The worth of a “random item” that an Antiques Roadshow vendor had on one of his chairs was disclosed, leaving him overcome with emotion.
An old guy named Ted appeared on a 23-year-old PBS TV broadcast when he went to have a blanket that had been passed down through his family’s generations valued.
The man said that well-known American frontiersman, fur trapper, wilderness guide, and Indian agent Kit Carson gave it to his grandmother’s foster father back in the 1800s.
He is not the first person to purchase an item without knowing its history; others have had their life transformed by the worth of little objects they saw on the show, valued at six figures.
If Ted was to be believed, appraiser Donald Ellis extolled the virtues of the mid-19th century Ute First Phase Blanket, citing its rich history and significance.
Initially discovered “on the back” of one of the man’s chairs, Donald acknowledged that upon first viewing the Navajo blanket, he’stopped breathing a little bit’.
The appraiser further explained: “It’s not just a chief’s blanket, it’s the first type of chief’s blanket made. These were made in about 1840 to 1860, and it’s called a Ute, first phase.”
“A Ute, first phase, wearing blanket. But it’s Navajo-made, they were made for Ute chiefs, and they were very, very valuable at the time. This is sort of, this is Navajo weaving in its purest form.”
Donald remarked on how silky it is, drawing comparisons to silk, and revealed that it is composed of hand-woven wool.
When Ellis questioned Ted about his wealth, he answered flatly, “No.”
He then dropped the bomb on the guest, revealing: “Well, sir, um… I’m still a little nervous here, I have to tell you. On a really bad day, this textile would be worth $350,000 (£261,000). On a good day, it’s about a half a million dollars (£373,900).”
Ted’s mouth fell open in complete shock; Ellis referred to the discovery as a “national treasure.”
Ted said: “I had no idea. It was laying on the back of a chair.”
When Ted brought it in, the appraiser confessed that he “just about died,” and he began to cry.
After accounting for inflation, the find would be worth a cool $1,500,000 (£1,121,800) to $2,000,000 (£1,495,800) in modern currency.
Donald, who was obviously upset, gave the visitor some time to take in the news before explaining more about the blanket and the possibility that its value could potentially be increased.
Donald went on to say that because it can be challenging to determine provenance, the Kit Carson value was not taken into account.
“If we could do research on this and we could prove with a, without a reasonable doubt that Kit Carson did actually own this, um, the value would increase again – maybe 20 percent,” he confessed.
Ted emotionally responded: “Wow. I can’t believe it. My grandmother (and grandfather), you know, were poor farmers. She had, her foster father had started some gold mills and, you know, discovered gold and everything, but there was no wealth. No wealth in the family at all. Whoa… I can’t believe…”
Sincerely, it would be worthwhile to inquire with your relatives about some of the antique items that are laying about the house.
The strangest items that have appeared on Antiques Roadshow
A few things on the show have been quite strange.
Human hair from famous poets
Have you ever fantasized about having Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth’s hair?
You will have to pay for it, though, since this object was worth upwards of £40,000 when it was brought into Antiques Roadshow last year.
According to expert Justin Croft, one of the clippings was taken on a person’s deathbed and was a family relic.
Whoa.
Nightmare fuel Teletubbies concept art
As it happens, Tinky-Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa, and Po had somewhat ominous initial appearances.
Jonathan Hills created the concept art for the upcoming children’s TV icons. Sadly, he passed away in 2020. His wife appeared on the show in 2022 with some of his original sketches.
Although expert Mark Hill acknowledged that some of the drawings were “creepy,” he valued the collection of 80 drawings at up to £80,000 and the individual pieces at between £500 and £2,000.
A bottle of pee
Who could forget the incident from 2016 when time expert Andy McConnell unintentionally drank urine?
A man named John discovered the bottle in his garden, and McConnell conducted the tasting test to determine its contents, concluding that it contained port.
2019 saw Fiona Bruce tell McConnell, “Inside were these brass pins, all of these dating from the late 1840s, and the liquid – urine, a tiny bit of alcohol and one human hair.”
It was discovered to be a “witches bottle,” which was buried on a home’s threshold to ward off bad luck and curses.
