Posted on 08/17/2014 11:20:40 AM PDT by Hojczyk
L.T., or Big L.T. as some call him, was put on disability after suffering terrible foot injuries from a car crash. Since then, he has struggled to make ends meet.
One day while watching television, he saw an episode of Antiques Roadshow in which a Navajo First Phase Weaving Blanket was featured. His family had kept a similar one that had been passed down through generations. Seeing the value of the blanket on TV, L.T. decided he would see if his family’s blanket could fetch similar results.
Once verified that it was in fact an authentic Navajo weaving blanket, L.T. took it to auction. Appraisers stated their expectations for the blanket’s market value which were quickly blown out of the water. Watch this man’s life change forever in one minute…
(Excerpt) Read more at ijreview.com ...
Such a shallow remark. Well, gee, I cannot imagine how this poor guy could have gained weight since he only lost his foot and was forced to be immobile for quite some time.
Damn goose bumps
Thanks for posting this. It’s nice to read a happy story now and then.
I’d be very surprised if the auction house took 25% on an item of such value.
You can easily shop an item around and get a competitive rate.
There is a prestige factor to consider when selling something like this rug. It puts an auction house in a certain caliber, its very good advertising and an introduction to certain high end dealers and collectors.
Guess getting shot at more often costs more than 50 cents a day + that good Army chow.
- and don’t forget the buyers premium. More than likely 10% which goes right to the auctioneer.
I have heard of Sotheby’s and even Skinner’s waving all commission charges on important consignments as the buyers premium alone would be massive.
Not many sellers in their right mind would turn down 0% commission.
I doubt the food was very awesome after a few years of Civil War
I doubt the food was ever awesome in the Army, although in my experience it was better than the Corps. I’d imagine it got better later in the war as the logistics caught up to the requirements.
A buddy of mine was in the army for 36 years flew helicopters and retired as a colonel.
I can not remember why but he and a couple other Army officers had to spend some time at an Air Force base at some point.
He raved about the officers quarters and the food! Said it was tops and far better than what he had in the army.
Built right after the golf course and before the runways.
Great story!! Watched the entire video.
I’m curious - of the 1.5 million, how much does the seller get after everyone else has been paid (auction house, etc.)?
Most of the 19 th century posts had gardens to supplement rations and privates— with green thumbs—assigned to tend to them. After all, our wonderful congress did not go out of their way to provide enough funding.
The 1880s book Hardtack and Coffee by Billings says that a prive’s pay was $13 a month in the War raised on June 30, 1864 to $16 for US troops. I do not know if state troops got any supplements from their home governments. Of course some later recruits were paid enlistment bonuses.
52 cents a day, must have made for boring poker games.
The buyer’s premium at that particular auction is around 25%.
That’s typical of high end auctions.
Foety Miles a Day on Beans and Hay by Rickey has some good info in chapter 7 on the troops pay, purchases and spending in the Indian Wars Army. They didn’t make much and everybody was trying to get it. They did not get paid in actual money again until 1879 and the suttlers and off- post hustlers would hose them by discounting their Army scrip from it’s face values.
BTW, my WW One ammo sergeant grandfather on the Western Front said they would play cards using different kinds of ammunition for chips. They settled up in the rear later. One day he finally beat a real card shark and one $300 from the guy. The next day shark tried to run a German barrage in his truck full of ammo and got vaporized. There went the money. :-(
dang
“I’m gonna have to have it cleaned, and framed- that’s gonna cost me several hundred bucks and then it will sit here FOREVER until just the right buyer walks in to the shop.”
“I mean ya know I’m running a business here, right?”
Bummer, hate playing for chips or chip equivalents.
Wow.
But I guess any number of auction houses would go under without a strong buyers premium. Its hard work making money in that line of work.
Back a couple years ago I was surprised when Heritage increased numismatic BP to 17.5%. No big deal now I guess.
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