Imagine being an elderly person having something old and special at home, and deciding to put it up at an auction.
Now, add to the image the amounts of money you originally spent for it as opposed to what it’s worth today- the item is now worth 50 times the original price.
This is exactly what happened at Antiques Roadshow, when an elderly woman couldn’t believe it when the appraiser told her the Sinatra-signed letter she had in her possession, which she had gotten at the time for $400 is now worth a great deal more than that!
Mrs. Carlson had always read “Chicago Daily News”, and Mike Royko, who wrote a column in the newspaper was her absolute favorite.
So, when back in 1976 Royko had a fight that took the form of letters and newspaper columns, she was one of the first people who found it out.
It seems that Royko wrote that Sinatra was using the local police as his security guards, leaving the locals helpless.
Sinatra, who took the journalist’s article quite seriously, sent Royko a signed letter in which he wrote many things that are interesting to read.
At the time, Royko shared Sinatra’s letter in the newspaper, and he wrote he was willing to sell it to whoever would give the highest amount of money.
The lucky woman who eventually got it was Mrs. Carlson, who at the time operated a museum in Illinois.
The letter was sold for $400, and Mrs. Carlson explained that she could only afford it because her children knew she wanted it so much and had given raised money to give her for Mother’s Day that year.
As Carlson had told Royko, she would show the letter to people around her first, and then she intended to put it in the museum and show it to the public reminding them that at the time the country had reached a period that they had “low priorities on heroes”.
Almost fifty years later, Carlson took the Sinatra-signed letter to the Antiques Roadshow hoping that it could be sold for more than the original price she had paid.
And, although she was a little disappointed when someone offered $100 before the appraiser talked about her item, things changed when she was given an idea of how much the letter is worth today.
“it’s still a famous letter, and people remember it today. And as such, I would estimate it at auction at at least $15,000…” the appraiser said.
The woman was shocked.
After that, she was offered a seat because she was literally going to faint. Needless to say, she was over the moon!
While Antiques Roadshow has featured many segments with people finding out their items were worth much bigger fortunes, it’s Mrs. Carlson’s reaction that’s won the internet’s heart.
One viewer commented:
“I feel that this young lady is an absolute blast to hang out with. Best reaction I have ever seen on this show.”
Another wrote:
“This may have been my favorite ARS segment ever. From the content of the letter to the lady’s reaction, pure gold.”
The original segment occurred in 2009, and the value has since increased to $20,000, according to Antiques Roadshow. Not too shabby, right?
Watch the video below to get a closer look at the letter and to see the woman’s priceless reaction!
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