Rifle on Antiques Roadshow

[Spotz]

I suspect some of you may have watched this evening's Antiques Roadshow that featured an A. Daniels rifle.  The expert indicated that Daniels was located in Lancaster; however, Daniels had ties to the Upper Susquehanna region.  Daniels was thought to have worked below the Selinsgrove area, located in present day Snyder County.  The appraiser also referred to the inlays as overlays, which seems to be a misnomer, but the quality of the inlay work is notable.  The cheek piece inlay appeared to be a fish or eye with a centralized mother of pearl inlay.  Of course we didn't see the patchbox, but the rifle was a quality piece.  Does anyone have any definitive information on this maker?   

[Hurricane ( of Virginia)]

Also agree. Does anyone know the truth behind the show other than as entertainment? Some of the personalities are well known and respected?

[Curt J]

I didn't see the show, but about fifteen years a go I owned an "A Daniels" rifle, with strong Upper Susquehanna influence.

[Bob Roller]

The only thing shows like that do on TV is create a false sense of value for junk. Has anyone on this forum ever known anyone to sell any item that has been "appraised" by these bozos for anywhere near the apparaised prices?
Sanford and Son said."Junk bought and antiques sold". My favorite is from Jesse Booher that used to have a booth at Friendship and it said."I will trade for anything old except eggs or women or anything that doesn't have to be fed".

Bob Roller
 

[490roundball]

I saw the show, the "expert" semed to at least have some knowledge of the topic (which is not always the case).  

The mother of pearl inlay was nice, but I expected to see the patchbox before he was done, I was disappointed it was never showed

[Eric Kettenburg]

I have;t watched that show in quite some time, so I don;t know who they are using for an "expert" now when it comes to kentuckies.  I do know that years ago when I used to watch it periodically, the guy who wold examine that stuff (was always the same guy after Guthman stopped doing it) may have been well educated when it came to Civil War-era arms but was abso-freakin-lutely clueless when it came to kentuckies.  It was almost comical to watch.

[Robby]

I caught the merest glimpse of the patch box and it looked like it had a typical Bedford "Q" finial. I kept waiting for them to show it so I could confirm what I thought I saw, but alas, it was not meant to be. It wasn't the usual older fellow that examines these guns with great enthusiasm. This guy seemed a little at sea with the subject.
Robby

[fm tim]

I believe that one of the appraisers was finally convicted of fraud after he appraised some of Custer's firearms as basically junk, bought them for a song, then sold them for their real, high value.

[spgordon]

You can watch the entire appraisal as broadcast here:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/archive/201106A36.html

[JTR]

Hey, at least they don't say that the guns are worth more if they shoot!

Some of the appraisers on the show are actually very well known in the various antiques field. Some not so much and a few just out in the field.

I think they probably appraise the stuff a bit on the high side, although not all of it. And since the show travels from city to city, I'd think all the stuff belongs to people who bring it to the show for appraisals.

John

[The other DWS]

I have a friend who worked for them for a while some years back when it was first getting started.  He basically was a CW appraisal specialist and worked for one of the regional "divisions".  He quit as soon as his contract was over--- way too much hassle with the production people.  The antiques and antique owners are just a part of the infotainment, unreality show package-----might as well be icey-road dangerous axe-catchers.
  
He said the TV show only came into his area once or twice and they brought their "show time appraisers" in to do the TV stuff after the "Associates" had figured out what the on camera guy would need to say.

  He said there was a lot of conflict and conflict of interest between the professional straight contract/fee appraisers and the guys who owned and operated or worked for retail galleries. On the regional show circuit there is a lot of appraiser turnover and that a lot of the appraisers qualification was being able to find "comparable values" on e-bay

 For people coming in it a grinding mill,  they quickly and roughly sift out the good stuff and then check the people for TV presentability as much as anything. All the "interviews" are taped and then carefully selected and edited based on "artistic" and "production values"  he felt that a lot of the TV values were "optimistic" at best.  Nowhere near what the appraiser would actually pay for the piece, even factoring in retail/wholesale pricing.  lots of "insurance values"

I've also known a couple people who took stuff to the regional shows, and they uniformly said "never again"

[oakridge]

I agree with most comments about the program. However, a guy I know took a gun to an Antiques Roadshow appraisal, and was selected for the televised show. His rifle was appraised at $50,000 and he was later offered that. He declined the offer and died a year later. Shortly thereafter, his widow was offered the same, she declined, and a year later she died. I told the daughter that inherited the rifle that if she gets the same offer, she better take it.

[Dphariss]

I watched a show where they actually showed an auction clip of an item a woman had bought on the WAY to the show location at a garage sale for 20-50 bucks. It was a small table, round IIRC that was stated on the show to be an 18th Century American made table that was UNALTERED and in good condition.
I forget the experts estimate but IIRC it was less than 1/2 the 400000+ that it brought. They showed the owner in an inset in the screen as the price climbed...
I did not see it, not in person. But have no reason to doubt it either.
I have seen some interesting things there at times.
It is  tv though.
Dan

[nord]

Quite some time ago I attended a Road Show in Buffalo. With me came a number if F&I horns One of the more "crooked" experts did the appraisal as I recall. I believe the same gentleman who was involved in the sword controversy where there was eventually prison time involved.  

Now I'm not too smart, but I'm smart enough not to share everything I know as it makes the appraiser's job too easy and one will never find out exactly what he knows or doesn't know. So... I might have omitted the documentation I have for each horn and the research I've done, along with the family members I've spoken to.

One family, in fact, is aware of the horn and was also aware that the musket or rifle used by the horn's owner still very likely exists. Fact is, it's in Pennsylvania not too far from me and believed to be hidden somewhere in the family home covered by renovations that have taken place since the late 1700's. The home still owned by the same family after all these years.

Let's just say the appraisal didn't go well. The horns were all worthless fakes.... That is until I was approached in the parking garage by one of the people I recognized from behind the scenes who kindly offered to take the horns off my hands at a price far above the appraisal... AND FAR BELOW THEIR ACTUAL VALUE!

It was for a time  my opinion that the general quality of these shows had improved. This especially since WGBH in Boston got burned so badly by their dishonest employee(s). Maybe it's all sunk back into the sewer. This I can't say. Just don't read much into the shows. Enjoy them for what they are. Sort of like Pawn Stars where guns are worth more if they can be shot. What a load of manure!

[saltboiler]

I wanted to see the patch box and the lock.  I assumed they looked at it on the original taping but figured it got edited out because of time constraints or other "production values."