'Antiques Roadshow' guest left in disbelief after hearing the real value of his Larry Bird-signed shoes
Sometimes the most valuable artifacts are found in the most unusual ways. This was true for the "Antiques Roadshow" guest whose mom took a pair of sneakers that basketball legend Larry Bird was about to throw away. Thinking that they would be valuable someday, the autographed sneakers were passed on to the guest, who was shocked by the show's expert, Jasmani Francis, who believed them to be worth up to $30,000.
In the episode, the guest shared the incredible provenance of the sneakers and how his mother bagged them at the right place and at the right time. "My mom was watching the ISU basketball team practice when Larry Bird busted the tongue out of one of these sneakers. And he was getting ready to throw them away, and my mom kind of asked, 'I’ll go ahead and take those if that’s okay with you.' And he said, 'Sure. I’ll go ahead and sign them. They might be worth something, someday,'" the guest recalled.
Francis noted that he absolutely loved the story. "The ever-athletic Larry Bird. And I’m not being facetious. Larry Bird is a great basketball player," he said, before digging into the details of the sneakers. He explained that the pair of Adidas sneakers was worn by the sporting legend when he was at Indiana State University. He then confirmed that they dated back to the 70s, and they had dulled a bit over the years.
"The issue a lot of people have with greatly worn-out, you know, memorabilia, whether shoes or jerseys or whatever it might be, is that they think it depreciates the value, that it is not as desired. Not so. Especially with shoes. You want them to show the kind of wear that you got here on this. You’ve got toning. You’ve got all kinds of scuffing. He was wearing these," he went on to tell the guest.
Before sharing an estimate, Francis asked the guest if he had gotten the shoes appraised before. When the guest confirmed that they had never been evaluated before, the expert went on to note more details. "We often see in the market, you know, pro-worn shoes. So, even Larry Bird’s game-worn shoes, playoff-worn shoes, you name it, they’re out there," he explained. However, he noted that shoes from the player's college, in this case, Indiana State University, were pretty rare. "So, when you brought these over, I lit up a bit. As far as value, what I can tell you, the market right now for sneakers is hot," he added.
Noting that such items were highly sought after by collectors, Francis went on to say, "So, what we’re looking at here value-wise at auction is between $20-$30,000." The guest was taken aback by the number as he said, "Wow! That’s incredible. I would never have guessed that."
In the end, the appraiser congratulated the guest, saying that the sneakers were better off at his home than in the garbage. "Well, proud of her [his mother]," the guest said.
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