Desert Botanical Garden, Hour 1

♪ ♪ CORAL PEÑA: "Antiques Roadshow" is discovering the treasures of the Sonoran Desert and beyond at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona.

This is hotter than fire.

The demand for these cards is uncontrollable.

Are you kidding me?

♪ ♪ PEÑA: "Roadshow" admires treasures of all kinds, and the Desert Botanical Garden is a natural gem.

It began back in the late 1930s with a kernel of an idea: create a place dedicated to the conservation of the vital and fascinating plants of the Sonoran Desert.

Over many decades, staff and volunteers grew the garden to what it is today-- home to more than 50,000 plants from arid regions all over the world.

The Desert Botanical Garden is always an oasis full of natural treasures.

But right now, folks attending Antiques Roadshow are bringing treasures of a different kind.

Let's see what's coming in.

♪ ♪ APPRAISER: This is awesome.

WOMAN: Thank you.

What is it?

It's a hat.

You wear it on the back of your head.

Like that?

I think.

It looks great.

And you have little cat ears.

MAN: If you ring it once, it says, "Give more air."

If you do it twice, it says, "Slack off lifeline."

If, if you do it three times, it says, "Help me out immediately," meaning that there's a shark in the water or something.

(horn blowing) (chuckling): It works.

MAN: I bought these in approximately 1971 from a company out of Houston, Texas, that was authorized to sell these on behalf of NASA.

They were supposedly pictures that were taken from some of the original negatives.

I bought the complete set of ten for eight dollars.

Then, a few years later, I got to be friends with a fellow named Dan Cohen.

Dan was also a good friend of Neil Armstrong.

So one day, Dan, who had seen my pictures, called me and said, "Hey, come on up, and you can meet Neil."

So I got to go up and had the good fortune to meet Neil Armstrong.

We spent about 30 to 45 minutes just talking.

And at the end of that, I said, "Mr. Armstrong, if you don't mind, I have some pictures I'd like for you to sign."

And he said, "Well, sure."

And so I pulled these out, and he kind of looked at it, and he said, "Is it okay if I just dedicate the set?"

And I said, "Well, I have four children, "so I would really appreciate it if you could sign each one."

Now, he doesn't like to sign autographs.

And so my friend said, "Oh, Neil, go ahead and sign them."

So he said, "Okay, I'll sign them."

So he signed all ten of them for me, so... That's great.

And these are crystal-clear, great, strong autographs.

And what I love about it is, it's one of the most iconic scenes in American history and world history.

Yeah.

And you have Neil Armstrong landing on the moon.

This shot here, that's one of his first steps out onto the moon.

Yeah.

This, I believe they left this on the moon.

That was the plaque...

Correct.

That's still there now.

Yeah, it is.

So it, it's a wonderful collection.

We do see Neil Armstrong photos.

It's not like he never signed-- he did.

But the most desirable photos for collectors are the ones that are signed of the moon shots.

That's where the true monetary value comes.

As far as personal value, this is a cherished keepsake for you, and you're going to pass it down to the family.

Right.

In terms of value, first of all, I would keep this as a set.

Okay.

You wouldn't want to break these up.

I think it's worth far more as a collection in a set, since it's, they did ten of these photos.

I wouldn't hesitate to estimate the set at $15,000 to $25,000.

Wow.

Well, the primary reason I brought them out was because it is the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing, and Neil Armstrong died a few years ago.

Correct, correct.

Several years ago.

And I'm sure a lot of people remember where they were.

I remember where I was, sitting in front of a TV set in 1969.

Yeah.

So, I really appreciate you bringing these.

Thank you.

Okay, well, thank you.

It's a real treasure.

I appreciate the information.

I had no idea at the time that I bought it that I would ever even have a chance to meet Neil Armstrong, much less sit down and talk with him.

♪ ♪ WOMAN: This is a item by Albert Bloch, who was a part of the Blue Rider Group.

And I bought it at an action.

It was about...

I think I paid $250 for it.

So, not, not a huge amount of money.

What's his name?

Well, we affectionately call him Big Bunny.

Where did you get Big Bunny?

Well, you know, Big Bunny is a resident of the Phoenix Zoo.

Really?

Yeah, he has history from right when the zoo first opened in 1962.

He was a greeter at the entrance.

And so when all the kiddos came in... Uh-huh.

To the children's zoo, Big Bunny, along with many of Big Bunny's friends, greeted them.

I'd say he's worth about $1,000 to $1,200.

That's not bad.

Not bad.

WOMAN: My father was in the Air Force, and he was over in Iceland, and he brought it over for my mother from Iceland, I believe, maybe in the late '50s, early '60s.

Okay.

I'm not real sure.

What you have is a bear that was made in Germany.

Oh, okay.

That found its way to Iceland.

Your bear was made in the 1950s.

Okay.

So it was a new bear when he bought it.

What you have is a bear made by Schuco.

Right.

And Schuco was a competitor of Steiff.

They still make things today.

They made a wide variety of bears and toys and cars.

And what you have here is a very unusual bear.

It's a Yes-No teddy bear.

Oh!

But what's rare, also, it's a panda bear.

And the way it works is, there's a lever inside the tail, and you go like this, and he says, "No," but the "yes" part is not working well.

The lever has a, a little detachment under there that's an easy fix.

When you pulled it out of the bag, everybody at our table just went, "Ah!"

(both laugh) It's nice, because it's a larger size.

He's 18 inches.

He's in beautiful condition.

He has no mohair loss, because they're wool, and the moths often get to them.

And he's, his color is really good.

Now, what do you think it's worth?

I have no idea.

As a kid, he was always a scary bear.

(laughs) And I wouldn't go near him.

So, as an adult, probably the reason he's in such good shape is because I keep him tucked away, because I still don't look at him.

(laughs) So, value-wise, I have no clue.

Okay.

Well, the market has softened quite a bit on all teddy bears.

But on today's market, in a retail situation, it would probably sell between $900 and $1,200.

Really?

Really.

Oh, my gosh.

(laughing) Well, maybe I should keep him out and look at him more often.

♪ ♪ PEÑA: Desert plant enthusiasts Gustaf Starck and Gertrude Divine Webster were early leaders to champion the cause of protecting the flora of Phoenix.

They were part of the Arizona Cactus and Native Flora Society, who helped open the garden in 1939 and guided it as the site took root in the community.

WOMAN: I was taking a walk in the morning, and I got about four houses down from where I live, and there was a sign that said, "Free."

And so I walked by it the first day, and then the second day, I thought about it again, and I thought, "Well, I'll take this, "and it's pretty ugly, but I can give it to somebody, but it's a lamp, so I'll just take it."

So, when I brought it home, I ran over to my neighbor and asked him if he could cut the cord off and fix it.

He said the plug alone is really old, and that I should wait and find out about the lamp before I cut it off.

He could always cut it off if I wanted to, but I should wait and find out about it before I do.

Okay, so, I'm going to tell you about your lamp.

It is a Louis Comfort Tiffany lamp.

It's actually made by Louis C. Tiffany Furnaces, Inc., which is one of the names of Louis Comfort Tiffany's companies.

He had several names starting in the late 1870s, going into the early 1930s.

This is the next-to-last name of the company.

So, this would date from 1920 to about 1928.

Oh, my God.

And you have a gilded-bronze base with the enamel design around the foot, and then what we call a damascene blown-glass shade with wonderful iridescence on the outside.

These came in several different colors, and there's sort of a hierarchy of value in the colors.

This one is the caramel color.

Something like this is very desirable because it's intact, and the shade is one of the better colors.

This comes off.

Okay.

And then... here.

Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah!

It says, "L.C.T.

Favrile."

Okay.

And favrile meant, to Tiffany, it was his trademark word for handmade.

This is first, and then see... Oh, yeah.

This covers it, which is nice, 'cause that covers the edge.

In a retail venue, something like this could sell for between $10,000 and $15,000.

(exhales): Oh, my God.

You definitely want to get it rewired, because there's absolutely no value in original wiring.

Okay.

And please, don't ever transport it in one, in one piece with the shade on, like you did, because the bulk of the value is in this shade.

(sniffles) And if you broke the shade, the base would be worth about $500 to $1,000.

So the shade is very important.

♪ ♪ It's 1952.

The postwar baby boom is well underway.

Soldiers came back, they got married, they bought a bungalow in L.A., and they're having kids.

They want pretty, decorative things.

They don't have any money.

So this cottage industry kicked in, where American companies were making attractive, inexpensive decorative pottery for these homes.

The Japanese saw that, they started producing these things for a fraction of the price.

APPRAISER: These are Pima baskets.

WOMAN: Pima?

And they're beautiful.

Aren't they?

Nice designs.

And they were made for sale, for the tourist trade.

Oh, were they?

Mm-hmm.

I would say at auction these would sell for about $1,200.

Oh, really?

As a unit.

All right, thank you.

Yeah, no problem.

My mother was a caregiver for an elderly woman for 35 years or so.

And she's willed a couple of things to us.

Do you actually know what it is?

It's a portfolio stand, and I'm understanding that you put portraits in here.

It is, in fact, a display folio stand, or a portfolio stand.

It's actually really used for large books.

This was made probably just around 1810 or 1815, during a part of the Regency period.

This is a period in England that showed very explosive growth and a lot of wealth.

And this is a perfect example of something that a wealthy person would have purchased.

During this time period, you had very large books.

It's sort of a, a macho thing to have.

You know, it's, like, "I've got big books, so I need something to be able to display them with."

It moves down like this.

And that way, you can put the book in the middle of it, and then you're able to turn the pages.

And more importantly, what this actually did was, it saved the spine of the book.

And you're able to put it up at the end.

A lot of those are made in mahogany.

This one is actually made in rosewood.

In today's market, if you saw this in an auction house, I would probably say you would see an estimate of around $2,000 to $3,000 on it.

Okay, that's nice.

Now you're on a mission.

(laughing) Now you got to find a big-ass book and put it in there, so... MAN: Five years ago, my wife had the foresight to acquire it, and she went to a local coin shop, where she was trying to find a coin minted in the year that her father was born, because it was a big birthday.

And she got the coins, and as she was headed out-- because this was also a pawn shop-- she happened to see this picture hanging there.

She didn't know anything about it, but she thought it was very whimsical, because of the characters.

And so she bought it, brought it home.

I believe it was about $130.

I looked at it, and I said, "Hmm."

But then I took a look at the signature, and last year, when there was a big sale of one of his paintings that set a record, I thought, "Well, we need to find out a little bit more about it."

So you know the artist is David Hockney.

Yes.

He's probably the most famous living English artist.

Mm-hmm.

Lives between England and southern California.

Right.

He's been working in printmaking since the 1950s.

Mm-hmm.

Making lithographs, etchings, screen prints, both in, in Europe and in the United States.

And by this midpoint in his career, in the 1980s, this, 1985, 1986, he turned away from the traditional printmaking technique of working with a workshop to produce a lithograph or an etching... Mm-hmm.

And numerous people who are involved in that, to going all on his own to make these handmade photocopy prints.

And that's what this is.

Photocopies, very cool.

It's a deluxe color photocopy.

In order to do this, he would make several drawings, one for each of the colors.

The red color, he'd put that on the photocopier... Mm-hmm.

Run a piece of paper through, print the red.

Mm-hmm.

And then put that paper back in the tray.

Okay.

Put the black part of the drawing on and run that through the photocopier.

Interesting.

So it's not just a drawing thrown on the photocopier.

Right, right-- right.

'Cause that, that, he, he figured, correctly, would look too flat.

Mm-hmm.

This way, with the numerous photocopies on one sheet, you get more of an artful-looking print.

Okay.

You can see that it's a limited edition numbered in the lower left.

It's signed by the artist, dated, and then it has a blind stamp...

Okay.

In the lower right, too.

Oh.

And he's put that there just because he is both the artist and, in this case, the publisher.

It looks like the colors are in great shape.

It looks just as it might have when it was created.

And it shows his admiration for and the influence of Picasso on his work.

I believe it's called "Chair With Celia" or something.

Is this Celia?

And... Yeah.

Celia is a friend of his.

She is a designer, an English designer.

And he made numerous portraits of her.

Okay.

Lithographs, etchings, oils, from the 1960s on through.

Okay.

I'm sure she's more attractive than that, though.

(laughs) It's nice, high-career David Hockney.

And you, you had no expectations whatsoever.

None at all-- my wife brought it home, and I said, "What is that?"

And then you see on the news that...

Yes.

He sells a painting at auction for $90 million.

For $90 million.

And I'm sure you're, like, "Oh, "we've got that Hockney over there on the wall.

I wonder what that's worth today."

Yeah, yeah, I kind of made that connection, yes.

At auction, in this condition, which is mint, I would say, near perfect.

Wow, okay.

I would put an estimate of $7,000 to $10,000 on this.

Oh, my gosh.

So... That's wonderful.

Not bad for a coin shop, pawn shop purchase.

Not bad at all.

I guess the lesson is to, to always listen to what your wife tells you.

♪ ♪ PEÑA: This grouping of Dale Chihuly glass sculptures, "Desert Towers," created in 2008, was part of a larger Chihuly exhibit at the garden that ended in May of 2009.

Afterwards, a successful fundraising campaign allowed the garden to add the pieces to its permanent art collection.

♪ ♪ MAN: About 15 or 20 years ago, I went into a church rummage sale, and I, I just noticed these quite quickly, and I, I was drawn to them and decided to buy them.

Okay.

What did you pay at the rummage sale?

I paid, I believe, $20.

This particular shape is a shape that developed in China.

It's derived from bronze ritual vessels made roughly around 1000 BC, and it's a form called a hu, H-U.

We're going to look at the underside, and we see that there is this iron red.

Mm-hmm.

And it's a six-character mark that says it was made during the reign of the Qianlong emperor.

Wow.

1735 to 1796.

Are you serious?

That's what it says.

Wow.

However, we also have...

This right here is a particular color that was favored by the empress of China, the de facto empress, whose name was Cixi, who reigned toward the end, end of the 19th century and into the early 20th century.

And she loved this kind of color combination of aubergine and turquoise.

Okay.

And so that's a clue as to what kind of date we're looking at.

So we have a conflict.

Okay.

One of the other things that we look to for dating is the color of the blue.

20th century is more common for that kind of coloration than earlier periods.

I see, okay.

So, what we see from the combination of the enamel decoration, the way that the scenes are drawn, you have something that dates from the 20th century.

Do you want to hazard a guess what these might be worth?

Maybe $300 or $400.

I think a little bit more.

More like about $600 to $900.

Oh, wow.

At auction.

And you paid?

I paid $20.

I think that's pretty good.

Yeah, I do, too, I'm happy.

WOMAN: I brought my great-great-grandparents' stratosphere violin from the old country in Sweden.

We believe this one would, could possibly be real.

So, we'll see.

MAN: We bought it in New Zealand three years ago.

It's a knife box.

And we didn't see any marks on it, so we don't know really any more about it.

It is Georgian, from about 1790.

The color is great.

It's really nicely done.

What did you pay for it?

WOMAN: $800.

At auction, we expect to see about that.

So, in a high-end retail store, you could have paid four times that.

So, I think you did very well.

Okay, cool.

It's a beautiful thing.

Cool.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

WOMAN: It's been in my family for generations.

It was a gift to my great-grandmother from her great-uncle, who apparently was a sailor with Captain Cook.

And according to the family story, it was given to her about 1795.

It's a club.

Yeah.

It's a war club.

Mm-hmm.

And it's actually from Tonga.

Tonga.

It's called a pakipaki.

There's a number of clubs, and they're all of this sort of staff-like form.

But they terminate differently, or they have a slightly different shape.

The pakipaki has this slightly swollen spatulate end on the end of it like this.

Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

The casuarina wood that it's made out of is extremely dense.

Mm-hmm.

And there are a number of clubs in the Pacific that are made out of this, and they're always the most chosen ones.

Would they actually have used this in a war, or was this for decorative purposes?

Oh, no, this was a useful tool in war.

Okay.

But then, because it was so beautifully done... Mm-hmm.

And this was a deliberate design that was put there by the owner... Mm-hmm.

His personal... almost like a tattoo.

I see, yeah.

Then he would probably... wherever he went, he would hold it as a badge of office to show how proud he was.

Uh-huh, right.

And what a wonderful weapon he had.

Yeah.

It was an important object to have.

Right.

It's extraordinary detail.

The association with Cook is interesting, but I don't think we can prove it conclusively.

Okay.

And that, of course, will make quite a difference with the pricing.

Okay.

But the, the club is an 18th-century club.

Wow, okay.

Which would put it in the time of Cook.

Do you have any idea of the value of the club?

I have no idea, really, none.

I think a retail value... Mm-hmm.

Very conservatively, would be between $8,000 and $10,000.

Whoa, okay.

If it, if you could prove it was a Cook piece... Yeah.

That would up the ante tremendously.

Uh-huh.

And you would be looking at a figure probably in excess of $100,000, maybe $150,000.

Wow, wow.

But it's a wonderful example.

It's fabulous.

Wow.

I'm thrilled you brought it in.

Okay, thank you, thank you.

MAN: This is the pocket watch of President William McKinley.

He's my great-great-uncle.

It's just been passed down from generation to generation.

I've had it for about six years, and it's been in a safety deposit box ever since.

It's a Hampden from the Dueber-Hampden Watch Company of Canton, Ohio.

Okay.

It's a solid 18-karat gold case.

It's a high-jeweled movement, and we see on the outside, it's got the initials of President McKinley.

There's a phenomenal presentation.

It is crisp and clean.

It looks like this was engraved yesterday.

This watch was given to him at the time that he was governor of the state of Ohio.

The Dueber-Hampden Watch Company of Canton, Ohio, gave him one of the best watches you could hope to get... Wow.

That came out of their factory.

He was our 25th president.

Mm-hmm.

And you know a little more.

He was assassinated.

1901.

In 1901.

Six months into his second term in office, very sad, very tragic.

What we've got here is a crossover collectible.

Not only would watch people go crazy for this-- and it's a great American collectible watch-- it's a politically important piece of Americana and American history.

In a retail setting, this watch should bring easily $30,000 to $35,000.

Really?

Wow.

I was thinking $1,000 or $2,000.

My mom used to wear it, put it on a chain and wear it to cocktail parties.

When Truman was president, they rebuilt the White House, and what they didn't use, they gave to anybody that sent in a fee for shipping and handling, and my brother sent in for one of the artifacts, and he gave it to me.

I've seen a lot of things from the White House renovation.

Mostly what I see are nails and bits of glass and then rocks and things like that.

But I've never seen a brick, and I've never seen one in its original box with the postage.

This has got the plaque, it's got a great look.

Full brick and the box is easily at auction a $600 item.

Okay.

So pretty cool, and I'm psyched to see you brought it in.

Okay, thank you.

MAN: I was visiting Las Vegas the summer of '86.

The University of Nevada- Las Vegas and University of North Carolina played an alumni basketball game.

After the game was over, I was in the casino, and Michael Jordan and the rest of the team came back.

I saw them sit down at a table, and I sat down at the table with them.

(chuckles): What did you guys play, poker?

Blackjack.

Blackjack, okay.

How did he play?

He played okay.

At first we all, we were all winning, and then he upped his bet, and we all started losing.

You had your opportunity.

You wanted an autograph, so you went ahead and you went for it.

I... when he was leaving the table, I asked him, yes.

Looks like he found a blue ballpoint pen, he did his typical, usual Michael Jordan autograph right on this paper coaster.

So, '86, he got hurt early in the season.

He broke his foot, and he came back the same season.

Yes.

The Bulls, when Jordan returned, finished with a 30-in-52 record and still made the playoffs.

If we're giving it a grade, it looks about an eight.

Okay.

On a, on a one-to-ten scale.

Overall, great piece.

At auction, probably fetches somewhere between $2,000 to $3,000.

Oh, wow, very good, wow.

Thank you.

(chuckles) Pretty neat.

MAN: I brought this painting by Grigory Gluckmann.

About ten years ago, I bought it at a estate auction.

I saw it on the wall, and I thought it was a beautiful painting.

I didn't know anything at all about it.

But it was intriguing, and it kind of drew me into the painting when I looked at it.

And do you remember what you paid at the estate sale?

I'm not exactly sure, but it was probably somewhere between $500 and $750.

And I looked up the, this guy on the internet, and I found lots of examples of his work.

But most of the pieces that I saw on the internet didn't look anything at all like this.

So I wasn't sure if this is an actual Gluckmann painting or not.

A lot of his paintings have, like, ballet dancers or nudes, voluptuous women.

And this is kind of a macabre painting where it's dark, it's kind of dank, and you don't know exactly what's happening in the painting.

So it is a painting by Grigory Gluckmann.

He was a Russian artist.

Hmm.

He studied in Moscow, and he escaped the Russian Revolution and moved to Berlin.

He showed at many important galleries in Paris.

And in 1945, he moved to Los Angeles.

I would estimate that the date of this painting is circa 1950.

Now, there's a few ways that we know that this painting is an authentic Grigory Gluckmann painting.

Mm-hmm.

One of those ways is the Los Angeles connection.

Mm-hmm.

There is a label on the back... Mm-hmm.

From Dalzell Hatfield Galleries, which was the most prestigious gallery in Los Angeles during the time that he moved there.

It sold artists like Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque.

They were in the Ambassador Hotel, that's where they had the gallery.

Mm-hmm.

And all the Hollywood celebrities went there to buy art.

And that's really how he became popular in America.

So, one way that we know this is authentic is that he was showing at that gallery a lot, and we have the authentic label from that gallery with the price tag of $1,500.

Mm-hmm.

There is a title on the label, "Porta Carta."

We don't know if the artist actually gave it that title, and we're not sure exactly where that location is.

The other way that we know this is an authentic Gluckmann painting is because of the style.

So, you mentioned that you saw some different subjects by this artist.

And he really is known for painting ballerinas and women.

That sort of thing is sort of quintessential Gluckmann.

However, the technique used here in this painting is just like his paintings of ballerinas.

He took the techniques he learned in Moscow and continued to use them.

He painted on board.

He painted in very thin layers, which took a lot of time to produce.

And that effect was really to make the paintings look soft and kind of moody.

Mm-hmm.

Which is exactly what we have here.

Mm-hmm.

It's just that it's a different subject.

Did he do most of his paintings oil on board?

Yes.

So we do have a signature, "Gluckmann," in the lower left.

But the real signature here is the style of the painting.

Mm-hmm.

Today at auction, we would estimate this painting at $8,000 to $12,000.

That's wonderful.

That's what... it's a good investment.

(chuckles) MAN: Well, I got this World Series Yankee Stadium Club menu... APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.

From my neighbor who lived across the street from me.

And she was a cashier at the Stadium Club during the '55 World Series.

Humphrey Bogart happened to be in the Stadium Club.

She asked him for his autograph.

So, he grabbed the menu and signed his autograph on the back of the menu.

Well, Bogart was a baseball fan through and through.

I would probably put an auction estimate here of probably about $1,500 to $2,500 on it.

Wow.

And if I was going to...

I said I wasn't going to say, "Wow."

Great, terrific, terrific.

And you did.

And I did, I did.

And if you're going to insure it, I'd put $5,000 on it.

Okay, great.

Because it's got to be one of a kind.

WOMAN: I purchased it in 1972 at a flea market in Paris.

I worked for Pan Am at the time as a flight attendant, and I would go over about four times a month, and I started collecting the posters.

I could roll them up and carry them on the plane in a tube.

They were easy to transport.

And on one of the trips, I saw this poster, and it was a lot smaller than the other ones I had been buying.

But the dealer assured me that it was a genuine vintage poster.

About 15 years ago, I started seeing a lot of these images on posters in stores for, like, $20, and they were really big.

And that concerned me.

And at the flea market, how much did you pay for it?

$30.

Which at the time, in '72, was a lot.

It's this wonderfully romantic, Valentines-y image... Mm-hmm.

With little Cupid with his bow holding up a glass of port for these two archly Art Deco lovers, who are, they're trying to kiss, and Cupid's, like, "No, you've got to get drunk first."

It's compelling and so well-composed, too, how our, our attention is drawn right to the center of the image.

It's a masterpiece of graphic design.

It's interesting that you've seen bigger copies.

Mm-hmm.

And you worried that the small one might be a reproduction.

Right, or might devaluate it because of that.

In fact, it's the absolute opposite.

The, this was only ever done in a small format, and all of the bigger ones... Mm-hmm.

Are reproductions.

Aha.

And so this is an original.

Mm-hmm.

It dates to the 1920s.

Mm-hmm.

It's by René Vincent, who was one of the great Art Deco poster artists of the era.

He did a lot of advertisements for Peugeot.

Wow.

And for different department stores.

Mm-hmm.

This one is one of his best-known images, specifically because they printed so many copies of the poster.

Because it was small... Mm-hmm.

Not only was it easy for you to carry on a plane, but they could print a lot, and they could store a lot.

Uh-huh.

So a lot of the originals have survived.

Mm-hmm.

But at its high-water mark, this piece has sold for as much as $1,600 at auction.

Hmm, really, wow.

I would say, in the current climate, a more realistic auction estimate would be between $800 and $1,200.

Wow, okay, so, so, it is real.

So, it is real, and it's wonderful.

Mm-hmm.

PEÑA: Arizona has been called the hummingbird capital of the U.S., with 15 species recorded in the southeastern part of the state.

This hummingbird is enjoying the nectar of a lovely ocotillo.

WOMAN: I brought some World War II memorabilia from the WASPs, the Women's Air Service Patrol.

This is Jackie Cochran.

She headed up the WASPs in World War II, and my mother was her secretary.

And my mother asked Jackie Cochran if she could have a set of the wings, and Jackie said yes.

And so that's what you see over here is her wings.

And she had it engraved to my mom on the back.

And tell me about your photographs.

The photographs were autographed by Jackie Cochran to my mom.

This one was, "For Miss McSweeney, with all good wishes, Jacqueline Cochran."

And then this one, over here to the right, I think is funny.

"To Miss McSweeney, "This is just the way I feel sometimes.

Jackie Cochran."

And then my mom put a little notation underneath that, "Most times."

(laughs) So did your mom tell you anything about why she made that notation?

It didn't matter what time of day it was, if Jackie called, you, you came.

She was a demanding woman, but she was also...

It seemed like she was really a nice person, as well.

Well, she was also a force of nature.

She was somebody who was a very, very accomplished aviator before the war.

She won a number of the air trophies.

She worked with Amelia Earhart.

She had connections before the war even started.

And we see the WASPs as something that occurred during World War II, but the genesis of that started in 1939, when Jackie wrote to Eleanor Roosevelt and said, "You know, I think there should be a role for women."

Oh, nice.

Within the... At that time it was the Army Air Corps.

And that kind of got passed up the chain.

And in 1941, prior to our involvement in the war, she was even corresponding with officers in the Army Air Corps talking about, "Women could ferry aircraft, "there are jobs that they could take over and let the men go and do something else."

So, when she comes back to the United States, as that first class comes through-- they're training with Jackie in command... Ah.

She wanted wings for these ladies.

And she simply paid for them out of pocket.

I do remember reading that now, yes.

So, even though your mom was not a pilot, these were Jackie's to give out.

Right.

And, clearly, she decided that's what she, that's what she needed to do.

And she has engraved this on the reverse, specifically to your mother.

Yes.

Which is awesome.

Yeah, I think so.

Clearly, you understand the historical value.

Yes.

Because you understand how it relates to women's position within flying.

And now we've got...

Some of the best pilots in the Air Force are female, which is awesome.

Mm-hmm.

So, they've, they've come a long way.

But she is really the driving force that got that all started.

Have you given any thought to, beyond the historical value, what the monetary value might be?

Not whatsoever.

I have no idea.

A retail value on the market today for this set would be, conservatively, between $6,000 and $8,000.

Are you kidding me?

(laughing): Oh, my gosh!

That's great.

Well, thank you very much.

I really appreciate it.

It's crazy.

♪ ♪ MAN: I found this just, like, two weeks ago.

I found it in a thrift store.

And I paid $24 for it.

I, uh, it's a snow painting of Laguna, and I believe it's from 1949.

And I believe it's a very rare painting, but I'm not sure.

APPRAISER: This is carved nephrite, and I think it probably dates to the '60s or the '70s.

It's really stylish, even today, that kind of, like, bold, big jewelry.

In an auction situation, it might be worth as much as $800 to $1,000.

Mm-hmm.

In a retail situation, it might be worth as much as $2,000.

Wow.

Yeah.

Okay, then.

She'd be proud.

I like it.

Yeah.

♪ ♪ MAN: We were going through some of my wife's mother's stuff, and we found an envelope, and the envelope had a, a lawyer's name on it, and we opened it up, and inside was some wallpaper all folded up.

And we thought, "Why would you put wallpaper in an envelope?"

And we were about ready to throw it out, but I opened it up and looked at it, and we found this.

I looked on the internet, and I've checked with the Library of Congress.

It's "The Daily Citizen."

It was published in Vicksburg, Mississippi, on July 2, 1863.

And it was published the day the Union Army took over Vicksburg.

That's exactly right.

Yeah.

This is one of the most famous pieces of memorabilia from the Civil War.

Yeah.

It's, it's actually a collectible from the Civil War.

It's the Vicksburg paper.

Yeah.

And that publisher kept publishing kind of right up through the, that battle.

Yeah.

And he set up the type for his paper on July 2, but then he had to flee the city.

Yeah.

So, two days later, the Union Army comes into the city.

They find this typeset paper almost set up, and they add a little bit of a note here at the bottom that indicates that the authors are not the Confederate sympathizers of the Vicksburg press... Yeah.

But, in fact, it's the Union Army.

Yeah.

"Two days brings great changes."

Yeah.

It's a very famous piece of Civil War memorabilia.

The paper itself is printed on wallpaper, right?

Yeah.

Paper was very scarce during the war, and you can see a little bit of the floral print from the wallpaper on the other side.

You were right to go to the Library of Congress.

The Library of Congress has famously studied this particular piece of memorabilia.

Mm-hmm.

And identified the points-- what we call the points-- of the true first edition.

And your copy matches all points.

And there's actually a first state and a second state.

The first few printings, this word, "citizen," is misspelled, C-T-I.

Several copies were run off, and then somebody figured out, "Oops, that's misspelled."

They corrected it and continued to print them.

Mm-hmm.

So you have the true first state of this very famous piece of memorabilia.

And the reason why I'm calling it a collectible is that the soldiers came in, they saw the wallpaper on the floor, they saw the typeset, and they decided to add this little note and print off copies for themselves and their friends, which they then sold to other soldiers for about 25 cents.

Mm-hmm.

And what is different about your copy is that here along this left margin, we have this period inscription from Union soldiers from 1863.

A true first printing of this, with this extra inscription, we would estimate this piece at auction at $3,000 to $5,000.

Holy mackerel.

Yeah.

That's neat.

It's a classic piece of Civil War memorabilia.

I'm, I was the skeptic in the family.

Yeah?

My wife says, "Oh, it's going to be an original."

I was the skeptic, so... Did you want to throw it away?

No, no.

Okay, well, see?

You're not a skeptic if you didn't throw it away.

No.

WOMAN: This was picked up at an estate sale in Scottsdale about 15 years ago.

I loved it, so I bought it.

APPRAISER: Tell me how much you paid for the box.

I paid about $250 for it.

What do you know about it?

I've seen some Tiffany boxes.

Right.

But I didn't know anything about Tiffany Studios of New York...

I see.

Which is stamped on the bottom.

Let's see if we can take a look at that.

"Tiffany New York Studios."

And then there's a number underneath that, yeah.

Yes.

And what's it made of?

It's solid bronze.

Certainly is heavy, I just lifted it.

It's very heavy.

And it's definitely got a weight to it, isn't it?

Yes.

Yeah.

I think it is solid bronze.

I agree with you on that.

Unfortunately, what I, I don't agree with you on is, is that it was made by Tiffany.

Okay.

First of all, the bulk of the box, the, the weight of it, is unnecessarily heavy.

Second thing is that the overall design of it, while it's very stylized, it's not particularly innovative.

There's nothing on the sides, nothing on the back.

What's on the top is fairly rudimentary in conception.

You'll notice that there's a lot of little casting bubbles.

Mm-hmm.

You wouldn't get this with a, with a real Tiffany piece.

The fact that it says "Tiffany" like that on the front, it just looks like it's, dare I say, scrawled on.

Yes.

In addition to that, I don't think that the mark underneath is a genuine mark.

Tiffany is one of the names that is most synonymous with luxury and quality in America.

This box does not tick those boxes.

I would imagine that this was made some time after 1980, and the value-- you paid $250.

I think that would be an optimistic value now.

Okay.

I think you would probably be looking at somewhere between $100 to $200.

Okay.

♪ ♪ PEÑA: There are plants in the Desert Botanical Garden that are thought to have medicinal properties to aid in a variety of health issues.

Some say yerba mansa can be used to treat cold symptoms, that the bark of Salix willow trees is good for pain, and that prickly pear cactus can be used for diabetes and hangovers.

♪ ♪ WOMAN: I found it at an estate sale, just local, in town.

And how long ago was that?

Maybe ten years.

Okay.

I love little boxes, and this one's really pretty.

All right.

And I paid about ten dollars.

It's silver and enamel of some sort.

I... that's literally all I know.

Well, you're right about that.

The casing of it is made of silver, silver gilt.

We look inside, it has a gold finish.

And there are three different types of enamel on it.

The back plate is finished in what we call guilloché enamel.

The metal underneath, which is silver, has been given this pattern through engine turning.

Then it's covered in this translucent enamel, kind of the color of tea, I would say.

There's a little bit more guilloché and what we call champlevé enamel around the sides.

But the top is what I want to really look at.

The center is a thin slice of natural agate, which picks up the color also of the guilloché.

And then it's surrounded by a border of what we call plique-à-jour enamel.

And plique-à-jour is a French term, of course, and it translates best as "the light coming through it," rather like a stained-glass window.

This is a beautiful example-- great design, great colors, great condition.

And I asked you earlier, what, what is it?

Not what is it made of, but, but what do you think it is?

Maybe a business card holder?

Well, there is such a thing as a card box or a card case.

Mm-hmm.

Which we wouldn't really expect to look like this at this point.

This, by the way, I would date about 1930, '35.

It has this kind of Art Deco flavor to it.

It's not a card case.

It's a little bit too small and a little bit too delicate to be a cigarette case.

And it's the wrong period and a little too big to be a snuffbox.

So I think it's a compact.

Okay.

There is a little tiny mark on it that says, "Made in Austria," and another little mark that says, "Sterling," which you would expect to see if it were made in Austria and sold in the United States.

Ten dollars is, is a fabulous buy.

And I think today, in a good auction, the bidding would start, or the estimate would start, at $1,000.

Wow.

And go up to maybe $1,500.

Wow.

So, it's, it's a great object and a great find at ten dollars.

Wonderful.

Awesome.

♪ ♪ APPRAISER: It's made out of papier-mâché.

WOMAN: Uh-huh.

It's made to sort of look like a porcelain head.

Yeah.

And they're pretty collectible.

I'd say somebody might pay in the, I don't know, $200, $300, $400 range for something like this.

Uh-huh.

I just love it.

The company that made it is a company called Dominick & Haff.

And the mark is actually on the underside.

It is this little mark here.

Yeah.

With the rectangle, the circle, and the lozenge.

And if you look closely within one of the lozenges, it says "1882."

Oh.

So we know exactly when it was made.

Okay.

It's made of sterling silver.

And what's absolutely fabulous about this is this wonderful, organic, hand-hammered surface that was, really represented the top of the line in their production.

Huh.

It's a really beautiful example.

If I were to see this come up at an auction house for sale, I'd anticipate a value of between around about $4,000 and $5,000.

Great.

Thank you very much.

This was a gift from my aunt for my first Christmas the following summer of 1950.

My mother dressed me up-- I know I wore it more than once-- and actually took a picture of me, in our neighbor's yard, of me wearing the outfit.

And when I outgrew it, she boxed it up, put it away in the cedar chest, and when she cleaned out her cedar chest, I got it, because, obviously, I've not worn it since.

Well, it's in amazing condition.

I love the red Tom Mix boots.

And look at the wonderful label in the vest, which is Westerner, and it's totally complete with its corduroy skirt just trimmed in fringe.

And, of course...

Yes.

The box is just phenomenal, the advertising still in perfect condition.

Western stuff was, for a while, quite collectible in the '70s and '80s and '90s, and it took a dip for a while, but children's Western things are still collectible.

I would give a value of this, at a good retail shop, from $200 to $300 for the complete ensemble, with the box and with the picture.

Wow.

Well, it's worth a lot more to me.

It's just a good memory.

You can't pay for sentimental.

No, not at all.

No.

Everything would be a million dollars if that was the case.

WOMAN: I brought in Magic cards.

My husband played Magic in the '90s.

APPRAISER: Okay.

And at the time, he made a concerted effort to get whole sets.

He played with his friends, and played in tournaments.

Okay.

But then I think he wanted to have a complete set.

Yep.

And so he would buy individual packs at the, at the store.

Mm-hmm.

Until he was able to put together a complete set.

He traded for some of the cards, as well.

Magic: The Gathering was created in 1993 by Richard Garfield in collaboration with Wizards of the Coast.

And it was actually considered the first trading-card game that started the craze.

So, like, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, all those card games came afterwards, after the influence Magic had on the collecting community.

Now, when Magic came out, it was first alpha limited set.

Now, the alpha set consisted of 295 cards, and then there was a second reissue called the beta limited set, and which you have here, all cards for the beta set, which, it was limited to 302 cards.

Now, you've never played Magic or anything like that?

I haven't played-- my husband played.

Okay, so to give you the image, just pretend you're two dueling wizards, and you're going to be summoning some spells, you're going to be put, bringing out some creatures.

And the whole point is each player starts with 20 life points, and the whole goal is me, as a competing wizard, I want to say, "Oh, I want to drain your life points."

So the first person to bring the other opponent to zero wins.

Do you know why we have the binder open to this page with these nine particular cards?

No, I don't.

Okay.

(imitates explosion): That's like mind... (laughs) This is referred to as "the power nine," and the reason why we call it the power nine is, these are literally the most powerful cards in existence in the Magic world.

Now, today, the power nine are not allowed to be played in decks or anything like that.

Really?

Unless it's a vintage tournament.

So all of these cards were printed in 1993 as part of the beta set.

And after that, they went into an unlimited printing.

They just printed and printed and printed.

Oh.

So, by seeing the black border, the rounded corners, and the little white dots in the printing on each edge of the image?

Yeah.

That's how we're able to tell these are printed in 1993, part of the original set.

If you had to guess, what do you think the value on nine cards is?

Couple of hundred dollars.

Couple of hundred dollars.

Now, because they're ungraded-- now, the grade and condition of a card significantly affects the value.

That's why we left it right in the binder, because I don't even want to breathe on them, let alone touch it, because the slightest nick, the slightest crease all affects the value.

Looking at both sides of the cards, judging the wear, I would say they all probably range around an eight out of ten condition.

You might have a 7.5 in there.

But they've all been well taken care of.

For the power nine right here, as they sit, without professional grading, at auction, you'd be looking at $50,000 to $75,000.

(chuckles): Oh, my gosh.

(laughs): Yeah, right?

So out of that $50,000 to $75,000, the black Lotus, which is, like, the crème de la crème-- that's the card everybody wants-- is $15,000 to $20,000 in its current condition.

Okay.

The second card right here, the Mox Emerald, which is one of the five jewel cards that you can see here, is the rarest of them all.

In its current shape, you'd be looking at about $8,000 to $12,000.

Now, that's just this page of nine cards.

(laughs) When it comes to the other cards that you have here... Yeah.

If you look here, this card right there, Volcanic Island, now, that is what we refer to as a dual land or a dual mana card.

The cool part about that card is, it was not included in the alpha set.

Mm-hmm.

It was only issued in the beta set.

So, that's its first issue.

That card alone, at auction in its current shape, would be between $5,000 and $10,000.

Huh.

And the remainder of the binder, for all the pages there-- 'cause they're all beta cards, they're all early 1993 beta cards.

You're looking at an additional $10,000 to $15,000.

(chuckles) So cumulatively, you're looking, at auction, at between $65,000 and $100,000 in trading cards here.

Oh, my gosh.

So, see?

Aren't you happy you didn't lose them in your backpack?

I am happy.

(both laughing) Would you have ever expected your husband's trading cards... No, because they're just, like, they're cards to me.

Yeah, now, this is, like, "Let's send the kids to college" kind of money right here.

That's exactly, the college savings right here.

Yeah, it's literally the best culmination of Magic cards I've ever seen in one setting.

Like, it's absolutely ridiculous.

Oh, wow.

That's why when you came up to us, I was, like... (imitates heart racing): Looking at the...

Looking at the binder, I was, like, "Whew!"

In the marketplace, this is hotter than fire.

The demand for these cards is uncontrollable.

And you would absolutely sell them individually.

Because if I'm at home, and I have five out of the nine cards, I don't need to buy all nine-- that's a ton of money.

I just need that one or two extra card.

Right.

Power nine, baby-- unbelievable.

For me, this is like looking at a painting.

Like, you go to the museum, it's, like, "Oh, a Renoir."

(laughs) PEÑA: You're watching "Antiques Roadshow" PEÑA: And now it's time for the Roadshow Feedback Booth.

I have a locket that was my mother's, and I'm not sure I want to tell the whole world how much it's worth, since I have siblings.

I brought in my 1780 silver breadbasket and found out it's worthless.

So I'm going to take it home and put buns in it.

This is my mother's collection of autographed movie-star photos from the 1940s.

She got them over a period of two years when she had polio.

She was on a back board and had written to the stars to collect the photos.

She's got quite a few.

He told me as a collection, they are worth about $800.

It's a 1963 textile.

I bought a yard of fabric just for fun 'cause I loved the colors and saw it in a magazine.

And as is, it's worth $300 to $500.

And they told me if I had it framed, I could sell it, or it would sell at a gallery for $1,200 to $1,500.

So, I'm happy.

We got it at an antique store for about ten dollars for the mason jar, and it's worth $125 to $150.

(laughs) Crazy.

Thanks, "Antiques Roadshow."

Found out our dollar Tanque Verde swap-meet finds were worth about $30 to $40 apiece.

I brought my great-grandfather's Civil War sword, which I learned is the 1860 model.

Watch out there, buster.

We had a great time.

Thank you, "Antiques Roadshow."

Thank you, PBS.

PEÑA: Thanks for watching.

See you next time on "Antiques Roadshow."