What exactly was a "mathom house" to a hobbit.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

A fascinating question, Melilot! I seriously doubt that Bilbo knew just how much the mithril vest was worth; in FotR ('A Journey in the Dark'), Gandalf says,

I never told him, but its worth was greater than the value of the whole Shire and everything in it.

So though he knew it was of mithril and valuable, he was apparently not aware that it was literally priceless, and neither the Dwarves nor Gandalf clued him in. It would be interesting to know why they did not tell him - did Gandalf want to keep him innocent, materialistically speaking?

Another thought that came to me was, that treasures are often best hidden in the open; they may then be thought of little worth if not locked away and guarded.

It seems to me that the Mathom House (I typoed 'Moth'em first - true, perhaps?!) was like a storage hall, but open to the public. luthien's comments on not keeping something of no practical worth sound very much like Hobbits - a good idea!


Edit: Oops! Selective reading can lead to misinformation. I happened to glance at the very next paragraph of the above-mentioned chapter, and found following words:

Frodo... felt staggered to think that he had been walking about with the price of the Shire under his jacket. Had Bilbo known? He felt no doubt that Bilbo knew quite well. It was indeed a kingly gift.

So who was right? Gandalf or Frodo? Did Bilbo know?