GUEST: I purchased it about four years ago from a church bazaar that was a couple of miles below my house.

It was items that the church had donated, and some of the members had donated.

And no one could remember anybody donating it.

They thought that it had been, uh, an item that had been in the kitchen, that it had belonged to the church, and they had just decided to put it in the sale that day.

It was so pretty to me.

I thought, "Oh, they can't be selling that."

APPRAISER: And do you like baskets in general?

GUEST: I love baskets.

APPRAISER: Do you?

GUEST: I love anything that's, uh, American-made, folk art-type, country.

APPRAISER: Right-- I have never seen one before.

It is most unusual in the carved elements that are here above the woven bottom of the basket.

We see a very tightly woven bottom.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: And this is typical of baskets in Tennessee and Southeastern Virginia.

These baskets were used for a number of things, um, possibly egg gathering.

Although, having found it in a church, it may have been used for some other purpose-- do you know?

GUEST: I feel like it was an offering basket for the church.

APPRAISER: Offering basket.

Well, it's, um, it's a very unusual piece.

And 19th-century, I would say.

Probably before 1880.

It has cut nails here.

What did you pay for the basket in your yard sale?

GUEST: Paid three dollars for it.

APPRAISER: If I were selling this, uh, in a shop, I would ask somewhere between $4,000 and $6,000 for this basket.

GUEST: (giggles) (chuckles) Oh.

Oh, that's good.

(laughs)