Antiques Appraisal event and I’m happy to report that each year the fundraising has grown. Unfortunately this year the number of actual appraisals decreased; however our silent auction, which I initiated three years ago, was successful. The result was an increase of forty percent over last year.
Over the years we have seen unusual and valuable items brought in for appraisal. Not long ago, a couple brought in a painting, the appraiser felt was a quality piece. He suggested taking it to the Dayton Art Institute for a closer look. The art institute suggested an appraiser in Cincinnati, where it was determined to be worth $40,000. The couple who brought it to our event were kind enough to call our appraiser and give him the good news. They thanked him for his help.
There also have been the one-of-a-kind items such as presentation awards, a corner pin from an NCR building, displays and other unusual items. Occasionally, we get a fake. Owners, though, have a hard time accepting that they may have been taken.
Swords were the popular item to be appraised this year. Our appraisers saw a fair number of them, the most valuable being one from the Civil War. The sword belonged to a woman’s great-great-grandfather. In addition to his sword, she also had his diary and a lot of information about the soldier and his sword. Having further information only increases the value of an item, and this was no exception.
Besides receiving the appraisal, she was instructed on how to care for the sword and other items.
She also was given an insurance value and the name of an appraiser in Cincinnati who could be appraise her holdings more accurately. She left happy, asking for an escort to her car, which we happily provided.
I also saw religious items, a traveling desk, furniture, paintings, prints, toys, lots of glass, jewelry, a mask, guns and books.
We received many nice comments about our event and we will have No. 12 next year on the last Saturday of February.
Mr. Hennessey may be contacted at pmhenn@sbcglobal.net
