Appraisal: 1956 Curta Calculator Type II
Clip: Season 29 Episode 3 | 1m 25sVideo has Closed Captions
Appraisal: 1956 Curta Calculator Type II
Watch Tim Luke appraise a 1956 Curta calculator type II in Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Hour 3.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Funding for ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is provided by Ancestry and American Cruise Lines. Additional funding is provided by public television viewers.
Support provided by:
Appraisal: 1956 Curta Calculator Type II
Clip: Season 29 Episode 3 | 1m 25sVideo has Closed Captions
Watch Tim Luke appraise a 1956 Curta calculator type II in Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Hour 3.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
How to Watch Antiques Roadshow
Antiques Roadshow is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.
Buy Now
ANTIQUES ROADSHOW 2025 Tour!
Enter now for a chance to win free tickets to ANTIQUES ROADSHOW's 2025 Tour! Plus, see which cities we're headed to!Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipGUEST: I think it's a mechanical calculator.
It was my stepfather's and he was an appraiser for the government.
Like a land appraiser.
APPRAISER: Oh, really?
GUEST: And apparently this is what he used in his work.
APPRAISER: (chuckling): Oh, that's great.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: This piece, it's a Curta calculator.
GUEST: Okay.
Okay.
APPRAISER: And it was Curt Herzstark who actually created this.
GUEST: Ah.
APPRAISER: And I'm gonna open this up.
And here we can pull the piece out to reveal the whole calculator.
GUEST: Mm.
Hm.
APPRAISER: What I like about it is on the bottom.
We can turn this over and you can see that it is marked, "Made in Liechtenstein."
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: Curt was actually in a concentration camp in World War II.
GUEST: (gasps) No!
APPRAISER: And that's when he came to design this calculator.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: The way that you use this is that you would set these levers, as well as the ones on the top...
GUEST: Okay APPRAISER: ....and you would crank this.
That gave this particular calculator the nickname the "pepper mill" or the "pepper grinder" calculator.
GUEST: It does look like one.
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER: These were popular because it's easy to do the calculations.
GUEST: Uh-huh.
APPRAISER: And at auction, this could bring anywhere between $800 and $1,500.
GUEST: So it's not a pepper mill, okay.
(laughs) APPRAISER: That'd be some expensive pepper, wouldn't it?
GUEST: (laughs) Yeah, it would be.
It would be.
Well, that's wonderful.
Appraisal: 1832 Andrew Jackson Proclamation on Silk
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S29 Ep3 | 2m 36s | Appraisal: 1832 Andrew Jackson Proclamation on Silk (2m 36s)
Appraisal: 1857 Queen's Cup Ascot Race Trophy
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S29 Ep3 | 3m 24s | Appraisal: 1857 Queen's Cup Ascot Race Trophy (3m 24s)
Appraisal: 1873 W. G. Chamberlain Photo Album
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S29 Ep3 | 3m 8s | Appraisal: 1873 W. G. Chamberlain Photo Album (3m 8s)
Appraisal: 1954 Gibson Les Paul Standard Guitar Group
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S29 Ep3 | 1m 3s | Appraisal: 1954 Gibson Les Paul Standard Guitar Group (1m 3s)
Appraisal: 1958 Ludwig Bemelmans 'Rio' Watercolor
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S29 Ep3 | 3m 48s | Appraisal: 1958 Ludwig Bemelmans 'Rio' Watercolor (3m 48s)
Appraisal: 2nd - 3rd Century C. E. Roman Glass Bottles
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S29 Ep3 | 2m 27s | Appraisal: 2nd - 3rd Century C. E. Roman Glass Bottles (2m 27s)
Appraisal: American Satsuma Box, ca. 1910
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S29 Ep3 | 2m 44s | Appraisal: American Satsuma Box, ca. 1910 (2m 44s)
Appraisal: Elvis Presley Military Archive, ca. 1960
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S29 Ep3 | 2m 23s | Appraisal: Elvis Presley Military Archive, ca. 1960 (2m 23s)
Appraisal: German Wax Doll with Original Dress, ca. 1890
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S29 Ep3 | 2m 18s | Appraisal: German Wax Doll with Original Dress, ca. 1890 (2m 18s)
Appraisal: Japanese Russet Iron Namban Helmet, ca. 1800
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S29 Ep3 | 2m 39s | Appraisal: Japanese Russet Iron Namban Helmet, ca. 1800 (2m 39s)
Appraisal: Mike Disfarmer Portraits, ca. 1940
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S29 Ep3 | 3m 29s | Appraisal: Mike Disfarmer Portraits, ca. 1940 (3m 29s)
Appraisal: Neal Walters Circus Poster & Woodblocks, ca. 1950
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S29 Ep3 | 3m 16s | Appraisal: Neal Walters Circus Poster & Woodblocks, ca. 1950 (3m 16s)
Appraisal: Omega Seamaster 300 Wristwatch, ca. 1965
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S29 Ep3 | 2m 34s | Appraisal: Omega Seamaster 300 Wristwatch, ca. 1965 (2m 34s)
Appraisal: Platinum & Thai Sapphire Ring, ca. 1935
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S29 Ep3 | 3m 25s | Appraisal: Platinum & Thai Sapphire Ring, ca. 1935 (3m 25s)
Appraisal: Winchester Single W Cartridge Board, ca. 1890
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S29 Ep3 | 3m 26s | Appraisal: Winchester Single W Cartridge Board, ca. 1890 (3m 26s)
Preview: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Hour 3
Video has Closed Captions
Preview: S29 Ep3 | 30s | Preview: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Hour 3 (30s)
Owner Interview: 1873 W. G. Chamberlain Photo Album
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S29 Ep3 | 1m 33s | Owner Interview: 1873 W. G. Chamberlain Photo Album (1m 33s)
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship
Support for PBS provided by:
Funding for ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is provided by Ancestry and American Cruise Lines. Additional funding is provided by public television viewers.