Signed Muhammad Ali Robe
APPRAISER:
Mel Gray, one of my favorite NFL players ever. Four-time Pro Bowler, right?
GUEST:
Oh, yeah.
APPRAISER:
Seven-time All Pro. What do you got for me?
GUEST:
Well, I have an Ali robe, and I noticed he signed it twice. I got it at an NFL fundraiser. I think it was right around 2000, 2001.
APPRAISER:
Okay. He signed Muhammad Ali A.K.A. Cassius Clay. This is probably around that era, a late '90s, 2000s autograph from Muhammad Ali, which is when he would do this. He would recognize former and present.
APPRAISER:
He took, it looks like a black ballpoint pen. A little faded — and what'd you pay for it?
GUEST:
I paid $2,500. There was a gentleman in the room who bid at $2,000. So I, I went up to $2,500, there was no more bids, and I took it from that point.
APPRAISER:
(laughs) So admittedly you, you pushed.
GUEST:
I pushed it, yeah.
APPRAISER:
You went a little high.
GUEST:
Oh, yeah.
APPRAISER:
So I don't mind telling you that you overpaid slightly. Now, with his recent passing, we will see, I think an increase in the values, and that will shoot up. Today, at auction, it's valued at about $1,500 to $2,000. So you're right there, right around what you paid for it. But as you acknowledge, you, you pushed a little bit.
GUEST:
Certainly-- that's okay. I would have paid $10,000 to get anything that he signed. I'm a big fan of his, have been since I was a little boy, and I was not going to leave that room without that robe. So I'm happy to have it, regardless of whether I overpaid or not. It was a, it's a pleasure to have it.
APPRAISER:
It was your touchdown.
GUEST:
Oh, definitely, big score.
APPRAISER:
There you go.
GUEST:
It was a return score.
APPRAISER:
There you go. (chuckles)
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."
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