GUEST: I've got a Revolutionary War discharge signed by George Washington for a man named James Columbus.

APPRAISER: You certainly have.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: This is a genuine Washington discharge papers, with all the old tape work on the back and tears, just as a veteran would've carried it around in his pocket.

So many of them are damaged.

Here's Washington's signature, we see.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: And we've got 1777 through June 1783.

Now, how did... GUEST: So that's six years of service.

APPRAISER: How did you come by this?

GUEST: Um, actually, my mom, she found it in a black tin box after her aunt died.

APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.

GUEST: And she thinks it's been in her family for a long time.

APPRAISER: These things do appear at sale, and this is a beautiful example.

I see you've kept it in a Mylar folder.

GUEST: Mm-hmm, for... APPRAISER: And I guess you've prepared this catalogue entry at the back, which is great.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: But have you, uh, shown it to any friends, or to£ GUEST: Well, yeah, actually, um, one day, about two years ago, we took it in for show and tell.

And my mom, she really didn't know what it was worth back then, so she took it around and she passed it to all the kids and said, "You're touching something George Washington touched."

And here's my mom and the teacher in a big argument at how it's real or not.

APPRAISER: This was at your school?

GUEST: Yeah, the teacher didn't think it was real.

APPRAISER: Your teacher didn't believe this was real?

GUEST: No, she didn't believe it.

APPRAISER: Oh, I'm amazed.

GUEST: She thought it was a fake.

APPRAISER: (exclaims) No, it's as genuine as can be.

Do you have any idea what it's worth?

GUEST: Well, someone told my mom it could be worth thousands of dollars, but I'm really not sure.

APPRAISER: Well, it is worth some thousands of dollars, yes, and they routinely go for between $6,000 and $10,000.

The condition factor dictates the demand on the day at an auction and I'm giving you an auction price now, but it's somewhere between $6,000 and $10,000 on a good day.

GUEST: That's great.