1935 Gum Inc. Mickey Mouse Cards
GUEST: These were my great-grandmother's. We found them in a tote of her dolls. They are just Walt Disney bubble gum cards.
APPRAISER: Okay, and when did you discover your grandmother's cards?
Last night, we were looking through her totes of dolls, and we found these at the bottom.
APPRAISER: Okay, so you literally discovered these, like, the night before coming...
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: ...to ANTIQUES ROADSHOW?
GUEST: Right before we came.
APPRAISER: Wow, okay, so you are correct. They are Walt Disney gum trading cards. But specifically, the series is actually Mickey Mouse. Now, they were released in 1935. They were manufactured by Gum Inc., Gum Incorporated, which was one of the biggest manufacturers of non-sport trading cards at the time. Now, later on, Gum Incorporated ended up being renamed the Bowman Company, which went on to make baseball, football... I mean, a powerhouse of printing cards. When it comes to the Mickey Mouse card set, there are 96 cards within the complete set.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: You have 36 cards here today. Any idea why we have these two cards on the board today?
GUEST: That one looks real bright. There's two of the number ones, and that one's a much brighter than that one. They look like they're in good condition.
APPRAISER: Okay, so, great observation. They are in good condition. But I'm going to drop a little factoid of knowledge on you. So when you look at the bottom margin of the cards...
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: ...you're going to see how this one says "This picture answers question on other side."
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: Whereas that card over there says, "Here's the answer to question on card no. 2." So that's because of the 96 cards released in this set, the first 24 had two printing variations. The first printing variation, which is the rarer of the two, is this example right here. So out of the first 24 cards, you always want to find a card with that slogan. Now, you did say condition. In the grand scheme of card condition, these are very, very poor, like, in bad shape. But if you were a paper trading card from 1935, you'd be in wicked bad shape, too.
GUEST: (laughing)
APPRAISER: Now, we don't have a complete set. You have some duplicates of cards that you have here today.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: Conservatively, at auction, we would say the group would be worth about $2,000 to $3,000.
GUEST: (laughing): Oh, wow! That was not expected!
APPRAISER: Awesome! Yes! That's crazy.
GUEST: I wouldn't have ex... That's astonishing.
APPRAISER: She left you a nice little present in a box of dolls.
GUEST: Thank you!
$2,000 - $3,000 Auction
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Understanding Our Appraisals
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.
