NATCHEZ — Charles Roth could not get a moment’s peace Friday night at the Natchez Antiques Show and Sale.

A dealer and appraiser with 22 years of experience under his belt, Roth was bombarded for four hours during the appraisal portion of the event.

“It seems everyone’s been coming to me,” he said with a laugh.

Specializing in painting, prints and more, he saw many interesting items brought in throughout the evening.

“There was a gentlemen, he didn’t bring them in, but brought photos of two paintings that were five feet by seven feet,” Roth said.

Just by looking a the pictures, Roth estimated the paintings would gross between $50,000 and $75,000.

Dorothy Guthrie from Waterproof, La., walked up to Roth’s table with a painting that she bought at an antiques store about 30 years ago, she said.

“I’ve just been curious about it all these years,” she said.

Roth looked over the painting and estimated it was European and done in the late 1800s.

He appraised it to be worth between $2,500 and $3,500.

Guthrie was shocked as she had only paid between $10 and $15 for it.

“I felt like it might be worth something,” Guthrie said.

Roth said indeed it was.

“This is the best piece I’ve seen all day,” Roth said.

Little did he know William Loyd was about to walk up with an even greater painting.

Roth examined Loyd’s painting, muttering a chorus of “boy” and “wow” as he handled it delicately.

“This is actually nicer than the piece before,” he said.

Loyd said he brought the painting in to sell it.

“It’s for sale if someone’s interested,” he said.

It belonged to his grandfather who, when he died, bequeathed all of his belongings to his grandchildren.

Loyd said his sisters fought over his belongings, but Loyd himself wasn’t too interested.

“I never wanted any of the antiques,” he said.

However, the painting that Loyd holds in his possession is the one piece that no one wanted, so he decided to take it.

Roth said the painting was in dire need of cleaning and the frame was completely destroyed, but still it could fetch between $800 and $1,000.