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Antiques Roadshow biggies


azdr0710
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there's an American show and a British show, evidently.....was watching it tonight on PBS and decided to look up the big ones over the years.....fun to see these.....youtube doesn't seem to have any really recent top draws

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ed8vJdlWbWs

 

 

 

 

Edited by azdr0710
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Had a friend who was on the show. In his case, his surprise was phony and I wonder how many other cases were, too.

 

He collected American cut glass and concentrated on museum quality pieces costing up to $100,000. Today, parts of his collection are in major museums and collections.

 

When the Antique Roadshow came to town, he knew to be on the show he needed not just a good antique but a “story” about the piece. He took a cut glass bowl he had purchased for $35,000 and stood in line. At the door on seeing the bowl, he was directed to a glass expert.

 

His story was that in the early 1930’s, an old aunt was going into a nursing home and the bowl which had been a wedding gift of hers in the late 1880’s was given to his mother. It was always on his mother’s dining room table and as a boy, when he walked by, he loved to flick it and hear it ring. His mother would use the bowl on family holiday occasions. He even told of his favorite chocolate dessert his mother would make and serve in the bowl. After his mother died, he got the bowl and it now sits on his dining room table.

 

After examining the bowl, seeing the signature and talking about the pattern and perfect condition, the appraisal came in at $38,000. My friend acted all shocked and surprised that a part of his childhood could be worth so much and how it made those chocolate desserts even better. His acting skills got him his few minutes of TV fame. :)

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The one that I found difficult to believe was a piece of armor from the middle ages or early renaissance, a Florentine helmet. The appraisal was very high, hundreds of thousands, I think. The owner had supposedly found it stuffed in the rafters in his attic.

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My antique story is not nearly as lucrative. I have been in possession of a half table with beautiful wood inlays from about the 1800's. While watching the Antique Roadshow a dozen years back, a similar piece was assessed. It was determined that it was a rare piece and quite possibly worth in excess of $300,00o dollars. Mine is not only similar, but damn near a duplicate. After mentally deciding how I would spend my new windfall, I had it appraised at Sotheby's in LA. The gentlemen looked at the table for a moment and then asked me if I liked it. "Why yes." I said, " I actually love it." "Then you should keep it, because unfortunately yours is a copy, and has no real value." My friend for some reason started laughing...I didn't see the humor.

Edited by bigvalboy
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Once, my partner and I were on a trip to Yosemite and we stopped at a gas station/convenience store outside of the park to gas up. I saw a pair of VanBriggle candlesticks displayed on a shelf close to the cash register with a price of something like $17.95 for the pair. I knew they were a steal at that price and bought them. When we got home, I checked them out and found they had a market value of over $300.00. I still have them.

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