All bluff and bluster, I'm afraid - a gambling trait that I picked up from my Grandfather - I simply acted as though I knew what the heck I was talking about, and basically told him it was more or less a worthless piece, and would require so much money to repair that it really wasn't economical for him to keep it, and that I would do him a favor by taking it off his hands.
I really can't believe that it worked.