Antiques Roadshow

GUEST: This is an ice cream cone that was displayed at my parents Daisy Queen in Hayti, Missouri.

They owned this, drive-in restaurant from December of 1959 until May of 1982.

And in the year of 1960, my dad was working, and some of the girls that work for him noticed that a customer that had pulled up to the north window looked like Elvis Presley.

And he goes, "No, it can't be."

So he walked up to the window and raised it and said, excuse me, sir, can you settle an argument?

These girls think you're Elvis Presley.

Would you tell them you're not?

He goes, no, sir, I am Elvis Presley.

And he pulled out his billfold, showed him his driver's license.

It said Elvis Presley.

Memphis, Tennessee.

APPRAISER: Wow.

GUEST: He had flown from California to Saint Louis and rented a Cadillac.

Him and his cousin, Gene Smith.

The reason they flew into Saint Louis was to avoid the fans and media at the airport in Memphis, and they'd stop for lunch at my parents drive-in restaurant.

While he was there, my dad gets talking to me, and he said he was very polite and he asked for his autograph.

And this was on display in the Daisy Queen and Elvis signed it with a grease pencil that my dad had, and he looked at it.

He said, "I don't really like the signature.

Can I do it again?"

And my dad said, "Dude, as many times as you want to."

So he signed it twice.

And it was on display in our Daisy Queen for several years, probably 8 or 10 years.

So, the grease and the smoke from the food being cooked kind of discolored it.

And through the years, people that worked for us, they also signed their names on there.

APPRAISER: Do you know exactly when it was in 1960?

GUEST: It was June 29th of 1960.

APPRAISER: Based on that date, 29th of June, Elvis had just finished filming G.I.

Blues.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: So that came out around November 1960.

He'd actually just come out of the Army.

This was his first movie after coming out of the Army.

So there was a lot of fuss about him.

As you say, there are two signatures on here, not just one, but two signatures, which is very, very cool.

Very unusual to have something signed with such a big bold signature.

And it's really nice because both of them are very, very visible.

Did your father manage to ever get a photograph taken at the time with Elvis?

GUEST: While Elvis was there, my dad says, "Would you stay a few more minutes, let me run home, get a camera and come back?"

And Elvis says, "As long as the crowds don't start forming, I'll wait a little bit longer."

So my dad rushes home.

He gets the camera, jumps back in his car, races back towards the Daisy Queen.

Before he gets to the Daisy Queen on highway 61, that Cadillac goes flying by towards Memphis, he said estimated 80 miles an hour.

APPRAISER: So I guess the word got out pretty quick.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: The piece itself is quite a collectible piece as well.

As you said, it's an advertising piece.

And it probably dates to the late 1940s.

It's painted wood pulp and it is the "SAFE-T CUP."

The "SAFE-T CUP" was a cone which had a cut-off bottom.

Let's just say, it didn't have the Elvis Presley signatures on it even as just an advertising piece, even in this condition, which is that it's a little bit worn.

I would say it's probably $800 to $1,200.

But if you add in the two signatures, at auction, a conservative estimate, I would say somewhere in the region of $3,000 to $5,000.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: Very collectible indeed.

GUEST: Yeah.

That's great.