1966 "Hogan's Heroes" Lunch Box
APPRAISER:
So you brought us a lunch pail today-- a lunch box. It's yours?
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
Where'd you get it from?
GUEST:
I got it from my dad. My grandma bought it for him when he was real little and he'd take it to school every day.
APPRAISER:
You know, when they ask people in my business, "What are some funny things people collect?", we search around, we say, "Would you believe lunch boxes?" And until a few years ago, you couldn't have said that because there was really no interest in lunch boxes. And then all of a sudden, a whole trend started and a whole new thing of collecting, and people started running around to the thrift shops and buying up lunch boxes for a quarter, and it turned out there was a whole subculture of lunch boxes that people had all these memories about when they were kids. There were Beatles and Disney and Scooby Doo lunch boxes. Do you ever watch the old reruns of Hogan's Heroes? You like the show? Yeah, it's a funny show. This particular box is from 1966, made by Aladdin. And what was inside the lunch box was the thermos. The thermos still exists somewhere?
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
Well, that's an important component of any lunch box collectible. People want the box itself, which has all the characters on it, and they want the thermos because the thermos is decorated.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
It has some of the characters running around the side of it. I'm sure you're interested to find out what this is worth. And when I first saw this, I didn't know you had the thermos, but I still thought it was a very interesting piece. This box is worth, like, $400. That's without the thermos.
GUEST:
Whoa!
APPRAISER:
It's hard to believe, eh?
GUEST:
Yeah, a lunch pail that cost about five dollars regularly.
APPRAISER:
Oh, I think this would have sold... it's 1966, I think it would have sold for, like, $2.98. So you did better than buying IBM.
GUEST:
(laughs) I never knew it'd be worth that much.
APPRAISER:
Oh, yeah, this is in excellent condition.
Appraisal Details
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.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.
