1963 Russian Propaganda Poster
GUEST:
Well, it was given to me by my aunt, who was in Russia in the early '60s, I want to say '64, '65. She picked it up and brought it back to the States probably in the late '60s when they were transferred back.
APPRAISER:
The number one question that I am always asked about posters, any poster-- a French poster, a German poster, an American poster-- is how many were printed? And we never actually know. We can surmise a few thousand. We can figure if a few thousand were printed, not all survived. But the Russians always printed on their posters the number of posters that were printed in the run.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
So if we look down on the bottom here, it's really small, this is one of 30,000 posters.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Now, I say it's a good thing because we know how many were printed. It's a bad thing because 30,000 is a lot. And in the market of supply and demand, the more of something there is, the smaller the value is going to be.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
All right, so that's the good and the bad. Now, the image itself is so strong. I mean the face of American democracy, that's sarcastic. You have the Statue of Liberty here with a 5:00 shadow. You have policemen beating up an African-American man. The Statue of Liberty is looking very sad and forlorn at this miscarriage of justice. I mean, it's a tremendous message. You know, back in 1962, this was the year after the Berlin Wall went up, we weren't very friendly with the Russians. I mean, it's a real window...
GUEST:
Very tense time.
APPRAISER:
That's right, it's a real window into that time. Now, value-wise, the value is not that high. The value would be between $300 and $400.
GUEST:
Okay.
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.
