GUEST: Around 25 years ago, I went to a garage sale, and up on the wall there were these three calendars in an old oak frame. And I asked the gentleman, I said, "Are they for sale?" He said, "No, but $50 will take them," so I bought them for $50. Brought them home, and my daughter, a year or so ago, said she'd like to have them.
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.
GUEST: So I went and I had them framed and I went to pick them up, and the framer said, "Somebody came in and said these are worth money. You should have them appraised." And that's why I'm here.
APPRAISER: So where's the third one?
GUEST: Uh, the third one is in my daughter's office in Kentucky.
APPRAISER: Oh, okay.
GUEST: I asked the gentleman, "Is there any history to them?"
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.
GUEST: He said, "Yeah, I just retired from Remington, and these were given to me as a present." And they used to be in their clubhouse at Lordship, where they shot skeet.
APPRAISER: Now, of course Union Metallic was the earlier name of Remington.
GUEST: Yeah, they became Remington...
APPRAISER: Became Remington later in the 20th century. It's a pair of lithograph calendars.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: They're called ammunition or cartridge calendars. It's a whole category of advertising collectibles.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: Now, in the world of advertising collectibles, there's a whole hierarchy. It's like leading up from a country priest to the pope.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER (chuckling): These come from the Vatican.
GUEST (chuckling): No, really?
APPRAISER: The top advertising collectibles are cartridge calendars.
GUEST: Wow.
APPRAISER: Now, the other interesting thing is that these have complete date pads. They both have January dates. And usually, when you find these, you have a December date. All the months have been removed.
GUEST: Yeah. Yeah.
APPRAISER: It's not that it makes a great difference to the value, but it sort of makes it interesting that they weren't sent to a hunting goods store like most of them were.
GUEST: Yeah, yeah, right, yeah.
APPRAISER: And then the owner would rip them off month by month. The condition is excellent; there's the slightest touch of damage, very minor, and it doesn't affect the graphics.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: So I have a feeling that if you could find that guy at the frame store, you should pay him a commission. (both laughing)
GUEST: Matter of fact, he gave me a bargain for framing them.
APPRAISER: Oh, right. Most of the 20th-century cartridge ammo calendars sell in the low thousands.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: These two are exceptional examples, very early, with fantastic graphics and excellent themes. And I estimate them at $8,000 to $10,000 each.
GUEST: Wow, I can't believe that!
APPRAISER: You're looking at $16,000 to $20,000.
GUEST: Yeah, I can't.
APPRAISER: And at a good advertising auction, you might really see them go berserk. I've seen it happen. This is a conservative estimate.
GUEST: I can't believe they're worth so much money.
APPRAISER: Oh, yeah.
GUEST: Can't believe it.
