RECUT: Desert Botanical Garden, Part 1

♪ ♪ CORAL PEÑA: "Antiques Roadshow Recut" is discovering the treasures of the Sonoran Desert and beyond at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona.

This is hotter than fire.

The demand for these cards is uncontrollable.

(laughing): Are you kidding me?

♪ ♪ PEÑA: "Roadshow" admires treasures of all kinds, and the Desert Botanical Garden is a natural gem.

It began back in the late 1930s with a kernel of an idea: create a place dedicated to the conservation of the vital and fascinating plants of the Sonoran Desert.

Over many decades, staff and volunteers grew the garden to what it is today-- home to more than 50,000 plants from arid regions all over the world.

The Desert Botanical Garden is always an oasis full of natural treasures.

But right now, folks attending Antiques Roadshow are bringing treasures of a different kind.

Let's see what's coming in.

♪ ♪ APPRAISER: This is awesome.

WOMAN: Thank you.

What is it?

It's a hat.

You wear it on the back of your head.

Like that?

I think.

It looks great.

And you have little cat ears.

MAN: If you ring it once, it says, "Give more air."

If you do it twice, it says, "Slack off lifeline."

If, if you do it three times, it says, "Help me out immediately," meaning that there's a shark in the water or something.

(horn blowing) (chuckling): It works.

MAN: I bought these in approximately 1971 from a company out of Houston, Texas, that was authorized to sell these on behalf of NASA.

They were supposedly pictures that were taken from some of the original negatives.

I bought the complete set of ten for eight dollars.

Then, a few years later, I got to be friends with a fellow named Dan Cohen.

Dan was also a good friend of Neil Armstrong.

So one day, Dan, who had seen my pictures, called me and said, "Hey, come on up, and you can meet Neil."

So I got to go up and had the good fortune to meet Neil Armstrong.

We spent about 30 to 45 minutes just talking.

And at the end of that, I said, "Mr. Armstrong, if you don't mind, I have some pictures I'd like for you to sign."

And he said, "Well, sure."

And so I pulled these out, and he kind of looked at it, and he said, "Is it okay if I just dedicate the set?"

And I said, "Well, I have four children, "so I would really appreciate it if you could sign each one."

Now, he doesn't like to sign autographs.

And so my friend said, "Oh, Neil, go ahead and sign them."

So he said, "Okay, I'll sign them."

So he signed all ten of them for me, so... That's great.

And these are crystal-clear, great, strong autographs.

And what I love about it is, it's one of the most iconic scenes in American history and world history.

Yeah.

And you have Neil Armstrong landing on the moon.

This shot here, that's one of his first steps out onto the moon.

Yeah.

This, I believe they left this on the moon.

That was the plaque...

Correct.

...that's still there now.

Yeah, it is.

So it, it's a wonderful collection.

We do see Neil Armstrong photos.

It's not like he never signed-- he did.

But the most desirable photos for collectors are the ones that are signed of the moon shots.

That's where the true monetary value comes.

As far as personal value, this is a cherished keepsake for you, and you're going to pass it down to the family.

Right.

In terms of value, first of all, I would keep it as a set.

Okay.

You wouldn't want to break these up.

Um, I think it's worth far more as a collection and a set, since it's, they did ten of these photos.

Uh, I wouldn't hesitate to estimate the set at $15,000 to $25,000.

Wow.

Well, the primary reason I brought them out was because it is the 50th anniversary of the moon, lunar landing, and Neil Armstrong died a few years ago.

Correct.

Several years ago.

And I'm sure a lot of people remember where they were.

I remember where I was, sitting in front of a TV set in 1969.

Yeah, yeah.

So, I really appreciate you bringing these.

Thank you.

Okay, well, thank you.

It's a real treasure.

I appreciate the information.

I had no idea at the time that I bought it that I would ever even have a chance to meet Neil Armstrong, much less sit down and talk with him.

♪ ♪ WOMAN: This is a item by Albert Bloch, who was a part of the Blue Rider Group.

And I bought it at an auction.

It was about...

I think I paid $250 for it.

So, not, not a huge amount of money.

What's his name?

Well, we affectionately call him Big Bunny.

Where did you get Big Bunny?

Well, you know, Big Bunny is a resident of the Phoenix Zoo.

Really?

Yeah, he has history from right when the zoo first opened in 1962.

He was a greeter at the entrance.

And so when all the kiddos came in... Uh-huh.

...to the children's zoo, Big Bunny, along with many of Big Bunny's friends, greeted them.

I'd say he's worth about $1,000 to $1,200.

That's not bad.

Not bad.

WOMAN: My father was in the Air Force, and he was over in Iceland, and he brought it over for my mother from Iceland, I believe, maybe in the late '50s, early '60s.

Okay.

I'm not real sure.

What you have is a bear that was made in Germany.

Oh, okay.

That found its way to Iceland.

Your bear was made in the 1950s.

Okay.

So it was a new bear when he bought it.

What you have is a bear made by Schuco.

Okay.

And Schuco was a competitor of Steiff.

They still make things today.

They made a wide variety of bears and toys and cars.

And what you have here is a very unusual bear.

It's a Yes-No teddy bear.

Oh!

But what's rare, also, it's a panda bear.

And the way it works is, there's a lever inside the tail, and you go like this, and he says, "No," but the "yes" part is not working well.

The lever has a, a little detachment under there that's an easy fix.

When you pulled it out of the bag, everybody at our table just went, "Ah!"

(both laugh) It's nice, because it's a larger size.

He's 18 inches.

He's in beautiful condition.

He has no mohair loss, because they're wool, and the moths often get to them.

And he's, his color is really good.

Now, what do you think it's worth?

I have no idea.

As a kid, he was always a scary bear.

(laughs) And I wouldn't go near him.

So, as an adult, probably the reason he's in such good shape is because I keeped him tuck a, tucked away, because I still don't look at him.

(laughs) So, value-wise, I have no clue.

Okay.

Well, the market has softened quite a bit on all teddy bears.

But on today's market, in a retail situation, it would probably sell between $900 and $1,200.

Really?

Really.

Oh, my gosh.

(laughing) Well, maybe I should keep him out and look at him more often.

♪ ♪ PEÑA: Desert plant enthusiasts Gustaf Starck and Gertrude Divine Webster were early leaders to champion the cause of protecting the flora of Phoenix.

They were part of the Arizona Cactus and Native Flora Society, who helped open the garden in 1939 and guided it as the site took root in the community.

WOMAN: I brought some World War II memorabilia from the WASPs, the Women's Air Service Patrol.

This is Jackie Cochran.

She headed up the WASPs in World War II, and my mother was her secretary.

And my mother asked Jackie Cochran if she could have a set of the wings, and Jackie said yes.

And so that's what you see over here is her wings.

And she had it engraved to my mom on the back.

And tell me about your photographs.

The photographs were autographed by Jackie Cochran to my mom.

This one was, "For Miss McSweeney, with all good wishes, Jacqueline Cochran."

And then this one, over here to the right, I think is funny.

"To Miss McSweeney, "This is just the way I feel sometimes.

Jackie Cochran."

And then my mom put a little notation underneath that, "Most times."

(laughs) So did your mom tell you anything about why she made that notation?

It didn't matter what time of day it was, if Jackie called, you, you came.

She was a demanding woman, but she was also...

It seemed like she was really a nice person, as well.

Well, she was also a force of nature.

She was somebody who was a very, very accomplished aviator before the war.

Mm-hmm.

She won a number of the air trophies.

She worked with Amelia Earhart.

She had connections before the war even started.

And we see the WASPs as something that occurred during World War II, but the genesis of that started in 1939, when Jackie wrote to Eleanor Roosevelt and said, "You know, I think there should be a role for women."

Oh, nice.

Within the... At that time it was the Army Air Corps.

And that kind of got passed up the chain.

And in 1941, prior to our involvement in the war, she was even corresponding with officers in the Army Air Corps talking about, "Women could ferry aircraft, "there are jobs that they could take over and let the men go and do something else."

So, when she comes back to the United States, as that first class comes through-- they're training with Jackie in command... Ah.

She wanted wings for these ladies.

And she simply paid for them out of pocket.

I do remember reading that now, yes.

So, even though your mom was not a pilot, these were Jackie's to give out.

Right.

And, clearly, she decided that's what she, that's what she needed to do.

And she has engraved this on the reverse, specifically to your mother.

Yes.

Which is awesome.

Yeah, I think so.

Clearly, you understand the historical value.

Yes.

Because you understand how it relates to women's position within flying.

And now we've got...

Some of the best pilots in the Air Force are female, which is awesome.

Mm-hmm.

So, they've, they've come a long way.

But she is really the driving force that got that all started.

Have you given any thought to, beyond the historical value, what the monetary value might be?

Not whatsoever.

I have no idea.

A retail value on the market today for this set would be, conservatively, between $6,000 and $8,000.

Are you kidding me?

(laughing): Oh, my gosh!

That's great.

Well, thank you very much.

I really appreciate it.

It's crazy.

♪ ♪ APPRAISER: This is carved nephrite, and I think it probably dates to the '60s or the '70s.

It's really stylish, even today, that kind of, like, bold, big jewelry.

In an auction situation, it might be worth as much as $800 to $1,000.

Mm-hmm.

In a retail situation, it might be worth as much as $2,000.

Wow.

Yeah.

Okay, then.

She'd be proud.

I like it.

Yeah.

♪ ♪ PEÑA: Arizona has been called the hummingbird capital of the U.S., with 15 species recorded in the southeastern part of the state.

This hummingbird is enjoying the nectar of a lovely ocotillo.

WOMAN: I found it at an estate sale, just local, in town.

And how long ago was that?

Maybe ten years.

Okay.

I love little boxes, and this one's really pretty.

(laughs) All right.

And I paid about ten dollars.

It's silver and enamel of some sort.

I, that's literally all I know.

(laughs) Well, you're right about that.

The, the casing of it is made of silver, silver gilt.

We look inside, it has a gold finish.

And there are three different types of enamel on it.

The back plate is finished in what we call guilloché enamel.

The metal underneath, which is silver, has been given this pattern through engine turning.

Then it's covered in this translucent enamel, kind of the color of tea, I would say.

There's a little bit more guilloché and what we call champlevé enamel around the sides.

But the top is what I want to really look at.

The center is a thin slice of natural agate, which picks up the color also of the guilloché.

And then it's surrounded by a border of what we call plique-à-jour enamel.

And plique-à-jour is a French term, of course, and it translates best as "the light coming through it," rather like a stained-glass window.

This, by the way, I would date about 1930, '35.

It has this kind of Art Deco flavor to it.

It's a little bit too small and a little bit too delicate to be a cigarette case.

And it's the wrong period and a little too big to be a snuffbox.

So I think it's a compact.

Okay.

There is a little tiny mark on it that says "made in Austria" and another little mark that says "sterling," which you would expect to see if it were made in Austria and sold in the United States.

Ten dollars is, is a fabulous buy.

And I think today, in a good auction, the bidding would start, or the estimate would start, at $1,000.

(softly): Whoa.

And go up to maybe $1,500.

Wow.

So, it's, it's a great object and a great find at ten dollars.

Wonderful.

Awesome.

(laughs) ♪ ♪ APPRAISER: It's made out of papier-mâché.

WOMAN: Uh-huh.

Um, it's made to sort of look like a porcelain, a head.

Yeah.

And they're pretty collectible.

I'd say somebody might pay in the, I don't know, $200, $300, $400 range for something like this.

Uh-huh.

I just love it.

The company that made it is a company called Dominick & Haff.

And the mark is actually on the underside.

It is this little mark here... Yeah.

...with the rectangle, the circle, and the lozenge.

And if you look closely within one of the lozenges, it says "1882."

Oh.

So we know exactly when it was made.

Okay.

It's made of sterling silver.

And what's absolutely fabulous about this is this wonderful, organic, hand-hammered surface that was, really represented the top of the line in their production.

Huh.

It's a really beautiful example.

If I were to see this come up at an auction house for sale, I'd anticipate a value of between around about $4,000 and $5,000.

Great.

Thank you very much.

This was a gift from my aunt for my first Christmas the following summer of 1950.

My mother dressed me up-- I know I wore it more than once-- and actually took a picture of me, in our neighbor's yard, of me wearing the outfit.

And when I outgrew it, she boxed it up, put it away in the cedar chest, and when she cleaned out her cedar chest, I got it, because, obviously, I've not worn it since.

Well, it's in amazing condition.

I love the red Tom Mix boots.

And look at the wonderful label in the vest, which is Westerner, and it's totally complete, with its corduroy skirt just trimmed in fringe.

And, of course...

Yes.

...the box is just phenomenal, the advertising still in perfect condition.

Western stuff was, for a while, quite collectible in the '70s and '80s and '90s, and it took a dip for a while, but children's Western things are still collectible.

I would give a value of this, at a good retail shop, from $200 to $300 for the complete ensemble, with the box and with the picture.

Well, it's worth a lot more to me.

It's just a good memory.

You can't pay for sentimental.

No, not at all.

No.

Everything would be a million dollars if that was the case.

WOMAN: I brought in Magic cards.

My husband played Magic in the '90s.

APPRAISER: Okay.

And at the time, he made a concerted effort to get, uh, whole sets.

He played with his friends, and played in tournaments.

Okay.

But then I think he wanted to have a complete set.

Yep.

And so he would buy individual packs at the, at the store.

Mm-hmm.

In, until he was able to put together a complete set.

He traded for some of the cards, as well.

Magic: The Gathering was created in 1993 by Richard Garfield in collaboration with Wizards of the Coast.

And it was actually considered the first trading-card game that started the craze.

So, like, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, all those card games came afterwards, after the influence Magic had on the collecting community.

Now, when Magic came out, it was first "alpha limited" set.

Now, the alpha set consisted of 295 cards, and then there was a second reissue called the beta limited set, and which you have here, all cards for the beta set, which, it was limited to 302 cards.

Now, you've never played Magic or anything like that?

I haven't played-- my husband played.

Okay, so to give you the image, just pretend you're two dueling wizards, and you're going to be summoning some spells, you're going to be put, bringing out some creatures.

And the whole point is, each player starts with 20 life points, and the whole goal is me, as a competing wizard, I want to say, "Oh, I want to drain your life points."

So the first person to bring the other opponent to zero wins.

Do you know why we have the binder open to this page with these nine particular cards?

No, I don't.

Okay.

(imitates explosion): That's like mind... (laughs) This is referred to as "the power nine," and the reason why we call it the power nine is, these are literally the most powerful cards in existence in the Magic world.

Now, today, the power nine are not allowed to be played in decks or anything like that.

Really?

Unless it's a vintage tournament.

So all of these cards were printed in 1993 as part of the beta set.

And after that, they went into an unlimited printing.

They just printed and printed and printed.

Oh.

So, by seeing the black border, the rounded corners, and these little white dots in the printing on each edge of the image?

Yeah.

That's how we're able to tell these are printed in 1993, part of the original set.

If you had to guess, what do you think the value on nine cards is?

Couple of hundred dollars?

Couple of hundred dollars.

Now, because they're ungraded-- now, the grade and condition of a card significantly affects the value.

That's why we left it right in the binder, because I don't even want to breathe on them, let alone touch it, because the slightest nick, the slightest crease all affects the value.

Looking at both sides of the cards, judging the wear, I would say they all probably range around an eight out of ten condition.

You might have a 7.5 in there.

But they've all been well taken care of.

For the power nine right here, as they sit, without professional grading, at auction, you'd be looking at $50,000 to $75,000.

(chuckles): Oh, my gosh.

(laughs): Yeah, right?

So out of that $50,000 to $75,000, the black Lotus, which is, like, the crème de la crème-- that's the card everybody wants-- is $15,000 to $20,000 in its current condition.

Okay.

The second card right here, the Mox Emerald, which is one of the five jewel cards that you can see here, is the rarest of them all.

In its current shape, you'd be looking at about $8,000 to $12,000.

Now, that's just this page of nine cards.

(laughs) When it comes to the other cards that you have here... Yeah.

If you look here, this card right there, Volcanic Island, now, that is what we refer to as a dual land or a dual mana card.

The cool part about that card is, it was not included in the alpha set.

Mm-hmm.

It was only issued in the beta set.

So, that's its first issue.

That card alone, at auction in its current shape, would be between $5,000 and $10,000.

Huh.

In the remainder of the binder, for all the pages there-- 'cause they're all beta cards, they're all early 1993 beta cards-- you're looking at an additional $10,000 to $15,000.

So cumulatively, you're looking at, at auction, at between $65,000 and $100,000 in trading cards here.

Oh, my gosh.

So, see?

Aren't you happy you didn't lose them in your backpack?

I am happy.

(both laughing) Would you have ever expected your husband's, uh, trading card... No, because they, they're just, like, they're cards to me.

Yeah, now, this is, like, "Let's send the kids to college" kind of money right here.

That's exactly, the college savings right here.

Yeah, it's literally the best culmination of Magic cards I've ever seen in one setting.

Like, it's absolutely ridiculous.

Oh, wow.

That's why when you came up to us, I was, like... (imitates heart racing): Looking at the...

Looking at the binder, I was, like, "Whew!"

In the marketplace, this is hotter than fire.

The demand for these cards is uncontrollable.

And you would absolutely sell them individually.

Because if I'm at home, and I have five out of the nine cards, I don't need to buy all nine-- that's a ton of money.

I just need that one or two extra card.

Right.

Power nine, baby-- unbelievable.

For me, this is like looking at a painting.

Like, you go to the museum, it's, like, "Oh, a Renoir."

(laughs) PEÑA: You're watching "Antiques Roadshow Recut" PEÑA: And now it's time for the Roadshow Feedback Booth.

I have a locket that was my mother's, and I'm not sure I want to tell the whole world how much it's worth, since I have siblings.

(laughs) I brought in my 1780 silver breadbasket and found out it's worthless.

So I'm going to take it home and put buns in it.

This is my mother's collection of autographed movie star photos from the 1940s.

She got them, um, over a period of two years when she had polio.

She was on a back board and had written to the stars to collect the photos.

She's got quite a few.

He told me as a collection, they are worth about $800.

It's a 1963 textile.

I bought a yard of fabric just for fun 'cause I loved the colors and saw it in a magazine.

And as is, it's worth $300 to $500.

And they told me if I had it framed, I could sell it, or it would sell at a gallery for $1,200 to $1,500.

So, I'm happy.

Found out our dollar Tanque Verde swap-meet finds were worth about $30 to $40 apiece.

I brought my great-grandfather's Civil War sword, which I learned is the 1860 model.

(hilt clangs against vase) Watch out there, buster.

We had a great time.

Thank you, "Antiques Roadshow."

Thank you, PBS.

PEÑA: Thanks for watching.

See you next time on "Antiques Roadshow Recut."