1 00:00:01,801 --> 00:00:07,340 GUEST: I have what I believe to be a Scottish dirk. I bought this about 2 00:00:07,340 --> 00:00:12,178 30 years ago at an antique show. I like to collect 3 00:00:12,178 --> 00:00:15,215 Scottish stuff. And it had thistles on it, and looks very Scottish to me. 4 00:00:15,215 --> 00:00:15,949 APPRAISER: (laughs) 5 00:00:15,949 --> 00:00:20,286 GUEST: And then I have some Scottish military badges, 6 00:00:20,286 --> 00:00:25,091 and, uh, one of 'em matches this. And I believe that's a Cameron Highlander badge. 7 00:00:25,091 --> 00:00:30,597 APPRAISER: First of all, it's just a beautiful object. It's really well made, and it is a 8 00:00:30,597 --> 00:00:37,237 Scottish dirk. It evolves from the medieval knife of Scotland. It becomes a ceremonial 9 00:00:37,237 --> 00:00:43,309 piece representing authority. Traditionally, a Scottish dirk or knife back in the day would have 10 00:00:43,309 --> 00:00:46,212 been used for everything you'd want to use a knife for, and, in a pinch, for self-defense, as well. 11 00:00:46,212 --> 00:00:48,014 GUEST: Mm. 12 00:00:48,014 --> 00:00:52,819 APPRAISER: It's got this lovely engraved blade. The blade itself is actually made by a London 13 00:00:52,819 --> 00:00:58,224 manufacturer, Hawks. And it has this wonderful little dot with a six-pointed star around it. 14 00:00:58,224 --> 00:01:00,026 GUEST: What's that called? 15 00:01:00,026 --> 00:01:03,830 APPRAISER: So that is a proof mark that meant that it held a certain 16 00:01:03,830 --> 00:01:09,736 standard to the manufacturer when it was passed. So the blade was steel, engraved, 17 00:01:09,736 --> 00:01:15,141 made in London. The mounts, like, likely, were Scottish. And the carved handles many 18 00:01:15,141 --> 00:01:18,044 times were made of a local wood, uh, a bogwood, which tends to get dark and aged over time... 19 00:01:18,044 --> 00:01:19,245 GUEST: Okay. 20 00:01:19,245 --> 00:01:22,749 APPRAISER: ...or oak. Sometimes they imported ebony, but it was meant to be 21 00:01:22,749 --> 00:01:26,352 dark. And then these stones are just lovely. It's 22 00:01:26,352 --> 00:01:29,889 a kind of a citrine that is mined in Scotland in the Cairngorm mountains. 23 00:01:29,889 --> 00:01:32,058 GUEST: Okay. 24 00:01:32,058 --> 00:01:36,763 APPRAISER: Lots of granite there. These granite deposits grow these big crystals. 25 00:01:36,763 --> 00:01:42,702 And they would have done here is faceted it and then foil-backed it, so it gives it more 26 00:01:42,702 --> 00:01:47,440 of a reflection. As you said, the badge here represent the Cameron Highlanders. The Cameron 27 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:54,814 Highlanders were a unit that was raised in the late 18th century by Sir Alan Cameron. And this 28 00:01:54,814 --> 00:02:00,053 would date from the late 19th century. It probably belonged to an officer. It's an officer's quality 29 00:02:00,053 --> 00:02:05,291 dirk. And again, in the late 19th century, it would have served a role as a symbol of power, 30 00:02:05,291 --> 00:02:07,861 a symbol of authority, versus something that you would have necessarily used in battle. 31 00:02:07,861 --> 00:02:09,162 GUEST: Okay. 32 00:02:09,162 --> 00:02:11,431 APPRAISER: What's wonderful about this, the dirk, 33 00:02:11,431 --> 00:02:15,235 it has these companion utensils. You have a, a fork in the lower section. 34 00:02:15,235 --> 00:02:16,669 GUEST: Oh! 35 00:02:16,669 --> 00:02:21,774 APPRAISER: And that's got a little spring mount that keeps it from falling out. And 36 00:02:21,774 --> 00:02:27,280 the upper utensil is a smaller knife, with a nice steel blade. 37 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:28,581 GUEST: Oh, okay. 38 00:02:28,581 --> 00:02:32,485 APPRAISER: But a lovely thing. You bought it at a show? Where did you buy it? 39 00:02:32,485 --> 00:02:34,754 GUEST: I bought it at a show here in Boise about 30 years ago, I... 40 00:02:34,754 --> 00:02:35,321 APPRAISER: Do you remember what you paid for it? 41 00:02:35,321 --> 00:02:37,991 GUEST: Yes, I paid $600 for it. 42 00:02:37,991 --> 00:02:40,793 APPRAISER: At auction, this is easily a $2,000 to $3,000 blade. 43 00:02:40,793 --> 00:02:43,429 GUEST: My goodness, yeah. I'll be darned.