Each year, over 1,000 people visit the History Center for the annual Pittsburgh’s Hidden Treasures event with KDKA-TV. The items people bring to the museum include family heirlooms, garage sale finds, or cleaning-out-the attic discoveries. Regardless of where the item comes from, the stories and appraisals learned at Hidden Treasures are fantastic.
In anticipation of the next Pittsburgh’s Hidden Treasures event, we put together a few lists of some of the most intriguing and fascinating items we’ve seen over the years.
Pittsburgh has a long and victorious tradition of sports, and Pittsburgh’s Hidden Treasures showcases it. Five sports items we’ve seen recently include an historic program autographed by numerous Hall of Famers, a team photo of the 1933 Pittsburgh “Pirates” football team, an autograph book featuring sports legends from the 1930s, rare Pirates photos of Honus Wagner, Fred Clarke, and others, and a 1960s World Series baseball.
With our We Can Do It! WWII exhibition, we’d be remiss if we didn’t highlight some of the most unique military items from Pittsburgh’s Hidden Treasures. Recently, we’ve seen a Civil War sword, two 19th century swords and a book dating from the War of 1812 and the Civil War, an historic WWI uniform, a powderhorn from 1764, and a Revolutionary War sword inscribed with a Latin phrase that says: “Don’t draw me without reason, don’t sheath me without honor.”
See the infographics below to learn the appraisal value of each item.
For more exciting items from past appraisal events, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Don’t miss this year’s Pittsburgh’s Hidden Treasures on Sunday, Aug. 7 at 10 a.m.
Sarah Reck is the Senior Digital Marketing Manager at the Heinz History Center.