I love it when I read stories like this and watch videos that share these amazing stories. The Antiques Roadshow is an award-winning show on PBS that offers a little bit of adventure, intrigue, mystery, and history in each segment. This show has also unearthed many incredible finds and has changed the fortunes of many who share their treasures with the world.
It’s amazing how something that looks simple and ordinary can be worth so much, but that’s the wonder of the Antiques Roadshow – the appraisers here help to identify what is valuable and also reveal the background history of the item brought in.
In this video, we see an elderly gentleman bring in an old but very ordinary blanket, with simple stripes. However, when the appraiser saw it for the first time, his eyes lit up like the fourth of July because he realized the true value of this old and ordinary blanket.
The owner did not have a lot of information but revealed that it had been gifted to his grandma’s foster father by Kit Carson, the Wild West legend who lived in the 19th century. He thought it might have been Navajo, but that’s all he knew. This juicy tidbit of information was worth a certain amount – if it could be verified.
That’s when the appraiser – Donald Ellis dropped the bomb. He said that due to the great condition, it was worth between $350,000 – half a million. He stated that the blanket was a Navajo Ute First Phase Chief’s blanket and was ‘Navajo weaving in its purest form.’ I loved the man’s honest reaction to this staggering amount. His eyes filled with tears because this amount came just when he needed it, coming from a family that never knew wealth.
What an eye-opener, and what a story! I loved the video and the story. Good things happen to good people. Does this tempt you to double-check that old blanket lying in the closet? Or that vase in the attic? Well, hunt for your treasures – you never know when your fortunes may take a turn for the better.
