Steelcraft Pedal Airplane, "Spirit of America", ca. 1927

Appraised on: July 28, 2007

Appraised in: Louisville, Kentucky

Appraised by: Noel Barrett

Category: Toys & Games

Episode Info: Louisville, Hour 1 (#1213)

Originally Aired: April 21, 2008

IMAGE: 1 of 2  

Appraisal Video: (1:48)

GUEST: My mother and daddy must have given it to me for Christmas when I was a little girl.

APPRAISER: So you're the original owner.

GUEST: I'm the original owner.

APPRAISER: And that's you there, right?

GUEST: That's me.

APPRAISER: From the looks of that picture, it looks like you had some time behind the steering wheel of this.

GUEST: Played with it a lot.

APPRAISER: It was given to you... Do you remember what year?

GUEST: No, not really.

APPRAISER: Well, you've certainly taken good care of it. Now, who's the other girl in the picture?

GUEST: That's my sister.

APPRAISER: And so, you got the plane, and she got the car.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: Well, you're the lucky one.

GUEST: Uh-huh, I thought so.

APPRAISER: This is a wonderful airplane. It was made by Steelcraft.

GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: You can see the decal in the seat.

GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: And it looks like it had some use, but it's an amazing survivor. Well, let me tell you. I think this is a marvelous plane. I want to show a little detail here. The realism of it is wonderful. This is a radial seven-cylinder engine, just like the ones of that era.

GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: I think it's kind of neat, too, that they... they call it the "Spirit of America."

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: Which, of course, related to Lindbergh flying across the ocean in 1927.
After he flew his plane, they called anything "the Spirit."

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: That's just a sales gimmick to sort of cash in on the Lindbergh phenomenon. Now, you did some research on this, didn't you?

GUEST: Just saw it in an antique book, is all, and then I...

APPRAISER: Uh-huh. What did they say it was worth?

GUEST: Uh, about $2,700 in 1991.

APPRAISER: $2,700 in '91. Probably... about right. So, I think, at auction in today's market, this would easily bring $7,000 to $8,000.

GUEST: Good.

APPRAISER: Your sister's car, which she still has-- probably only worth about $4,000.

GUEST: Really?