1921 Steiff Black Bear
Watch
GUEST:
My daughter and I collect bears, and we used to do doll and bear shows quite a bit, and a lady approached me one day and said that she had bought this bear in England, in an antique shop, and that the gentleman who owned the antique shop told her that someone had made him out of an old coat. Some of my peers had sent her to me because I love black bears and they knew that, and she said she wanted it to have a really good home, and so we decided, well, sure, it was great, so we gave her all the money we had in that day and we went home with him. And later we did some research, and I kind of got the idea that he could be a Steiff. In 1912 when the Titanic sunk, Steiff made black bears for England, and they called them a mourning bear.
APPRAISER:
Okay.
GUEST:
So I thought perhaps that's what he was, and I sent some pictures to a teddy bear appraiser, took measurements, and she said she definitely knew he was a Steiff. She was 99% sure.
APPRAISER:
Right, correct. Okay, what you have there, Carol, is a wonderful Steiff bear with shoe-button eyes, mohair, felt pads. I mean quality all the way. I mean, Steiff bears, when you look at them, they have a look. They're well formed, they have a hump in the back, as you see on this guy. Somebody's added the clothes, which are not original. He's straw-stuffed. He's sort of listing a little bit with age. They also, a Steiff characteristic, are the very long arms and the big feet. There's three different sizes, this being the largest size.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
So, you thought it was probably Steiff and he really is Steiff. You said somebody appraised him for you?
GUEST:
Well, she felt that since he was a Steiff from 1912, she said that she felt maybe around between $10,000 and $15,000.
APPRAISER:
$10,000 to $15,000 is a lot of money for a bear, and black is the rarest color Steiff made, and, you know, I think... I don't know, would you sell him for $15,000?
GUEST:
No.
APPRAISER:
Well, I wouldn't sell him for $15,000, either. He's more in the range, I would say, in the $20,000, $25,000 to $30,000 range.
GUEST:
Oh, my God.
APPRAISER:
The last one that was sold at auction, I think it brought $30,000 and it was a little bit smaller, and there's not a lot of them around. I mean, I know of maybe 20 black bears that are known, so you're quite lucky.
GUEST:
Wonderful.
APPRAISER:
What did you pay for him again?
GUEST:
$65.
APPRAISER:
$65, so you did okay.
GUEST:
Oh, my gosh.
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.
