Tucked away and collecting cobwebs in the closets or attics of many East Texans are a wide variety of long-forgotten relics — family heirlooms or other assorted bits and pieces of the past, some worth thousands of dollars, others of little more than sentimental value.

Separating true treasures from their less consequential counterparts, however, requires a keen eye and plenty of expertise, exactly what visitors can expect at this Saturday’s Seventh Annual Appraisal Fair sponsored by the Historic Upshur Museum.

Open without charge to adults and children 12 and over, the event will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Gilmer’s Yamboree Exhibit Building adjacent to the Gilmer Civic Center on U.S. 271.

Conducting appraisals will be a distinguished team of five East Texas’ antiques authorities on such collectibles as firearms, furniture, glassware, jewelry, gold, pottery, art and toys.

Cost of appraisals is $10 per item or three items for $20. Proceeds will be used to help the Historic Upshur Museum continue its work in preserving and promoting the heritage of Upshur County and East Texas.

The event is modeled after the extremely popular Antiques Road Show television series.

If past fairs are an indication, says Betty Slocum, event chair and museum board member, some of the items brought this year will— much to their usually surprised owner’s delight—command healthy sums at auctions or on the collector market.

Last year, for example, a Gladewater woman learned that what she thought was merely an old lamp was actually a rare picture projector worth more than $2,000.

Other “finds” included a scrap of paper with the signature of Abraham Lincoln valued at about $1,000 and a “priceless” collection of letters written by a Confederate soldier during the Civil War, along with a final letter from his commander telling of the man’s death during the bloody battle of Chickamauga, Tenn.

In 2008, a painting of a peregrine falcon—created for $50 in 1925—was appraised at more than $50,000. And a battered old fishing lure which sold for just a few cents at the turn of the 20th century was estimated to be worth $1,000.

“But we also get our share of things worth only a few dollars,” says Ms. Slocum.

Appraisers for the 2010 fair are Rudy Beloney, Big Sandy; Chris and Janice Cleeson, Gilmer and owners of Maude & Murel’s Antiques; firearms expert Charles Edwards, Bullard; and Butch Schaffan of Sulphur Springs, an authority on gold, jewelry and American coins.

Schaffan also will purchase gold on site, a first in Appraisal Fair history.

Food and other refreshments will be available, and fair attendees can participate in a raffle for complimentary luxury accommodations and breakfast at the Wise Manor Bed and Breakfast in Jefferson.

Built in 1851 and now a Texas historical landmark, the Victorian cottage has been owned by the same family since 1908.

Additionally, scores of Civil War artifacts will be exhibited in a “Stories from the Soil” display by Terry Smith of Gilmer, a metal detector enthusiast who, over the past 15 years, unearthed the relics during searches in Louisiana and Virginia.

The fair will conclude with the awarding of certificates for items that appraisers deem “Most Unusual,” “Oldest” and “Most Representative of Upshur County.”