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Close Up | Poet Rainer Maria Rilke's Quote

Close Up | Poet Rainer Maria Rilke's Quote

Owner Interview | Korean Yayoi Stone Dagger, ca. 750 BC

Owner Interview | Korean Yayoi Stone Dagger, ca. 750 BC

Appraisal Collection | All Our Appraisals from Colonial Williamsburg, Hour 3

Appraisal Collection | All Our Appraisals from Colonial Williamsburg, Hour 3

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1885 Chicago Opening Day Baseball Program

Value (2020) | $8,000 Auction – $12,000 Auction
Watch  

GUEST:
This desk belonged to my grandmother. I can remember it when I was a little kid, and I just always admired it. And now it's mine, and I treasure it very much.

APPRAISER:
It's a lovely desk. You brought it here to the ROADSHOW, and did you find anything interesting about it?

GUEST:
Well, actually, I learned that it's not as rare as I had thought.

APPRAISER:
But you found something in the desk.

GUEST:
Yes, I did. When I was cleaning it out to bring it, I found this envelope that contained an old photo of a sports team. It's an old Western Union telegraph envelope, and it says "Chicago Ball Team 1885."

APPRAISER:
And this was your grandfather's handwriting, I assume?

GUEST:
No, it-- actually, it's my great-grandfather. APRAISER: Well, why don't we take a look at what's in the envelope? And we see it's a souvenir. "Dedication of the Chicago Ball Park, Saturday, June 6, 1885." Now, the Chicago Ball Park became known as West Side Park, and that's where the Chicago White Stockings played. Now, the Chicago White Stockings was the name of the team that would later become the Chicago Cubs. They're in the National League.

GUEST:
Oh, my.

APPRAISER:
They actually start in 1876. So here we are, 1885, this is ten years later, and they needed a new park. And this is the dedication souvenir program from that day. They played the St. Louis Maroons, and they ended up winning the game. Let's open up the program and see what's inside, shall we?

GUEST:
Okay.

APPRAISER:
Here we have an actual image of the West Side Park, and on the bottom, we have a team photograph. They were captained by a gentleman named Cap Anson. He was probably the 19th century's greatest hitter.

GUEST:
Oh, my.

APPRAISER:
Also on the team was Mike "King" Kelly.

GUEST:
Wow.

APPRAISER:
One of the greatest catchers of his day, and famous, they made a song, "Slide, Kelly, Slide."

GUEST:
Uh-huh.

APPRAISER:
And then even more interesting here is a young man named William Sunday, Billy Sunday. He would go on to become one of the most influential evangelists in the United States.

GUEST:
(chuckles)

APPRAISER:
Now we can turn it around. We see here... It gives the names. Billy Sunday is underlined...

GUEST:
Yeah, I don't know why.

APPRAISER:
...because he went on to become famous. Now, 19th-century baseball collectibles are amongst the rarest and most desirable of all sports memorabilia. That you got going for you here.

GUEST:
(chuckles)

APPRAISER:
Then you have the Chicago Cubs, one of the most collected teams. And the condition's amazing. As far as value goes...

GUEST:
Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER:
I'm curious, what did this desk come in at? What was the price?

GUEST:
This was $2,500. APPRIASER: $2,500, which is...

GUEST:
Yeah. APPRIASER: Yeah, that's not bad, it's beautiful.

GUEST:
Yeah.

APPRAISER:
It's beautiful.

GUEST:
Yes.

APPRAISER:
But you could probably buy about four of these desks.

GUEST:
(laughing)

APPRAISER:
Because I would, I would estimate that between $8,000 and $12,000 at auction.

GUEST:
Oh, my God, that was just... I had-- I just happened to bring it by chance.

APPRAISER:
It's a remarkable, remarkable piece.

GUEST:
I'm shocked. I'm really shocked.

Support provided by: Learn more

Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Simeon Lipman
Collectibles, Sports Memorabilia
Update (2020)
$8,000 Auction – $12,000 Auction
Appraised value (2007)
$8,000 Auction – $12,000 Auction
Featured In
Baltimore, Hour 1 (#1201)
Vintage Baltimore 2021, Hour 1 (#2502)
Event
Baltimore, MD (June 16, 2007)
Category
Sports Memorabilia
Period
19th Century
Form
Baseball , Baseball Card
Material
Paper

Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.

Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."

Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.

Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.

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