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GUEST: Well, my great-uncle 
acquired this cane 
somewhere around 1900. And

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he said it came from the World's 
Fair in St. Louis, Missouri.

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APPRAISER: Well, the World's 
Fair in St. Louis was in 1904. 
It's a lot older than that.

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GUEST: Oh, really?

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APPRAISER: It's a cane that 
I suspect is probably from 
the late 1790s to 1820.

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GUEST: Well, that's a whole lot 
older than I thought it was.

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APPRAISER: And I say 
that because of the way 
it's constructed. If you 
look at this hole here...

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GUEST: Mm-hmm.

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APPRAISER: ...that goes 
through on both sides, 
that's for a wrist strap.

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GUEST: I figured it was, yeah.

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APPRAISER: The wrist 
strap was to keep this on 
your wrist, particularly 
when you're walking in a,

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sort of a muddy street, so that 
it didn't slip out of your hand.

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GUEST: Mm-hmm.

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APPRAISER: So this hole here, 
that's the first clue that 
it is an old cane. Secondly,

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this part, called the 
ferrule, is fairly long. 
And as canes became

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more popular in the 19th 
century, that ferrule 
became shorter, again,

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in particular after 
streets started to be paved 
with macadam. You didn't 
need a long ferrule...

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GUEST: Mm-hmm.

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APPRAISER: ...to keep the tip 
of the cane out of the mud, 
'cause there was no mud anymore.

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GUEST: Oh, wow.

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APPRAISER: So the ferrule was 
meant to protect the shaft. Now, 
what is really interesting to

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me about this cane are these 
silver inlays, and they're all 
over it, including up here on

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the head of this great 
eagle. These are the kind 
of inlays that a gunsmith 
used on long rifles.

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GUEST: Oh, man.

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APPRAISER: So my guess is 
that a gunsmith made this cane 
for somebody of importance.

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GUEST: Well, that's great.

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APPRAISER: It's got this 
fabulous engraved pommel 
on the cane with an eagle 
and a patriotic shield.

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And then it has this wire inlay, 
uh, around the eyes, which 
is, um, uh, uh, very typical

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of what gunsmiths would do. This 
is probably, um, walrus ivory. 
This, the ferrule, is bone.

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GUEST: Oh, okay.

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APPRAISER: So, for the time 
this was made, this is a really 
fancy cane. A really fancy cane.

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GUEST: I've never seen 
another one like it.

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APPRAISER: Yeah. I would 
think that at an auction 
today, this cane might 
bring $2,500 to $3,500.

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GUEST: Oh, that's great.

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APPRAISER: It is such an 
incredibly fancy cane.

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GUEST: Well, I really appreciate 
it. Thank you so much.

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APPRAISER: You bet. Ten 
years ago, the cane might 
have been worth twice 
what I told you, so...

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GUEST: Oh. 
APPRAISER: $4,000 to $6,000...

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GUEST: Yeah. 
APPRAISER: ...$5,000 to $7,000.

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GUEST: Yeah.