Jack Nicholson's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" Hat & Documents

Appraised on: July 9, 2011

Appraised in: Minneapolis, Minnesota

Appraised by: Laura Woolley

Category: Collectibles

Episode Info: Minneapolis, Hour 1 (#1616)

Originally Aired: May 7, 2012

IMAGE: 1 of 4  

Appraisal Video: (1:00)

GUEST: I was always a big fan of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Next, the book and the movie, and I noticed someone was selling the autographed program and I thought, "What a great piece of memorabilia to have." I don't remember what I paid, about $20, $30 for that. She contacted me and asked me a great many questions about how much I loved the movie, what am I going to do with the program. She told me she had the hat, and she wanted it to go to someone who really enjoyed the movie.

APPRAISER: When I first saw this, I thought, "Oh, there's no way." But the background, the real value here, is in this letter. If you didn't have that letter, no one would believe you that it was the hat, because it would be too hard to match up. The closest thing I could find was a jacket from The Shining, which, five or six years ago, sold for $6,500.

GUEST: Wow.

APPRAISER: So if I were to put this into an auction, I would estimate it for no less than $4,000 to $6,000.

GUEST: I didn't expect that. The only thing I would give it up for is a night on the town with Jack Nicholson.

APPRAISER: If he wants it back, he can contact you.

GUEST: Yes.