There's something very romantic about letters and written accounts from pivotal times in history. It's like reaching back and being there when you read them. On 'Auction Kings' (Tue., 9PM ET on Discovery), Paul Brown got to see some Civil War letters and diaries with a special bonus of historical significance.

Historians love first-person accounts from the Civil War, but these letters went that extra step by mentioning John Wilkes Booth. The letter was dated three years prior to Booth's assassination of President Lincoln, so it was simply a genuine statement about his fame as an actor.

"I had no idea really that Boothe was that well known as an actor," Brown said. "Evidently, he was."

As for the pair that brought in the letters from their great-great-grandfather, they got out of the sale what they wanted, scoring more than $5,000 for the whole haul, which was appraised at close to $10,000.