1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:04,500 GUEST: This has been passed down to me through my family. It is a pool table game board that 2 00:00:04,500 --> 00:00:09,233 belonged to my great-grandfather. He had it in his pool hall in Ringsted, Iowa. 3 00:00:09,233 --> 00:00:13,833 APPRAISER: So when do you think that it was actually first in business in the pool hall? 4 00:00:13,833 --> 00:00:17,566 GUEST: I haven't been able to find out, but I think through the 1930s and '40s. 5 00:00:17,566 --> 00:00:19,500 APPRAISER: How long have you had it? 6 00:00:19,500 --> 00:00:21,633 GUEST: I've had it two years. 7 00:00:21,633 --> 00:00:23,866 APPRAISER: It's really a kind of a neat thing, you know? And a lot of people wouldn't even 8 00:00:23,866 --> 00:00:28,633 know what this is. I had a bit of an ill-spent youth and spent some time in the pool halls, 9 00:00:28,633 --> 00:00:33,633 and I remember games like this. This whole board would lay on a pool table. 10 00:00:34,466 --> 00:00:36,433 GUEST: Yes. 11 00:00:36,433 --> 00:00:40,433 APPRAISER: And this part would be nudged up under the cushion. And because there was a 12 00:00:42,433 --> 00:00:46,000 slope here, you would, you would shoot a pool ball up there, and the pool balls would lodge 13 00:00:47,966 --> 00:00:51,833 right in these things and stay there. Well, it would stay there because the table is flat. 14 00:00:51,833 --> 00:00:56,800 And you can play three different games. You can play a poker game. So you'd shoot five 15 00:00:58,833 --> 00:01:01,966 balls, and whoever got the highest hand won. And then you could play a keno game, where 16 00:01:06,566 --> 00:01:11,566 you, whoever got the highest number won the game. Or you could play the baseball game, 17 00:01:13,466 --> 00:01:16,433 which is this beautiful green here. As we see, it's a Schaffer combination recreation 18 00:01:16,433 --> 00:01:21,433 board, made in Peoria, Illinois. That's really kind of interesting. Peoria is not too far 19 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:27,400 from Chicago, and in the roaring '20s, Chicago was a major manufacturing place for gambling 20 00:01:29,366 --> 00:01:33,966 machines, slot machines, all manner of table games. And it would make sense that a company 21 00:01:35,866 --> 00:01:39,733 like this would be there, because this is a gambling sort of device, and also a gaming 22 00:01:41,833 --> 00:01:45,100 implement. I think this dates from the 1920s. What's really appealing about this is, it's 23 00:01:47,166 --> 00:01:49,666 so colorful, and it's really in wonderful condition. What I really like is the fact 24 00:01:49,666 --> 00:01:53,600 that you got this beautiful graphic of the baseball game. Oh, it's pretty sturdily manufactured, 25 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:58,566 so, I mean, it had to stand up to a lot of abuse with all these pool balls scattering 26 00:02:00,633 --> 00:02:04,500 around. It's good thick plywood, and nicely finished, and then decorated with these wonderful 27 00:02:05,366 --> 00:02:06,366 decals. 28 00:02:06,366 --> 00:02:07,900 GUEST: Yes. 29 00:02:07,900 --> 00:02:09,366 APPRAISER: Do you have any idea exactly what it cost? 30 00:02:09,366 --> 00:02:12,166 GUEST: It cost $22 when it's new. It's in pencil on the back. 31 00:02:12,166 --> 00:02:17,166 APPRAISER: $22. It's worth a little more now. It's very hard to evaluate some things, especially 32 00:02:19,166 --> 00:02:22,033 when it's a really rare thing. This is only the third one I know of that have been sold 33 00:02:22,033 --> 00:02:26,900 at auction. If I were to put a reasonable auction estimate on this, I think I would 34 00:02:26,900 --> 00:02:31,900 probably... try to be conservative, try to be realistic. I think it should have an auction 35 00:02:34,866 --> 00:02:36,733 estimate of around $1,200 to $1,500. 36 00:02:36,733 --> 00:02:38,766 GUEST: Mm-hmm. Oh, very good. 37 00:02:38,766 --> 00:02:42,833 APPRAISER: And, you know, I'm just really excited to see it. It brings back my youth 38 00:02:42,833 --> 00:02:43,933 in the pool halls.