What the wine is is obviously crucial. Also, how has the wine been stored, all the way back to when it left the winery? And what's the condition of the bottle (label, cap, level of the wine in the bottle, etc.)?

I've had both the '59 and '61 Haut Brions, and they are lovely, lovely wines. Though the '61 is generally considered more highly, the '59 was also an excellent year. If stored in good condition it would be worth considerable money.

That being said, the poor storage knocks everything into a cocked hat. What do you know of how the current owner got the bottle, and how it has been stored since? What is the level of wine in the bottle (on the neck, shoulder, wherever)? And if you hold the bottle upright and very gently give the cap a twist, does it spin?

If the condition is poor, it becomes mostly a curiosity worth only a very small fraction of what it would have been worth in good condition. A restaurant or liquor store might chose to display the bottle, but it would not really be worth drinking, other than as an educational warning regarding what poor storage does to a potentially excellent wine...

This is what I do know. The woman that brought it to me said that her mother had it...when she died, she found it in the bottom of a closet (dark mostly cool)...and no one knew what it really was. Her mom got it from the people that she was a nanny for...as a christmas present...she didn't drink...the daughter kept it in her "cellar"...yes...a real cellar...and kind of forgot about it..it wasn't climate controlled. She was moving and found it...and brought it to me. I've kept it "refridgerated" for the most part ever since...the wine is on the shoulder...high shoulder...the cap is tight...the cork is positioned properly...there is a little setiment...that's about it.

Wineybeach, there are too many iffy aspects of the provenance story for any knowledgeable winebuyer to be confident enough to pay real money. Do you even know if it was stored standing, or on its side?

You could try eBay, which is not ordinarily the best place to buy or sell wine, but may work in this instance. Don't expect great prices there, I would think, but you might be able to get a lump of cash. You could also just pitch it to whomever strikes your fancy in your range of acquaintances, but that will likely be a long, possibly frustrating process.

The best bet may be to figure who would most warrant and appreciate being gifted the wine, and earn brownie points that way, rather than hope for lots of dollars for the bottle. Considering the vagaries of the bottle's condition, it has more symbolic than real value...

I would checkout Vinfolio.com. They recently launched a service for individuals to sell and buy wines called the Vinfolio Marketplace.

You could also post it on the erobertparker.com bulletin board on the "Commerce Corner" corner thread.