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  History's American Pickers: NASA memorabilia

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Author Topic:   History's American Pickers: NASA memorabilia
Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member

Posts: 3466
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 05-27-2012 10:36 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Hart Sastrowardoyo   Click Here to Email Hart Sastrowardoyo     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Watching on a lazy Sunday (May 26) an episode of The History Channel's American Pickers, where the duo are visiting Sidecar Willie, who among other stuff had a NASA collection.

One of the guys got excited - and bought a collection of — over some NASA patches, because "they dated back to the Mercury 7 in 1959."

Someone needs to tell them that NASA didn't make mission patches back then. (One of the patches clearly seen was for Carpenter's flight.) The guy sold them for $3 each, which is probably what they were worth — most likely they were all reproductions, not original.

But what do you expect when that same guy (Frank) got excited over a box of Star Trek toys? He thought they were old; the first one he pulled out was the Playmates Next Generation Enterprise-D and phaser, which have little collectible value. Frank had to look at the date (1990) on the Enterprise-D to realize that.

GACspaceguy
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Posts: 2984
From: Guyton, GA
Registered: Jan 2006

posted 05-27-2012 11:48 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for GACspaceguy   Click Here to Email GACspaceguy     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
These shows do not know what to do with spaceflight items. Earlier this week on the auction show Sold! they auctioned off a moon globe signed by Aldrin, Bean, Mitchell, Scott, Duke, Young, Cernan and Schmitt. They signed at the landing locations. Also added was Lovell on the backside. It went for $7000. (good provenance)

Apart from Schmitt, all of the signatures can be obtained.Also, all but Schmitt and Young can be picked up next week at Spacefest.

I figured that it was worth about $2000 so the $7000 final sale was way off.

Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member

Posts: 3466
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 05-27-2012 05:57 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Hart Sastrowardoyo   Click Here to Email Hart Sastrowardoyo     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
They bought the patches for $90, hoped to sell them for $300. They didn't show them selling the patches, though.

But that would mean selling patches for $10 each, including the Aurora 7, two Apollo 1s and the Apollo 11.

LM1
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Posts: 863
From: New York, NY
Registered: Oct 2010

posted 05-29-2012 03:57 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for LM1   Click Here to Email LM1     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by GACspaceguy:
Earlier this week on the auction show Sold!...
Sold! also had a "flight suit" autographed by Jim Lovell. It sold for $500. When would this "flight suit" (white jacket with white pants) be worn? It is not a space suit.

As for the moon globe, the auctioneer kept saying that there were 11 signatures, when there were 8 moon walkers and Jim Lovell on the far side of the moon. At least they handled the globe with white gloves in order not to smear the signatures.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 51166
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 05-29-2012 04:04 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by LM1:
When would this "flight suit" (white jacket with white pants) be worn?
It was a replica of the in-flight coveralls worn by the Apollo crews during their transit to and from the moon. The replica, which was based on an authentic training-used pair of coveralls, was produced by Countdown Enterprises in the mid-2000s.

LM1
Member

Posts: 863
From: New York, NY
Registered: Oct 2010

posted 06-19-2012 06:41 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for LM1   Click Here to Email LM1     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
That was a fantastic Space Ship Clock on American Pickers this week. Any space collector would be very happy to have that. They paid $400 for it and discovered that it is worth much more.

Gilbert
Member

Posts: 1494
From: Carrollton, GA USA
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 06-20-2012 01:34 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Gilbert   Click Here to Email Gilbert     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I agree, that spaceship clock was something I would really like to own. Very cool.

Cozmosis22
Member

Posts: 1115
From: Texas * Earth
Registered: Apr 2011

posted 06-20-2012 03:54 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Cozmosis22     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
So in general, what did that clock look like? Checked the HC website and could find no mention of it. Thanks!

fredtrav
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Posts: 1799
From: Birmingham AL
Registered: Aug 2010

posted 06-20-2012 05:05 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for fredtrav   Click Here to Email fredtrav     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
It was a great looking clock. Only got to see the promo for the epsiode. What was it and what was it valued at?

On a side note, Richard Garriott was featured on a very strange show called Oddities. It is about an antique store that deals in the shall we say macabre. He bought an old skeleton for his new place in New York and then had the owners go to Austin TX to find other items for his house there. He ended up with a witch doctors shrunken head, a morticians practice head, a baby gas mask from WWII and one other item.

LM1
Member

Posts: 863
From: New York, NY
Registered: Oct 2010

posted 06-21-2012 07:35 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for LM1   Click Here to Email LM1     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Cozmosis22:
So in general, what did that clock look like?
The clock is featured in the "Mama Knows Best" episode of American Pickers. This is the most recent episode and it can already be seen free on On Demand on Optimum Cable.

The clock features what they called an "Atomic-era spaceship" on the right side with the clock on the left side. They are on a simple wooden base painted black. The spaceship is similar to Space Cadet, Flash Gordon one piece spaceships - painted silver. It is not standing up. The spaceship is much bigger than the clock and it is leaning to the left on the clock. The clock itself features a blue map of the world and another spaceship on one of the hands - probably the hour hand. Perhaps we can get a photo of it somehow. I am playing the episode now on cable.

LM1
Member

Posts: 863
From: New York, NY
Registered: Oct 2010

posted 06-21-2012 08:08 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for LM1   Click Here to Email LM1     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The clock was valued at $700-$800. The spaceship on the face of the clock is on the "second" hand. It was thought to be an Oldsmobile "Rocket 88" clock, but it was not. I think that the appraiser said it was a Lancier Clock and that it was very rare. It is about "the size of a breadbox", as they said in the past.

Perhaps it will show up on the American Pickers Warehouse some day.

All times are CT (US)

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