'Antiques Roadshow' guest struggles to breathe after expert reveals the staggering value of her item
Whether it's a family heirloom preserved and passed down through generations or a forgotten artifact tucked away in an attic or a basement, "Antiques Roadshow" has become a platform for people to learn their financial worth and share their sentimental value. One guest who found an 1844 Bellows Falls hymnal that was hidden in her house got emotional and broke down when an expert revealed its true value.
In the special episode from Utah, expert Ken Sanders closely examined the 1844 Bellows Falls hymnal of the LDS Church, whose believers are known as Mormons. “I really don’t know a lot about it; my father’s dad’s mother was religious, and she evidently had this in her stuff," the owner said, explaining the provenance of the book. "So it’s basically been in the basement amongst her things for quite a while," she added.
She said that her great-grandmother had inherited the inscription from her own father, so she did not know exactly how old it was and where it came from. Sanders then took over to elaborate on the details, claiming that the inscription was “very scarce.” He added that it was one of the earliest hymnals that the church produced. “The very first LDS hymnal was printed in 1835 and it was done by Joseph Smith, the founder and prophet of Mormonism’s wife". The scripture followed the tradition of using musical notation along with the words, the expert said. “It’s also one of the rarest ones, unlike LDS scripture, The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price when those books got used and got a little rundown in condition and falling apart, they were sacred scriptures, no one threw away," he added.
He then explained why finding such a scripture in a basement was so rare. "The hymnals were designed to be used in the pulpits of the churches, and when they got a little ratty and tatty, you threw them away and printed a new one," he said. “So it makes it very uncommon for them to actually still exist a century and a half or so later," the expert added.
Getting down to business, the expert asked the guest if she had any idea about the value of the item she had brought. The guest was quick to share that she had no idea about the price at all before Sanders enlightened her with an unexpected appraisal. “At retail, your hymnal would sell between $40,000 and $50,000," he stated. The guest immediately broke down in tears as she did not expect to hear such a big figure.
Judging by her reaction, it's safe to say that the guest had no idea about the past or future of the item. “What do I do with it? Oh, my word. I had no idea. Who do you hand it down to?” she said.
The expert then went on to share another nugget of information. Sanders said that had she bought the earliest edition of the book, which was printed in 1835, it would have been worth a whopping $100,000.
