What do we got?
I have what I believe is an officer's
commission from the Revolutionary War, dated 1778.
It was during the month of December, right?
Let me see that.
Back off, dude.
I'm coming down to the pawn shop today.
I've got a commission for an officer
getting promoted to Lieutenant from the Revolutionary War.
It's got no sentimental value to me,
so hopefully I get some money out of it.
- So where'd you get this? - I bought it at auction.
How much did you pay for it?
$10.
OK.
Makes sense they did it in December,
because everybody kind of took a break during the winter
back then.
And during 1778, we weren't doing that well in the war.
[laughs]
We had a lot of people dying.
In December of 1778, the Continental Army
was spending the winter in the middle of New Jersey.
Desertion was pretty common, so they promoted a lot of guys
just to keep them happy and so they'd stay enlisted.
OK, anything in the Revolutionary War
has some degree of collectability.
OK, "The State of New Hampshire to Thomas Pallerson?
I think it's Patterson.
Yeah, OK, Patterson.
You can tell it's still 1700s, because you notice
the Ss that look like Fs.
"In leading, ordering and exercising said--
Company.
--company in-- why do you keep on correcting me?
My son is a pain in the ass sometimes.
I might as well just let him run with it.
Hopefully he knows what he's doing.
Do you know any of these signatures on it?
I did a little research on the internet, but I was--
I wasn't able to find anything. - All right.
What are you looking to do with it?
You want to pawn it or sell it?
Sell it.
Any idea of what you're looking to get?
Hopefully, a lot more than I paid for it.
OK.
Let me get somebody down here to check it out.
I mean, I'm not too familiar with these signatures on there.
Yeah, me neither.
Who knows, it could be somebody important.
- Hopefully. - All right, man.
Let me give him a call. Cool?
Appreciate it.
Thanks.
I'm thrilled to have an expert coming in,
because I really have no knowledge of the document.
I know that it's something of value,
but we'll have to wait and see.
Hey, what's going on, Dana?
- Hi, Corey. - How are you going?
Good.
This is what I called you about.
I specialize in early American documents,
autographs, coins, currency, and general Americana.
Well, this is actually a commission
for a militia company of the State of New Hampshire.
The writing has not faded.
It's almost as bold as the day it was originally written.
This is during 1778.
The Revolutionary War was in high gear at that time.
And down here, this is signed by M. Weare.
He was the first president in the United States.
Really?
Meshech Weare was the first president under a Constitution
in the United States, but it was a state
Constitution of New Hampshire, which came into being in 1776.
The first president in the United States-- not "of," "in."
In. [laughs]
So he'd pretty much be what we would call a governor today?
Yes.
What's something like this go for?
Well, you rarely ever see a military commission come out
of the state of New Hampshire.
They're actually quite scarce.
This one's in quite nice condition.
I would actually recommend that you take it out of the frame,
because it's becoming more aged from the acid
in the paper that's backing it.
The acid within the paper would leach into the document,
causing it to become more brittle
and to basically stain the original document.
As far as the value is concerned,
I would say that if we had this in one
of our early American History Auctions,
it would probably bring somewhere in the vicinity
of about $1,000.
Beautiful.
Right on.
Collectors would be thrilled to get this type of a militia
document, such a valuable and rare piece of American history.
How much are you looking to get out of it?
I'd be willing to go halfway and meet you at $500.
If $500 sounds nice, $250 sounds a lot better.
I mean, I got to have this taken out,
redone, put into a new frame.
So, I mean, $250 would be right about where I'm at.
I really don't want to sell it for $250.
It's rare.
Can you go $400?
I'll go $350.
All right, $350.
All right, let's write this up.
Pops, you want to write him up?
No!
Son.
I settled on $350, which I'm thrilled with.
I paid $10 for it.
I sold it for $350, so it's a good day.