RICK: Hey, what's up?
ERIK: How you doing?
RICK: How's it going, man?
Good.
What is this?
ERIK: This is a piece of the flag that was carried by Teddy
Roosevelt's Rough Riders.
It went up San Juan Hill.
OK.
ERIK: And some photos that go with it.
This is a piece of the flag that they
brought up San Juan Hill?
ERIK: Yes.
RICK: The most famous battle of the Spanish-American war?
ERIK: Yes.
That's pretty amazing.
[music playing]
ERIK: Anything that's associated with Teddy Roosevelt
is a really rare piece.
Teddy Roosevelt was only really with the Rough
Riders for about a year, so there isn't much out there.
I'm asking $8,000 for this piece.
But as everything I bring in, it's always negotiable.
RICK: So this--
ERIK: This is actually the guidon
from I believe it's Company F or Troop f, as it
would be called in the cavalry.
RICK: The guidon, like, signifies their unit?
Yeah.
It's not the US colors, the regimental colors.
It would be the company flag.
RICK: You got, like, paperwork and stuff
that goes with it or--
Well, I had a handwritten note from the guy who was
given the piece of the flag.
It was a common practice to souvenir out
flags in the military and the Civil War
and the Spanish-American War.
Certain people would get a piece of that flag.
RICK: OK.
Yeah.
1898, he's Undersecretary of the Navy.
Middle of the night, there was a telegram
that the Spanish fleet was getting
close to the American fleet.
Next thing you know, he goes, ah, just fire on them.
Basically starts the Spanish-American war
all by himself and almost immediately forms the Rough
Riders, wants to go to Cuba and fight basically because he
wanted to be president one day.
He was cockier than you, a cocky nerd.
[laughs]
This is something you never hear about today--
a high-up government bureaucrat resigning his position so he
can lead volunteers into war.
It just doesn't happen anymore.
And this is just one of many stories
that made Teddy Roosevelt larger than life.
And this one went up San Juan Hill?
He has a list of battles here--
San Juan, July 1 through 4.
Well, it went everywhere the Rough Riders went.
All right.
This is neat.
I really like this.
ERIK: Well, good.
RICK: What do you want to do with it?
I want to sell it.
RICK: And how much you want?
ERIK: 8,000.
RICK: Holy [bleep].
I'm going to call Mark and have him look at this.
I just want to make sure everything is right.
OK.
ERIK (VOICEOVER): I think Mark knows
his items for the most part.
But he's looked at my things before,
and sometimes he gets it right, and sometimes he doesn't.
[cash register chiming]
- Erik, you're in-- - Hey.
--there, too.
How are you doing?
How are you?
How's it going?
COREY: What's up, buddy?
Doing all right.
So what have we got this time?
Part of the flag that went up San Juan Hill.
Rough Rider flag.
Oh.
It's actually the guidon.
OK.
The interesting thing when you're talking about San Juan
Hill, you're talking about the Rough Riders and that--
and the Rough Riders had their own flag.
The guidons, each troop would have one of those.
MARK (VOICEOVER): The term Rough Riders actually
was taken from Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show
and Congress of Rough Riders.
MARK: So what's your concerns here?
Is this the flag that went up San Juan Hill?
MARK: Well, do you mind if I take a closer look at it?
RICK: Sure.
San Juan, July 1 to 4, 1898--
very nice.
That's the one that everybody's heard of,
the Rough Riders running up this hill,
which is always kind of interesting
'cause this was a cavalry group.
The cavalry are on horses.
San Juan Hill, they're on foot.
RICK: I guess it would make a lot more sense.
I mean, if you're trying to go up a hill on horses,
and they're firing down on you, you would make a much
easier target on a horse.
(LAUGHING) Sort of.
But looking at the material itself,
it's absolutely correct for the time period.
And given this note, I do believe that this was
a piece of troop F's guidon.
But it doesn't say that it went up the hill,
that it went into battle, because at San Juan Hill
they were on foot.
They weren't carrying guidons.
ERIK: The way this is written, it says--
MARK: Mm-hmm.
ERIK: --engaged at--
MARK: Yes. ERIK: --the following battles.
MARK: Yeah. - Piece of the--
But that's true--
--guidon engaged at.
MARK: No.
It doesn't say anything about being used in battle.
It just says these are the battles we were in.
So when it comes to whether it went up San Juan Hill,
probably not.
Well, I think I got what I wanted done.
All righty.
Well, thank you.
ERIK (VOICEOVER): To say that it didn't
go up San Juan Hill is just--
I think it's wrong, you know?
It says right on the note that it
was engaged at those battles.
And I'm going to trust the word of someone
who was there versus someone who was not there.
It's really cool, but I don't think it's worth nearly as much
as what you're asking for it.
It didn't go up San Juan Hill.
Even if they fought dismounted,
I think that went up.
I don't see it 8,000 bucks.
I see it a lot, lot less than that.
How lot, lot less?
I'm not even going to make you an offer.
We're just so far off.
I'm sorry, man.
ERIK: All right.
RICK: OK?
COREY: I'm so glad you're here.
I would have paid a lot of money for that thing.
[laughter]
You'll come back with some more stuff, you know?
I'm not going to pay a lot of money
for something unless I know 100%, it's the real deal,
but I know Erik will come back with something cool.
He always does.