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He was able to read the dedication in Italian without being seen (he said he had seen 10 to 15 copies of the note with the same words) and described the reader’s find as merely a photolithographic copy.
Still, he said, seemingly mundane documents can contain surprises.
“An otherwise boring diary or series of family letters that often records the weather and local news may include a lengthy description of an election campaign, demonstrations against the Stamp Act, the Confederacy meeting to draft a constitution, or a raid by Pancho Villa.” He told Williamsburg magazine.
“Historical nuggets in original manuscripts are often buried, but rarely deeply buried,” he added. “I once discovered an exceptional letter from Ethan Allen under a pile of old deeds, small copies of poems, and otherwise uninteresting papers.”
Evaluating the monetary value of an item is highly subjective, he said.
“Family Bibles and birth and death records are valuable for genealogical information, but have little commercial value,” said Marsha Bemko in her book “Antiques Roadshow: Behind the Scenes” (2009). It’s a shame to see little old ladies standing in line for hours lifting a 40-pound Bible of little monetary value.”
“You have to trust your innate instincts and perception of the size of the potential market.” “The value of some letters and documents can only be determined by allowing the free market to operate at auction.”
Mr. Coover remembered that in 1992, a woman who had recently died was asked by her grandson to evaluate her collection of books. He visited his Manhattan apartment and quickly realized that the books were not of great value, but on the way out, his grandson asked him to look at some papers in a torn Manila envelope.
Inside, Mr. Coover said Times In 2004 he found an old black leather book with “signature” written in gold on the cover. He recognized Lincoln’s signature on the first page, followed by the final handwritten paragraph of the Second Keynote. He told the young man that a single page was worth at least $250,000. When it finally went up for auction, it sold for $1.2 million.
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