GUEST: My grandfather was an insurance man in Ohio.

GUEST: And he collected fire marks and other fire memorabilia.

And this was part of his collection.

APPRAISER: For a very long time, most firefighters were volunteers.

If you had a fire in your village, you form a bucket brigade and try to put out the fire.

And firefighting has been a profession for a very long time.

But it wasn't until the 1850s, 1860s, where firefighting uniforms really kind of took off.

This is an all-leather helmet made by Cairns Brothers in probably late 1800s, early 1900s, all hand-stitched and really an interesting helmet.

The fire helmet is what we call a New York style, and conveniently, is from Cornwall, New York.

And this is what we call a Philadelphia-style fire hat.

It was a very popular style, and it's called the Philadelphia style because, well, it was popular in Philadelphia, but it was also used in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. And it was used mostly in parades.

It was popular from the 1830s to 1870s, 1880s.

You can tell from the inside it was made from pressed felt.

GUEST: Hm.

APPRAISER: And then it's just been painted over.

You can see the raw felt underneath.

It was thought that the green brim would help you maintain your vision in bright sunlight.

And you see a lot of 19th century and early 20th century helmets having a green brim on 'em.

This 1910 Cairns Brothers fireman's helmet is not uncommon.

All ordinary wear and tear and damage.

There are no signs of abuse in this helmet.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: Just use.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: This leather fire helmet, I give it an auction estimate of $600 to $800.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: This Philadelphia-style parade hat is particularly rare, and they're fragile.

The paint helps to stiffen it.

But it won't stop it from being crushed or damaged.

This is in very good condition.

It appears to be in original condition.

And because of that, it has a very high value in the parade hat world.

GUEST: Hm.

APPRAISER: I would give an auction estimate for that one of $15,000 to $18,000.

GUEST: That's amazing.

I-I never would have guessed.