What would President Harrison's Sword be worth?

My very humble best friend of 14 years told me tonight that his great great grandfather (direct liturgy) is Benjamin Harrison. I am in awe that this has never been brought up before! Let's say that he is telling the truth. He has several ceremonial swords in his possession used by the late president himself...what would be the value of such a historical artifact?
What would President Harrison's Sword be worth?
It is worth whatever you can get someone to pay you for it. I could say "It's worth a million dollars" and that would thrill you and your buddy, but if you can't actually get someone to give you a million dollars for it, guess what? It's not worth a million dollars.





I would check to see if there is a "Harrison Presidential Museum" and approach them for a "competitive" bid. If no such museum exists I would find out where the beloved ex-pres went to college and approach the school to gauge their interest. Finally, the statehouse of his home state. Once any of these specific special interest entities had their say I would ask for a cold, hard offer in writing. With this in hand I would put it on e-bay with the museum/school/statehouse bid as the opening offer. If no one heavily out bid the special interest "Harrison-ites" I would give them last shot at it on e-bay.





Whatever you do, don't lead your friend down the primrose path of 6 or 7 digit values without having a credible buyer (one with verifiable, liquid funds in the bank) with a specific offer on the table. If he is erroneously led to believe he can get $100,000 and then only gets $10,000 he will be unhappy. On the other side of the coin, if you lower his expectations and say "we might get $7,500" and then you get 10k... he'll be happy. He'll perceive the ten thousand in a completely different and happier light, and even though it's the same dollar amount, he will not have had false expectations and then ended up disappointed. One other suggestion: No checks!





Happy hunting and enjoy the historic significance of your heirloom. Good Luck!