Trinket or treasure?
By Deb GauMARSHALL - It wasn't a bad deal, Ralph "Sonny" Olson said. He had bought the banjo years ago, only to find it was now worth several times what he paid for it.
"I've had it since the 60s. I bought it in a church bazaar sale," said Olson, a Cottonwood resident. "I probably paid 15 or 20 dollars for it."
Appraisers looking at the banjo on Thursday said it was probably made in the 1920s or 1930s, and offered him a price of $165 for it.
"That's nice Christmas money," Olson said.
Olson had brought two musical instruments, the banjo and an antique violin, to the Marshall Best Western to have them appraised by the Treasure Hunters Roadshow. The Roadshow is a business that appraises and buys collectibles, show manager Paul Zell said.
So far, Zell said Roadshow appraisers had seen people bring in everything from antique toys to musical instruments while the show was in Marshall. Not everyone had luck with finding treasures in their attics, however. Andrew and Laura Snook of Walnut Grove brought in some jewelry and decorative copper pieces from their home, but learned none of it was worth much.
"It's just doodads, stuff from auctions or that people gave to us," Laura Snook said.
Duane Thompson of Minneota said he brought in several items, but none that was worth as much as an 1899 silver dollar he had. The dollar was minted in Carson City, Nev., a smaller mint which produced fewer dollar coins than other U.S. mints that year.
"It's rare," Thompson said. Appraisers valued it at around $500, because of its worn condition.
"It was my dad's," Thompson said. "He had it for many years."
Olson had brought his instruments in, he said, because he was curious about how old they were and what they might be worth, especially the violin. Olson said he collects violins.
"This violin is from Duluth," he said. "My son-in-law hunts violins down."
It can be very hard to tell just how old a violin is, Olson and Zell said. Typically the instruments can only be dated back to the century in which they were made - violin makers would mark their creations with the first two digits of the year number, but not the last.
"A lot of times they'd put the first two numbers on the label and just ink in the others," Olson said. All he knew about his violin was that it was German-made sometime in the 19th century.
Olson didn't get any answers about his violin on Thursday, but he still might have the chance to learn more. Zell said he was interested in seeing more of Olson's collection.
"I'd kind of like to know what its value is," Olson said.
