ANNOUNCER: Welcome to the Antiques Roadshow. This week, we’ve hit the road and ended up in (name of your town) where antiquing fever is at epidemic proportions. Let’s take a look.
APPRAISER:
Well, this is a very interesting piece. Tell us about the history behind it.
PERSON:
I went to a rummage sale in (name of nearby town), and I came across a box that
had various items in it and they were all priced at $1.00. I’m always looking
for a bargain, and Mabel, who was with me, said that she had a couple of
dollars, and so I said, well, we can get some bargains for $2.00. And, you know
how it is. Sometimes you find some really great things. Like this one time, I
found a Liza Minelli figurine made by
APPRAISER:
(yells) Ma’am! (quieter voice) Could we talk about this particular piece?
PERSON:
Oh, yes, sorry. So I looked in the box and found not one, not two, but four of
these glasses. They looked very rare, so I just had to have them.
APPRAISER:
Let me share a little information about them. These glasses are part of a set of
five glasses that were sold by the restaurant chain McDonald’s in the late
1970’s. On the bottom, you can see they were hand-blown and signed by the
artist. They are all in impeccable shape, and it is really great to see
specimens like this. It is a rare occasion to see these.
PERSON:
Oh, my goodness. I told Mabel that I should have brought these to the Antiques
Roadshow. She said there was no need to bother, but I…
APPRAISER:
Yes, thank you, that will be quite enough. At an auction at Sotheby’s last
month, the full set of five glasses sold for roughly $15,000. They are very much
in demand.
PERSON:
Oh my goodness. I cannot believe my luck. I know that Ralph and I could really
use that money. Why, we were just saying the other day that…
APPRAISER:
But, because there are only four here, and collectors desire to have a complete
set, you will probably only get $3 to $4 a piece for them.
PERSON:
But what happened to the $15,000. Let’s go back to the time when they were
worth $15,000.
APPRAISER:
Sorry, but that window was never open. Every single piece is important to the
collector. Without a complete set, these are worthless.
PERSON:
But I have four out of five. That’s very good. Winning four out of five games
in the World Series would make you a champion. I can’t believe…
APPRAISER:
If you were leaving a park with only four out of your five children, would that
be good enough?
PERSON:
Well, sure, if I could still get $15,000 for bringing four out of five of them
home.
APPRAISER: Gentlemen, would you show this lady to the door? (TWO BIG GUYS DRAG HER OFF) Join us next time for the Antiques Roadshow.
By
Lloyd Evans
© 2000 Lloyd Evans