'Antiques Roadshow' guest says 'I gotta lock it up' after hearing the value of his family heirloom
"Antiques Roadshow" guests are usually elated after getting an appraisal that's a lot higher than their expectations. But one of them decided that he would have to lock up his great-grandfather's historic climbing axe after getting a stunning valuation for it. The owner's great-grandfather was Harry Karstens, who was the guide and climbing leader of the first complete ascent of Denali. He was told by the show's expert, Meredith Meuwly, that the insurance estimate for the axe was $20,000, which prompted the guest to say, "That's a little bit too much."
The guest shared the incredible story of his great-grandfather's ascent with the historic climbing axe. He said, "My great-grandfather is Harry Karstens. He climbed Denali in 1913." The expert noted that Karstens was the climbing leader of the expedition, and the guest added that it was four people who were partners. They were Stuck, Karstens, Robert Tatum, and Walter Harper.
The guest shared that the axe was made by a local blacksmith who used old wood-chopping axes to create the tools. He added that there were four such axes made, and Stuck, Tatum, and Harper lost their axes during the climb, and Karstens' was the only one that survived. "This is an amazing object. In 1913, the name of the mountain was Mount McKinley at the time," Meuly interjected. The guest explained that he and some fellow climbers spoke to CoGNA, the naming authority of the country, and with the support of the local community, they managed to get the name changed to Denali, a Native name for the mountain. He further added that it was the highest mountain in North America, standing at 20,310 feet.
The appraiser then took over to talk about the value of the climbing axe. "Mountaineering is a wonderful niche category of highly specialized collectors that love this stuff. The enthusiast. The problem is that we don't see a lot of materials," Meuwly explained. She added that most such items stay in the family and are often traded privately, making them rare in the market. "There were only four that ascended the mountain. Three of them are gone, so this is the only one. And it's a milestone event," she further noted. Asserting that 'provenance is key,' Meuwly went on to say, "So, at retail, for insurance purposes, $20,000." The number shocked the guest as he chuckled, "Oh, no, that's a little bit too much." He went on to add, "Now I've got to lock it up."
Watch the video here.
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