GUEST: These were in my parents' home.

It was a historical home that was in The National Historical Society.

And I was told that my father and his first wife, uh, brought them over from Europe.

Uh, they used to go over and collect antiques.

And I know they hung in our house for about 50 years.

It was my childhood home.

Um, and when I closed the house, um, about a year ago, um, I pulled them off the wall and-and took them with me.

I think that they might be Tiffany's, but I'm not sure.

APPRAISER: Yes, these are Tiffany Studios sconces.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: They were made somewhere between 1900 and probably 1905.

I think that these are on the early side particularly because they're just very delicate and maybe even a little smaller than the shades that you see produced a little later.

They're all hand-blown.

GUEST: Wow.

APPRAISER: And they-- while they look similar, they're always just a little bit different.

These came in different finishes.

The gold finish meant it cost a little more, because the metal is actually gold plated.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: And what is lovely about these is that you have the original switches.

GUEST: (chuckles) APPRAISER: I love to see those.

There are some screws missing on the sconce plates.

GUEST: Yeah, I actually, I do have them at home.

I'm sorry, I didn't think we would be displaying them today.

But I do have all the original pieces with it.

APPRAISER: Well, it's great that you have them because they're really hard to get, the originals.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: Don't lose sight of them ever.

GUEST: I won't.

(chuckles) APPRAISER: Now, as for the shades, the shades are pretty dirty.

GUEST: Yes, they are.

I was scared to clean them.

APPRAISER: I don't blame you.

I was scared to take these out of their holders.

I was tempted because I wanted to see if there were any signatures on the ends.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: Because if there are signatures on the necks of the shades, then they're obscured by the cluster that's holding them.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: Frankly, I always say the signature is not how you determine whether something is real.

I look at these shades and I know they're real.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: I don't need to look for a signature.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: If the signature's there, great.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: But it's not critical to the value of the sconces.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: You do have one shade that... GUEST: Yes, right here, yes.

.

APPRAISER: ..has cracks.

GUEST: (chuckles) Yes.

APPRAISER: And someone way back when put two pieces of scotch tape there.

GUEST: It's very old and dirty.

(chuckles) APPRAISER: But it's, it... you know, something that didn't cause any further loss, so.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: It was actually a good solution.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: If these were in a retail shop, these would be very sought after because they're five lights.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: Usually, they came in three lights.

Um, sometimes they come in different configurations.

Sometimes the metalwork is more detailed.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: But because these are five lights, they have more value.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: And I would put a retail price on these of $45,000 to $55,000.

GUEST (chuckling): Oh, my gosh.

Really?

Wow.

That is incredible.

Wow.

That, that's amazing.

I was told they were valuable, but not by any means that kind of value.

So that's amazing.

APPRAISER: If you were to replace the shade, it could cost as much as $3,000 to $4,000, but it would increase the overall value of the sconces to as much as $65,000.

GUEST: Okay.