A man who appeared on Antiques Roadshow was shocked to discover that his old skateboard was likely to make him a big profit, even calculating some quick maths in the process.
You know the drill – Antiques Roadshow is a very simple concept.
People bring a load of stuff along and get it examined by experts, sometimes it’s absolute tat, other times it’s worth loads of money.
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Either of those outcomes are usually cool with the viewer, you’d have to imagine.
Anyway, on this occasion it was the US version of the show, and it featured a skater who turned up with an old fibreglass board.
He seemed a pretty likeable chap, and he eventually got what he wanted in the end, which is always nice.
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You see, it wasn’t any old board, it was a Bahne board from the 1970s.
He bought it for $5 – about £3.93 – and had been skating about on it for six years, but it’s the branding that makes it so important.
Think of the most famous skateboarder that you can, and you’ll start to work out why.
The skater told expert Travis Landry: "I could tell right away that that looked like it might be a good one and it was!
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“I have been riding it for six years.”
Explaining what his wheels are worth, Landry said: "This board has such a legacy because this is the first type of skateboard Tony Hawk ever skated on.
"He was given the board as a hand-me-down from his brother.
“His childhood started on a Bahne fibreglass-moulded board, only difference Tony Hawk's was a blue-green board.
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"This is clearly orange."
Unfortunately, this board doesn’t have the original wheels on it which would have been branded Cadillac ones, but it did have the original trucks.
The wheels are ones from around the time, but they’re not authentic to the board itself.
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Still though, the expert thought that the board would fetch a decent price for the owner if he decided to sell it.
"So in the world of value today, I'm happy to say your $5 investment would get you $200 (£157) to $400 (£314) at auction." Landry said.
Clearly taken aback, the guest said: “Whoa, what?
"That's like a 6,900% increase on my original cost... that's, that's awesome!
“Papa's gonna get a brand new bag, I will tell you what!"
You might have noticed that the guest did some seriously quick arithmetic there - and you wouldn’t be alone in that.
One comment read: "The dude literally nailed the math at 6,900% profit.”
Another said: "Dude was right in the percentage area — anywhere from 3,900% to 7,000%."
"That is one funny, nerdy guy! I love it!" said a third.
It’s always nice when the good guys catch a break.
Almost as funny as when the huge expensive-looking things turn out to be worth absolutely b***er all.
Topics: US News, TV and Film, Money, Weird
Tom Wood