APPRAISAL DAY: CURIOUS OWNERS HAVE ANTIQUES EXAMINED

Thelma Stone, left, of Chaffee gave appraised a 1930s medallion "kit" quilt for Vera Hall of Cape Girardeau. The quilt was made by Alma Erlbacher, the aunt of Hall's husband, John. He recalled that his aunt told him he had one of the quilt pieces in his mouth when he was a baby.

JACKSON, Mo. -- "I don't want to sell it. I just want to know the approximate value," said Mary Pelts of Jackson, who thought she was bringing a soup tureen for appraisal.

Pelts was among about 20 collectors who attended the Jackson Heritage Association's Antique Appraisal Day at Jackson High School Saturday.

Many, like Pelts, wanted to know whether items which held sentimental value had any financial worth. Local experts in antiques gave verbal appraisals for general merchandise, glassware, furniture, art and quilts.

Proceeds from the event will go toward upkeep of the Oliver House, a National Register of Historic Places site at 224 E. Adams St.

Pelts received good news from Harland Smothers, a local estate liquidator and antique shop owner who appraised general merchandise at the event. The "soup tureen" Pelts' son had purchased at an antique shop 15 years before was more likely a West German, ceramic hot cider pot created after 1930, said Smothers.

He said the item could be worth several hundred dollars.

Pelts, was interested to know how to use the pot, which was decorated with a vivid cobalt blue and decorated with grape leaves and vines and replicas of German castles. After asking whether it would be possible to find matching steins for the pot, she carefully repackaged the item and happily headed home

"I've never used it, but it might be nice to use next Christmas for hot cider or maybe wassail," she said as she left.

Smothers, certified quilt expert Thelma Smith, and Robert Friedrich, an expert in holiday decorations and local pottery, provided information about what items were, the time period when they were produced, and approximate value. They said they enjoyed the appraisal process because it allowed them to see beautiful antiques that in many cases owners are unaware hold any value.

"It's a treat to see when they come in with something they're not expecting too much value out of, and you get to tell them they do have something," Smothers said. "The hardest part is trying to tell someone that they don't have anything when it's a reproduction of something valuable. You do it as tastefully as possible and try not to disappoint them to much."