Antiques Roadshow

GUEST: I started out at North American Aviation# as an inspector, and I worked myself up to an## engineer.

I started collecting the photos after# Apollo 1 burned up.

When I went to the Cape,## a-and the launch team, they sold us these# jackets.

I mean, we didn't have to buy 'em,## but we just all wanted to wear 'em,# so we all bought these jackets.

APPRAISER: Do you remember# what you paid for the jacket?

GUEST: Yeah, I think it was 40 bucks,# which was a lot .. APPRAISER: Mm-hm.

GUEST (laughing): You know, so...

So.. APPRAISER: What was your role with... with...?

GUEST (stammering): I was in quality control.# I tested everything before the astronauts would## come in the, in the spacecraft, and that's what# I'm doing in that one picture there.

I'm, uh,## firing these rockets right here on the# service module.

This is command module,## this is the service module, and I'm firing# these little 100-pound thruster engines.

APPRAISER: If we pick this up, it's# just, it's in a couple of pieces,## but you can see that that's the...

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: So you're in the command module?

GUEST: I'm in the command module.

APPRAISER: Firing that.

GUEST: This is the Apollo without# the .. APPRAISER: How did you# acquire this particular model?

GUEST: Oh, it was given to me years ago.# Uh, I just earned it, like.

And then,## so I just started getting all# the astronauts to sign it.

APPRAISER: You've captured# 15 astronaut signatures...

GUEST: Yeah, yeah.

APPRAISER: ...on the capsule portion of this.

APPRAISER: And so you were# friends with them all and...?

GUEST: I was good friends with them,# I met 'em in the early '60s.

We had## to go through classes together, so I# got to know 'em on a personal basis,## and they're crazy guys, so we had a lot of fun.

APPRAISER: Okay, and then this was# a, a North American Aviation...

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: ...Apollo spa.. is what, is what it's referred to as.

APPRAISER: Talk about the North American# Aviation Group relative to NASA.

GUEST: Well... APPRAISER: How did those two# organizations wo..

GUEST: They gave us the contract, and we# interpreted the contract.. get the approval for the design and everything,# and then we built it to their specifications.

APPRAISER: Okay, now let's talk# about this burnt up sticker.

GUEST: What happens is when the spacecraft would# come back to Downey, we would strip 'em all down,## take all this stuff off 'em and make 'em# pretty.

And so this arrow, which is right here,## they were scraping all this stuff off.

They were# throwing it away in a big pile.

So I ju-just gave## it to me.

This label was, uh... Another guy gave# that to me, and he gave it to me because I was## the final person to stamp saying that, hey, we# got a good product.

This is the serial number,## 107.

So we called it 107, and then when it went# to the Cape, it became Apollo 11 in this case.

APPRAISER: So that's the serial number sticker?

GUEST: Yes, for APPRAISER: Off of the Apollo 11 command module?

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: You realize that space nerds# everywhere are going crazy rig..

GUEST: Well, I hope so.

(chuckles) APPRAISER: Have you ever had it appraised?

Or you## have any, any clue as to what# these things might be worth?

GUEST: No.

No.

None at all.

APPRAISER: Space stuff is hot.

So the first## thing I want to talk about is, is the jacket.# So that was your jacket, you paid $40 for it?

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: If I estimate it at auction today, I would guess it would sell# for between $3,000 and $5,000.

GUEST: (chuckling) Really?

Okay.

APPRAISER: This ..

GUEST: Yes.

they have not come up with the signatures# that you have.

We see there's Walt Cunningham.## There's Buzz Aldrin.

Right up here,# ever so faint, is Neil Armstrong.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: We see Alan Shepard.

Alan's-Alan'.. but his signature is not worth that# much because he signed so much stuff.

APPRAISER: It's fantastic.

So if# we estimated this at auction today,## I think conservatively, it would carry# an estimate between $20,000 and $30,000.

GUEST: (chuckles) Okay.

I don't# know if I really wanted to know## that, but... (laughs) It just sits in my man cave.

APPRAISER: (chuckles) Well, that's a# nice thing to have in the man cave.

GUEST: Yes, yes.

APPRAISER: We have the r.. and then this was the serial number# label off the inside of the capsule door.

GUEST: Inside.

APPRAISER: If we offered# the two stickers toget.. APPRAISER: ...you would see those with an# estimate of between $30,000 and $50,000.

GUEST: (chuckles) Okay.

I'm donating this to my# niece, so she'll be happy to hear that.

(laughs) APPRAISER: The total here would# be between $53,000 and $85,000.

GUEST: That's amazing.