1976 Frank Sinatra-signed Letter
GUEST: I always read the Chicago Daily News, and my favorite columnist was Mike Royko. Always for the underdog. Frank Sinatra was in Chicago to perform. And, of course, all these little ladies on Michigan Avenue were always getting mugged on State Street. And Mike Royko wrote a column about the fact that Frank Sinatra had half the Chicago police force acting as his bodyguards on this whole floor of a hotel. And so he wrote a kind of a cute, funny column that, uh, you know, where were all the policemen? Well, they were taking care of "Ol' Blue Eyes." Well, Ol' Blue Eyes didn't appreciate the column and fired off this letter to Mike Royko. So Mike published it in the Daily News and said he would sell that letter to the highest bidder. And the money would go to the Salvation Army. So I decided I'd bid on the letter. And I had a $400 Mother's Day check from my big family. And I was sitting there, and I said, "I'll bid $400." Maybe a couple of weeks later, the phone rang, I picked it up. “This is Mike Royko." (chuckling): I just let out a holler! That was the story of how I got the letter.
APPRAISER: Frank was really ticked off about what Mike said. And so he has, he has a few choice words for Mike. He says, firstly, "Let me start this note by saying, I don't know you, and you don't know me." And he goes on to say, basically, "Where are you coming up with this stuff?” "I don't have cronies." You know, "The police force is being generous. That's not my fault. Why don't you take it up with them?" He says, "Quite frankly, I don't understand why people don't spit in your eye three or four times a day."
GUEST: (chuckles)
APPRAISER: This is Frank talking to Mike here.
GUEST: That sounds like Frank.
APPRAISER: You know, he talks about his tough reputation and that "no one else can prove that type of allegation." (chuckling): And then he calls Mike Royko a pimp.
GUEST: That was...that was the blow.
APPRAISER: And, I mean, this is just amazing stuff. Lastly he says, "I will allow you to pull my 'hairpiece'; if it moves, I will give you another $100,000; if it does not, I punch you in the mouth. How about it?"
GUEST: (laughing)
APPRAISER: He signs it "Sinatra," and then copyrights it so if it's ever published, it has to be published in full. Over here we have Royko's columns, and these two are his responses to Sinatra's letter, where he talks about how he plans on auctioning it off, after he found out that people were interested in the letter, and he wanted the money to go to a good cause, the Salvation Army. I conferred with some of my colleagues here, and we all agree that it is the best Sinatra letter we ever read.
GUEST: Doesn't it sound just like him? (laughs)
APPRAISER: Oh, it's him all the way. I would estimate it at auction at, at least $15,000...
GUEST (gasps): Oh! (chuckling) Oh, no!
APPRAISER: And-and I wouldn't be surprised...
GUEST: Oh, no...
APPRAISER: I wouldn't be surprised if this letter sold for more than that, because Sinatra stuff is-is as hot as it can get, and, uh, and it just doesn't get any better than this.
GUEST (groaning, laughing): Oh!
APPRAISER: So with all the provenance and your great story...
GUEST: Oh, my goodness.
APPRAISER: It's just such a great piece. I was so, so happy that you brought it in today.
GUEST: Oh, gee, I'm gonna faint.
APPRAISER: (chuckles)
GUEST: I'm gonna faint. I really...
APPRAISER: Are you all right?
GUEST: Where are my friends?
CREW: We have seats here.
GUEST: Oh, yes, give me a seat! (laughing) Oh, man! Are they kidding me? Did you all hear that?
CREW: Yes! (chuckling)
GUEST: Did you all hear that?!
CREW: Yes!
GUEST: Oh, isn't that... (laughs) He offered me $100 for it! (laughing)
GUEST: You can't have it for $100! Isn't that super? Aw!
CREW: Yeah, that's so super.
GUEST (quietly): I'm gonna give that money to-- if I ever sell it, the money goes to Salvation Army anyway.
CREW: Oh, that would be good.
GUEST: So the more, the merrier. (laughs)
CREW : There you go.
(laughing)
GUEST: Oh, listen, you just made my...
APPRAISER: Oh..
GUEST: Why-- did you hear that, Betty?
GUEST: I know, I heard it, I heard it, I heard it! (both laughing)
$15,000 - $15,000 Auction
$15,000 - $15,000 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.
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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.
