'Antiques Roadshow' audience gasps after expert revealed the value of guest's 125-year-old cigarette box
The item was gifted to the guest's grandfather by the Tsar of Russia towards the end of the empire.
July 26 2025, Published 12:46 p.m. ET
Cigarette boxes may not come to mind when people mention valuable vintage items, but on "Antiques Roadshow," almost anything could turn out to be a treasure. Once, a guest brought a unique cigarette box that was more than a century old to the show. It was of Russian origin, and when its value was revealed, the guest and everyone gathered around let out a collective gasp.
The guest was told by her family that the box was given to her grandfather by Tsar Nicholas II, the last emperor of Russia. Her grandfather was a metallurgist and was asked by the Tsar’s authorities to fix some of their guns that were not firing well. This was right before the Russian Revolution, which saw the end of the monarchy in the country. But it was not gifted directly by the Tsar.
The box had a gold Ruble coin in the center. Surrounding it was a blue enamel design covered by a smooth transparent layer of protection. The box also had tiny diamonds in a small lip-like design and an original cigarette inside. Everything about the box was perfect, barring one sign of chipping at one of the edges. The guest claimed responsibility for the damage as she had forcibly shoved it inside a small safe at one point.
However, that did not mean that the box wasn’t valuable. As the expert opened it up and looked inside, he found a familiar stamp. The company that made this box was Faberge, and the guys over at “Antiques Roadshow” absolutely loved such items. The guest said that she last got it appraised more than three decades ago, and it was valued at £900 ($1,218) back then.
The box had not sustained the damage yet at the time, and had four original cigarettes inside. That kind of money, back then, was a big deal, so it is no surprise that it was valued at a massive amount this time around. While the slight damage on the box did not look very good, the expert said that the guest had nothing to worry about, thanks to the evolution of craftsmanship in the modern world.
“So, there is a little bit of a defect in one corner, but not absolutely terrifying because I think these days, with the sophistication of craftsmen and workshops, you could get that repaired and it should be repaired,” he explained. When it was time to place a value on it, the expert revealed that the box, in today’s market, would be worth £6,000 to £8,000 ($8,128 to $10,837).
“No! I’m amazed,” the guest said as the people who had gathered to see the appraisal gasped at the valuation. The item was supposedly well over a century old and looked fantastic for its age.
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