Ted Pappas absorbs the historical value of a document brought to him to be appraised. Photo 250 News

Prince George, B.C. – If you have any antiques you’d like to get appraised you might want to head to The Exploration Place today.  But don’t miss the opportunity because it’ll be another two years before appraiser Ted Pappas is in town for this biennial fundraiser on behalf of the Huble Homestead.

Operations Manager Krystal Leason notes that there was a steady stream of people dropping by with items on Saturday, resulting in a 60-minute or so wait to speak with Ted.

She says “we’ve seen a few different things, quite a few dolls this weekend actually.  And I think we just had Ted stumped.  A gentleman had some kind of coffee percolator but the details were fuzzy so that one was a mystery.  People are looking around their homes and saying “this is old, I’ll bring that, and I’ve even brought a few of my own items to have him look at.”

“A lot of people bring china and glassware, usually we see a fair bit of art, sometime we have oddities, things that people collect on their travels and a lot of things that have been passed down through their family.  Often things that people have bought at a garage sale for $3.00 and it looks valuable.”

“Ted was telling me that just in the last month he was talking with someone who had purchased this piece, a sketch or painting or something, for $3.00 at a thrift shop or something and it turned out to be an early Ansell Adams and I think it sold for about $6,000.  So you never can tell and Ted will tell you it’s all based on intuition.  So, if you have a feeling about something you probably want to get it checked out.”

“And this is a great opportunity to do it because he won’t be back until 2019, we only have this event every two years.”

We asked Krystal if there is anything Ted Pappas won’t give an appraisal on, and the answer was no “there is nothing that he won’t appraise.  If you have something like firearms I would recommend taking photos of them and brining it just because this is a museum and there are regulations on transporting firearms.”

“But people have brought in swords that he’s taken a look at.  If you have a lot of things that you think maybe shouldn’t come out in public, or if you don’t want people to know that you necessarily have something valuable, he does do house visits.”

She says Pappas “does have specialties in art, jewelry and First Nations artifacts but he looks at everything and is incredibly knowledgeable.”

Even if you don’t have anything you want appraised, just sitting and listening to Ted talk about the items he looks at, the history, detail and reasons various items have the estimated value they do can be a great and interesting way to spend an hour or two.  And it’s free to spectators!

The Antique Appraisal fundraiser for the Huble Homestead runs from 10 am to 4 pm today at The Exploration Place.