A woman was stunned to learn that her great-grandmother’s hymn book was worth far more than she ever imagined.
She said the decades-old book had been gathering dust in the basement and she didn’t know much about it.
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According to an episode of the Antique Roadshow, the book was a collection of sacred hymns for the Latter-day Saints.
On the inside of the envelope, the antiques expert pointed out that her great-grandmother had included a dedication.
“Just found it in my father’s things when he died. The book is 104 years old,” it said next to something that looked like her name.
The expert told the woman that the book was “the so-called Bellows Falls Hymnal of the LDS Church.”
Your copy of the book was written in 1844, and the earliest version was written in 1835 by Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism.
He explained that their earlier version of the book used musical notation in addition to words.
The expert also explained that the book is particularly rare because in the past, hymn books were used in churches until they became “a bit shabby and shabby,” then they were thrown away and new ones printed.
“So it’s very unusual that it actually still exists a century and a half later. So it’s a very early and rare specimen,” he said.
When the expert told her that her hymnal would sell for $40,000 to $50,000, the woman was completely shocked.
Her mouth was open, she took a deep breath and looked close to tears.
While she continued to say, “Oh my God,” she asked the expert, “What do I do with this?”
He told her to keep it safe and suggested depositing it in a bank safe deposit box.
AN EXPENSIVE GIFT
A real estate agent brought a vase that he had been given as a gift to be inspected by experts.
The man had kept the blue and white striped vase, which was designed in the 1950s by Fulvio Bianconi, an Italian artist and designer with 30 years of experience.
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“It was actually a gift from my daughter’s father, my first sale,” he said, adding that the woman’s father gave him the piece.
“I sold her a condo for $48,000… it was a tough sell,” he added.
An expert examined the vase and appreciated its colors and the unique workmanship modeled on the female form.
“We can’t find anything like this anywhere,” she said.
She told the man that “something like that” could sell for over $65,000, which shocked him.
His jaw dropped and he started laughing in shock.
“$65,000?” he asked. “Wow.”
The expert explained that “people who collect contemporary art today pay attention to the (type of) glass,” which explains its high value.
“The market has seen tremendous jumps… things that once sold for a few thousand dollars now fetch tens of thousands of dollars,” she added.
She even said a similar vase was recently sold for “a quarter of a million dollars.”
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