GUEST: I brought in a letter from George Washington, and it is addressed to Edward Rutledge.

APPRAISER: Okay.

GUEST: My grandmother somehow got this, and we don't know where or how she got it.

She sold real estate and she sold ANTIQUES.

APPRAISER: Oh, wow.

GUEST: So, working at the antique store, she might have had opportunity to get this.

APPRAISER: Really?

GUEST: And I have no idea if it's actually real.

APPRAISER: Sure.

GUEST: Or is it a forgery?

APPRAISER: Right.

(chuckles) So, there were a few things on this letter that really caught my eye, is first of all, the date.

It says September 1799, and that is actually several months prior to Washington's death.

GUEST: Wow.

APPRAISER: Uh, the other part of this is that the letter is talking about these gun carriages and is thanking Rutledge for his support.

George Washington and Rutledge had a wonderful relationship.

GUEST: Oh, great.

APPRAISER: Mutual respect and admiration.

GUEST: Wonderful.

APPRAISER: So, of course, Rutledge, being the youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence... GUEST: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, yes, right.

APPRAISER: ...was a founding father, right along with Washington.

He then runs for South Carolina governor, and he is now currently governor when this letter is dated.

GUEST: Oh.

APPRAISER: Toward the bottom, you can see that this is to his good friend, and it is also then signed by George Washington.

Now, we're not authenticators.

However, I did talk with three or four of my colleagues.

GUEST: Wow.

APPRAISER: We also looked at this under a loupe just to make sure that this wasn't a printed document... GUEST: Oh, yes.

APPRAISER: ...and to make sure that the ink and the paper are of the time period.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: Because those are all the telltale signs.

GUEST: Right, right.

APPRAISER: That's what we look for.

Uh, what I can tell you is that we do believe that this is an authentic letter... GUEST: Wow.

APPRAISER: ...that this is an authentic signature.

GUEST: Oh, my goodness.

Oh.

APPRAISER: The real value here is in the letter.

The other two images on either side, they're nice, but they don't really add as much.

So, the auction estimate for the letter would be $15,000 to $20,000... GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: ...on this piece.

GUEST: Wonderful-- that's just wonderful, wow.

And to say it's, it's probably authentic.