'Antiques Roadshow' guest stunned expert with Johnny Cash's mouth organ — and a bizarre request

BBC's "Antiques Roadshow" consistently manages to capture moments when shocked guests break down and even lose their balance at times, after learning the true value of their artifacts. However, not all guests are that clueless about the items in their possession and how precious they could be. One of them was a die-hard fan of the American singer-songwriter, Johny Cash who brought a mouth organ (harmonica) that the legendary artist once used in a concert. The elderly fan was confident that the item was priceless and nothing could convince him to sell it.

Hands Off The Merchandise

When the "Antiques Roadshow" team was in Glasgow, they saw the mouth organ once owned by legendary singer Johnny Cash. Speaking to cameras the guest revealed that he had been offered a lot of money for the item before, but he won't take it. When expert Lisa Lloyd asked about the origin of the mouth organ, the guest said, “I’m a big Johnny Cash fan and in 1984 I went to the Apollo Theatre in Glasgow. I was standing right in the front row and he called me out and he handed me down his mouth organ". 

Lloyd was quite amazed as she claimed that the artist was not known for giving away mouth organs. She then went on to explain how significant the item was. She shared that back in the 50s and 60s, Cash had several hit singles across genres like rock and roll, country, and more.

She then said that the guest had a "cast-iron provenance" that was used by the artist at a concert. While she noted that the story behind it was amazing, the memorabilia was lacking an important element.

“It’s a shame it’s not signed, obviously, as that would have been the icing on the cake. And there are an awful lot of obsessive Johnny Cash fans around.” When the expert reached out to take a closer look, the guest told her that he wouldn't let anyone touch it. "Nobody has ever touched it!” the guest said.

“I won’t touch it. I saw you unfolded it from paper that you’d had it wrapped in," the expert replied. The guest then joked that it was the "toilet paper" from 1984 in which the organ was wrapped. 

Coming to the value of the item, the expert said that many die-hard Johny Cash fans, like the guest, would love to make a bid for the item. Thus, at an auction, the item could fetch upwards of  £1,000 (~$1,266), perhaps £2,000 (~$2,533), or maybe more. When the expert asked the guest if he was willing to sell the item, the answer was a resounding "no". “No, I’ll never sell it, no,” the guest replied. He further shared that he wanted to hold on to it for life saying, “That will go for the long sleep with me.”

“Well, that’s a true fan there, obviously," the expert remarked. Lloyd then thanked the guest for bringing the item along saying that she was delighted to see the unique item.