Lucille Ball Backgammon Game & Signed Photo, ca. 1970
GUEST: I purchased it locally here in St. Louis at an estate sale. And when I opened it up, I saw the Lucille Ball autograph and the card and thought it was interesting, and I closed it back up and went to pay for it. And I paid ten dollars for it. And then, as I was leaving, 'cause it was in a stack with games in it, and so I don't think they realized-- the person that was checking me out-- that it was, had Lucy affiliation in it. So we were talking, and we think that... Don't know the time of it, but that it might have been donated for charity for an auction here in St. Louis. That, that's all I know.
APPRAISER: Gotcha. So when you came in today and you first showed us this, um, I, I was taking a look at this, and it's... Immediatel, it's a handbag. It looks like a purse. And the coolest thing about this is that it's more than meets the eye. Obviously, it is not a purse.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: It's backgammon. And it has some pieces and things in there. Um, and the very little you know is that it was probably donated for a charity auction, and that actually does make sense. She was a very generous person. And you have this card here that's typed up and very cursorily just says...
GUEST: "Lucille Ball's Backgammon Game."
APPRAISER: That's it.
GUEST (laughing)
APPRAISER: Yeah. It's a very short and sweet message. Um, and then it obviously came with this signed photograph.
GUEST: Is that an original signature, you think, or...
APPRAISER: This is actually an original autograph on the photograph. So, it's the kind of thing that, when she sent it in for a charity auction, she obviously put that with it.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: I think they probably typed up that little card.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: Most likely, it was one of those kind of silent auctions where they would have something sitting out and people could leave bids, and that's the type of little card they would've typed up for it. We don't know exactly when this happened. My guess is, it would probably be early '80s. We do know that she was fond of playing backgammon. Um, she was part of a Hollywood set that used to get together and play cards. You always hear these stories about Gregory Peck and Lucille Ball and all these people getting together to play cards, which is pretty cool. We're talking about it right now because everybody still loves Lucy.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: I mean, she was the original that so many women who came after her who were comedians, but, beyond that, she, you know, started her own production company.
GUEST: Mm.
APPRAISER: So, it was pretty...
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: ...rare at the time that she owned Desilu and started her own, her own company. So she was really obviously a, a power figure in Hollywood. Um, but you said you paid...
GUEST: Ten dollars for it. (laughs)
APPRAISER: Okay. I think in an auction right now-- we have a lot of comps for other...
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: ...small handbags and personal items of hers-- would be about $1,500 to $2,500 now.
GUEST: Yay! Thank you so much. (laughs)
$1,500 - $2,500 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."
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