As far as Antiques Roadshow goes, there’s never a dull moment. With experts available to appraise a number of random items, it quickly becomes obvious that there’s a story behind every piece.
But many people who appear on the show are often disappointed when their pieces don’t turn out to be quite as valuable as they initially thought.
However, one man’s visit bucked the trend—to say the very least.
Although he knew that the blanket he brought to the show had an unusual history—it had been gifted to one of his parents by a Wild West icon—there was no way he could possibly know what a big deal it really was.
After informing the man that his blanket was a Navajo First Phase for a chief, appraiser Donald Ellis went on to inform him that, “on a good day”, it was worth up to half a million dollars. As an extremely rare version of early Navajo weaving—and the pristine condition—the blanket is the type of textile that simply isn’t found anymore.
Stunned when he discovers the astronomical worth of his item, the owner of the blanket immediately began crying. He stressed the fact that he had no idea what it was worth and that it had been laying on the back of a chair!
The appraiser then went on to reaffirm its exceptional status as an antique, informing the man that the blanket was a national treasure.
