RICK HARRISON: What do we have here?
It's a noonday cannon.
CHUMLEE: A noonday cannon?
JR: Yeah.
What's that?
JR: It heats up a fuse right here
and makes the cannon go off.
RICK HARRISON: Where did you get this?
I bought it from the Allan Hancock Estate.
And he got it in New York in the early 1900s.
RICK HARRISON: So how do you know where he got it?
Just from the scuttlebutt of what I've heard.
CHUMLEE: [laughing] Scuttlebutt.
I'm sorry.
RICK HARRISON: Chum, come on.
JR: I bought the noonday cannon at an estate sale
in Santa Maria, California.
I was just wanting to sell the cannon
and make some money for the family.
I believe the cannon was used to signal that it was lunchtime.
RICK HARRISON: This thing is definitely cool.
They were making these things in the 1700s.
And back in the 1700s, even in the 1800s,
they used sundials to set the clocks because the sundials
were really accurate.
And the reason mechanical clocks were invented
was because it was so important for, like, the monks
to pray on time.
Because basically, the sundials are great during the day.
[laughing]
CHUMLEE: So this was like the first alarm clock or something?
RICK HARRISON: Um, more or less, yes.
In the 1700s, these were a cool thing that rich people had.
Every day, you would have one of your servants go outside,
and he would set this thing up.
And at noon, it would go off.
It was sort of like a church bell.
So how in the world do you use it?
JR: Well, it's kind of like cooking
an ant with a magnifying glass.
You can make it go up and down, side to side.
Once it heats up just enough, it heats up a fuse right here
and makes the cannon go off.
[bang sound effect]
RICK HARRISON: OK, so how much do you want for it?
Well, I'd like to get $4,000 out of it.
RICK HARRISON: And how did you come up with that price?
JR: Well, I had it appraised and it was quite a bit more
than that, but I figured I'd leave some meat
on the table for you guys.
RICK HARRISON: All right.
Do you mind if I have someone take a look at it?
I would love for someone to look at it.
RICK HARRISON: OK, cool.
Just hang out for a few minutes--
Should I go call MHP?
RICK HARRISON: Call MHP for me.
Yeah, he's way smarter than you.
JR: I'm definitely excited to hear
what the expert's got to say.
I'm hoping it's worth more than I think.
So we'll see what happens.
RICK HARRISON: So this is it.
MHP: Oh, yes.
A noon cannon.
Very nice.
These were very popular in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The idea was basically it was a sundial,
and it was set up so that focusing the rays of the sun
through the magnifying glass here,
right on the end of the cannon, would
set the cannon off right at noon if you had it set exactly
correctly.
And anywhere you were at on the estate, you could hear,
oh, it's noon.
I guess it's time for lunch.
They were precision instruments.
They were very expensive, and they
were made for people who had a lot of money
because this wasn't just a normal sundial.
RICK HARRISON: OK.
MHP: Is there any markings of any sort on it?
RICK HARRISON: No.
MHP: No?
OK, because normally on these if they are the original ones,
the ones from the 17th or 18th century,
it will be very well-engraved, and it will show
the name of whoever made it.
There is a bit of a problem that I see just looking at it.
These are set backwards.
It should be turned around because this is how
you set the angle for the sun.
And as you can see here, that's not going to do you any good
if the angle is over here.
JR: Yeah.
So this is not actually put together correctly.
And then, looking at the engraving on here,
this is very modern lettering on it.
That's not 18th century numbers.
JR: Mhm.
My guess is this is a 20th century reproduction.
This is not a 17th or 18th century piece.
So it's 20th century. MHP: Yeah.
Yeah.
OK.
All right, thanks, man. - No problem.
RICK HARRISON: That's all I needed to know.
You're the best. - Not a problem.
Unfortunately with this one, it is a reproduction.
It's probably early 20th century,
but it's a reproduction.
And whoever put it together put it together backwards.
But for something that's a decorative item for the garden,
probably no one ever noticed that.
RICK HARRISON: So whoever appraised
this for you had no idea what the hell
they were talking about.
That's what it basically comes down to.
You heard what he said.
You thought it was made right around 1900.
JR: Yeah.
RICK HARRISON: It's a 20th century reproduction,
and quite frankly I couldn't give you anything for it.
Well, I appreciate you bringing in the expert.
And thank you very much for your time.
Yeah, no problem.
JR: I'm very disappointed the cannon was put together wrong
and that it wasn't as old as I at first anticipated.
I guess we'll just put it in the backyard
and put it next to the bird feeder.