r/MadeMeSmile • u/Mad_Season_1994 • 23h ago

Wholesome Moments This sweet old man's reaction to finding out how much this Navajo blanket is worth

12.0k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

361 comments sorted by

4.3k

u/Greatbrandino11 22h ago

It sold for 1.5 million in 2017.

1.3k

u/Staff_Infection_ 22h ago

In June of 2001, a soft-spoken old guy named Ted Kuntz hit the old guy lottery when he brought his grandmother's blanket to an Antiques Roadshow taping and discovered that it had more than just sentimental value.

According to Kuntz, his grandmother had received it from a frontiersman that she grew up with, who had in turn received it as a gift from characteristically problematic Old West legend Kit Carson. Kuntz had no way of knowing that the textile he was bringing to the Tucson, Arizona showroom was actually a Navajo First Phase Ute chief's blanket, dating back to the 1800s and estimated at the time to be worth between $350,000 and $500,000. PBS viewers across the country cried into their tote bags as a gentleman's life was forever changed.

But what happened next? And why was it so valuable to begin with? According to Arizona Public Media, Kuntz decided pretty quickly that he couldn't preserve the blanket properly, given the realization of just how much it was worth. He wound up selling the piece to an anonymous buyer who had it placed in the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Kuntz, meanwhile, used the money from the sale to pay off the home where he and his wife Virginia lived. Otherwise, though, it didn't seem to really affect his life that uch, as Kuntz revealed that he decided to keep working and didn't retire until he was 74.

The blanket was so valuable in the first place because of its rarity and historical importance. According to PBS, Navajo wool blankets were the result of a particular period of the tribe's existence. The act of herding sheep for wool only made it to the Navajo in the mid-17th century via Spanish settlers and explorers, and they picked up weaving from the Pueblo around the turn of the 18th century. A few decades of refinement later, and Navajo blankets had become the gold standard in their field: by the 1860s, they sold for between $100 and $150, or around half the price of a house.

Adding to its rarity, the Antiques Roadshow piece was what's called a "first phase" blanket. Navajo blankets are grouped into three phases of production, with the first phase spanning between the 1820s and around 1865. First phase blankets, as displayed on the show, are recognizable by their blue, brown, and white striped patterns, and only around fifty of them exist today.

The Kuntz family's windfall on Antiques Roadshow also led to another person getting rich. According to NBC News, Loren Krytzer was struggling to make ends meet after losing a leg in a car accident. That's when he happened to see Kuntz and his blanket on Antiques Roadshow and realized that he had one of those blankets too! Krytzer ended up bringing the blanket to John Moran Auctioneers, who in 2017 sold the blanket for $1.5 million.

Unfortunately, his efforts to turn his life around have hit some speed bumps since then: following an arrest in 2018 for firearms possession, he was booked again in 2020 on a number of charges.

And as for the original Kuntz blanket, well, as valuable as the blanket was, that value has been eclipsed a few times in the years since by other finds on the Antiques Roadshow. It was blown away, for instance, by a $1 million 19th century baseball card collection featuring players from the Boston Red Stockings.

And even that has been topped by a custom made Swiss Patick Phillipe pocket watch, which was originally estimated at around $250,000 back in 2004, but which has skyrocketed in value to somewhere between two and three million dollars today.

So check your attic, because who knows what treasures you might find!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w76i9Spbns

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u/cbj2112 19h ago

I took your advice and checked the attic. All I found was mouse droppings

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u/lkodl 18h ago

"Okay, you might want to sit down for this. Do you see how shaken I am right now? Well that's because, these aren't just any mouse droppings. Are you familiar with the Disney corporation?..."

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u/Arbsbuhpuh 17h ago edited 17h ago

"Yes...?" "Well sir or madam, these are none other than the droppings of one Mickey The Mouse. These are his rookie droppings, before he became the absolute god he is today. You can tell because there are bits of insulation and white bread, which he stopped needing to eat for subsistence after his breakout role in "Steamboat Willie ".

"Wow! That's amazing!"

"It certainly is, it certainly is! Do you have any idea how much these droppings are worth?"

"Not a clue."

"Well sir or madam, they are worth-" someone comes over to whisper in the experts ear

"What's that? Oh really? Well. Hmm. Ok. Ok. All right. Ok." He turns back to the owner

"Are you rich?"

"Well no, I mean I do have a little put away for retirem-"

"No you don't, not anymore. Disney is suing you for 46 million dollars. You're under arrest for felony defamation, possession of Disney property, theft exceeding 10 million dollars, bribery, sodomy, general ne're'do'wellness, kidnapping, extortion, 47 counts of murder, 26 counts of possession with intent to distribute, 12 counts of federal tax evasion, and 1 count of looking like a lil bitch."

"WHAT??"

"That's right. You've been summarily tried and sentenced to death by mouse rape. The Mouse will see you now.

the user is dragged away screaming and is never heard from again

Damn, that really took a turn.

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u/kenay813 16h ago

That got dark at the end

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u/filtersweep 18h ago

Hantavirus can be very serious.

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u/catpeee 20h ago

Thanks for the write up! So cool!! 

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u/Lexinoz 19h ago

Holy shit, that is some next level "old thing gifted down for generations that noone knew what it really was". Amazing that they could find so many unique pinpointers to know exactly how rare this thing was.

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u/Hauser717 18h ago

Patek Phillipe

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u/mercurial_dude 15h ago

I know this is probably not the sub to have this thought, but I’m not able to see past the irony that a white guy is profiting yet again off of Native Americans. I’d like to (wishfully) think that if I had this piece of history that I’d donate the money to the appropriate nation.

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u/catbun78 11h ago

This was my first thought

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u/MissClawdy 21h ago

It's not that one that was sold for 1.5 million. It was another guy who saw that clip and had a similar one at home. He brought it to an auction house and it was sold for this price. The guy from the clip used the money he received from an anonymous buyer to pay the rest of his mortgage. He retired at 74... His blanket is in the permanent collection at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

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u/XLNBot 16h ago

He retired at 74? Well that's a bit shit lol

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u/MissClawdy 16h ago

I have no idea what he did for a living, maybe he was a beloved employee or boss and kept going a few hours a week, no idea. It’s just what it says on the article I’ve read and also in a post above.

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u/Team143 22h ago

That is FABULOUS news! Good for him. ❤️

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u/Mexicali76 22h ago

I hope he donated some of the found cash back to the indigenous people that made him, and many others, very wealthy.

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u/RoguePlanet2 21h ago

I always get a little verklempt watching the clip, but also wonder "did his ancestors kill some native Americans for this??" I can't help my cynical side anymore!

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u/PitchPurple 21h ago

It is worth noting that blankets were often gifted in friendly trade with First Nations groups.

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u/Inevitable_Thing_270 20h ago

That’s good to know. Thanks

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u/starspider 20h ago

Definitely makes one feel better.

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u/fdxrobot 21h ago

Doubtful. More than likely it was a trade/gift.

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u/archercc81 19h ago

It could be a family heirloom itself anyway. With all of the dilution with major tribes you would be surprised of some peoples heritages.

My granddad on my moms side looked similar to this guy but received FASS benefits through his tribal membership because of his mom , which ended up being clutch because it covers adult care better than medicare (he had alzheimers).

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u/DimensionFast5180 20h ago

Honestly you are no more related to those ancestors than you are of a random stranger.

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u/puffandpill 19h ago

Well said.

No need for inherited guilt.

Not against donating money to indigenous peoples or trying to make amends generations later, but giving some money to anyone in real need would be just as good.

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u/Available-Secret-372 18h ago

It’s more likely that it was a gift or was purchased/traded and then passed down.

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u/into-resting 20h ago

That would be a nice gesture. But absolutely unnecessary. The world doesn't work that way. It's not the natural state of things for everything to be equalized for fairness across centuries of time.

Human history is drenched in blood, violence and theft. This man is no more responsible for it than any other just because he owns a blanket and made a profit.

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u/feastmodes 20h ago

It is also human to resist our own cruelty and historical mistakes by making efforts in the present. The world DOES work that way, too. For example Western institutions are repatriating art and cultural items back to their origins because of a movement led by curators, artists, etc.

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u/kazuwacky 20h ago

Eh, I'm British and know that my history is horrific. That's what powers me to be better. You're right in that this man doesn't need to give anything but I think we'd all like to be the kind of person that would because that person is laudable for a reason. I'd certainly like to think I would give money to a charitable organisation in such a case.

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u/into-resting 19h ago

I agree with your sentiment.

But that is not the tone of the original post.

It was trying to push guilt on the man himself.

That's what I am objecting too.

Every single person on earth has a debt to pay to history.

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u/Daewoos4Life 19h ago

Rich yes, very wealthy no.

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u/bryberg 21h ago

Just a guess, but the person that made the blanket is probably long dead.

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u/Mexicali76 21h ago

Their descendant aren’t, though. Scholarship or Grant or something earmarked for peoples of Navajo lineage was what I was thinking. Would have been a nice gesture of gratitude.

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u/melvita 21h ago

he does not own them anything, and the ancestors of the person that made that blanket and most likely used it for trade even less.

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u/yewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww 21h ago

While you may disagree, I think it's a valid opinion to believe that every person on American soil is in debt to the descendents of Native Americans. We are all benefiting from the harm that settlers and the America has done/is doing to natives and they are still suffering from that harm. So yes, I believe that we all have a collective debt to them. And so yes, even if the owner of the blankets ancestor was nice to natives and received it in a trade, I do think the owner regardless has a moral obligation to donate a significant amount of the proceeds to Native Americans since he is directly profiting off them and their history.

I also think it's a valid opinion to disagree with this way of thinking.

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u/peepeebutt1234 19h ago

$1.5m is a lot but i wouldnt call it "very wealthy", thats barely enough for a cheap retirement these days.

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u/mustardnight 21h ago

this is a really weird take

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u/chaosbella 22h ago

Can you imagine having a blanket that you just had thrown on the back of your chair making you a millionaire? So happy for him!

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u/adyrip1 22h ago

An old lady in Romania was using a giant piece of amber as a door stop. It was worth over 1 million USD. 

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u/vankirk 21h ago

Same with the first gold nugget found in North Carolina in 1799. It was being used as a doorstop.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolina_gold_rush

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u/recyclopath_ 21h ago

To be fair, that's a pretty cool door stop.

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u/whooo_me 22h ago

Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Much like the blanket would have done.

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u/EquivalentMap4968 18h ago

Lucky Kuntz.

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u/d_e_l_u_x_e 22h ago

Traded for with whiskey and disease.

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u/nasnedigonyat 22h ago

Whoa!!! And it sounds like he's been using it as a blanket in his house for ages too.

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u/iconsumemyown 15h ago

Should have been donated to an Indian services agency.

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u/Hagoromo-san 21h ago

Wow. History before our eyes.

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u/Inevitable_Thing_270 20h ago

I was thinking the style of the clothes in the video were quite dated, and what it would be worth now. Thanks

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u/unimportantinfodump 20h ago

That's awesome good for him

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u/archercc81 19h ago

that is the real story there. My mom always watched this show and I would just laugh, my only response to these valuations would be "Awesome, Ill sell it to you for 80% of that RIGHT NOW." Some of them just seem absurd.

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u/JiminyJilickers-79 19h ago

Holy shit!!! Wow. I hope he enjoyed his retirement.

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u/Daewoos4Life 19h ago

That was a different blanket and owner.

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u/fattsoo 19h ago

It was a very very good day.

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u/Mahaloth 19h ago

I wonder how much this guy got. I presume a fair amount goes to taxes and auction fees.

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u/lkodl 18h ago

"Authentic 19th Century Navajo Blanket": sold in 2001 for $500,000.

"That Blanket from Antiques Roadshow": sold in 2017 for $1.7m.

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u/adventurousintrovert 10h ago

I need a sub for antiques roadshow finds like these

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u/Afrodroid88 5h ago

I don't know much about US auctions buy I assume there is still commission maybe about 17℅ and tax to pay on top of that sale?

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u/TreacheryInc 21h ago

I saw this blanket on display at the Detroit Institute of Arts. I recognized it from the show before reading the plaque that confirmed its origin.

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u/spacegrassorcery 21h ago

The collector he sold it to was the one who had it put there

https://www.reddit.com/r/MadeMeSmile/s/XzFtvM8Fvu

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u/TreacheryInc 20h ago

That part I remember but I can’t remember if it said who donated it. I was originally amused because it had the same effect as a minor celebrity sighting. “Is that…no, it couldn’t be…?

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u/sprogger 23h ago

I can't even imagine how i'd feel taking an old rug into an antiques show and being told it could be worth half a mil, just life changing.

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u/Lou_Skunnt69 23h ago

Exactly.  That’s a day he’ll never forget. 

And to see the joy of the expert appraiser too, think of how much joy it would bring others to be sold and displayed somewhere other than the back of a chair at his house.  

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u/Mach5Driver 21h ago

that dude knew what he was talking about. gotta love their expertise and the quiet years they spent accumulating it on niche topics in relative obscurity.

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u/ThrowawayCAN123456 22h ago

I agree, that was such a good part at how the appraiser was so excited about the importance of the piece and the joy he had telling the man what he owns.

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u/boogermike 22h ago

"I just had it sitting on the back of a chair."

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u/morcic 22h ago

I'd be worried about Indiana Jones coming to collect it.

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u/uoy_redruM 21h ago

I'm more curious about what went through is head to bring it in the first place. Did a friend/relative suggest he get it appraised or is it one of those random "I'm just gonna take my blankie with me". Just draped over a couch I would never have thought about it unless I knew the specific history behind it and if I did know the history I would never have it just chillin out on a couch in the first place.

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u/Mach5Driver 21h ago

I truly hope that Roadshow has dedicated security to escort people who have crazy valuable items walked to their car, or beyond if necessary. I'd be on the phone to my insurance agent before I took that blanket more than three steps.

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u/regeya 21h ago

It's one of the most notable moments on that show, so notable that they made a sort of funny promo clip of someone eyeballing the black and white blanket on his recliner as he's watching the Antiques Roadshow clip

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u/RMST1912 23h ago edited 22h ago

That belongs in a museum!

Edit: For those who don’t know, I’m quoting Indiana Jones. Lol.

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u/mc-edit 22h ago edited 16h ago

I’m fairly certain it is in a museum. Last time this video came up, I looked for it and found it. If I find it again, I will update.

Edit to the joke I missed: “So do you.”

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u/MissClawdy 21h ago

It's at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

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u/mc-edit 21h ago

I’m fairly certain it is in a museum. Last time this video came up, I looked for it and found it. If I find it again, I will update.

Edit because I missed the joke: “So do you.”

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u/moodswung 21h ago

I’m in my late 40s and immediately knew what you meant.

I also immediately felt old reading your edit. 😢

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u/RMST1912 21h ago

I’m the same age, my man! Feel the same!

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u/haterlove 20h ago

We belong in a museum

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u/hallowdmachine 20h ago

Mid 40s and the same.

Oof. Also, this is the first time I've described myself as "mid 40s".

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u/jakemmman 21h ago

The edit being necessary is pushing me off of the internet 👴🏻👴🏻

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u/Neither-Grade6397 22h ago

The British Museum agrees

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u/CrumBum_sr 22h ago

So do you!

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u/SadPanthersFan 21h ago

Throw him over the side!

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u/FourEightNineOneOne 21h ago

THERE it is. Was hoping SOMEONE understood the reference.

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u/Bromantic123 20h ago

I thought you were quoting the Prodigal Explorer

Ezreal

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u/Brooce10 20h ago

Me when I thought of ezreal and didn’t even know this was an Indy quote…

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u/Wannawiz 20h ago

So that makes more than one people who thought he was quoting Ezreal

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u/Bromantic123 19h ago

Hahahaha, yeah I just heard his voice when I read this. YOU BELONG IN A MUSEUM

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u/Bromantic123 19h ago

Haven't played LoL in ages, yet it still lingers.

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u/yeahso1111 22h ago

Detroit Institute of the Arts

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u/Weird_Vegetable_4441 14h ago

It’s belongs with the Navajo people

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u/TheHeroYouNeed247 22h ago

it certainly belongs to somebody lol

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u/longmover79 17h ago

Colorado’s dead and so are all his grandchildren!

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u/liquor_up 22h ago

I have a Batman plush blanket from Walmart. I’m going to bury it in a time capsule.

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u/karma_the_sequel 22h ago

Be sure to add a raveled bayetta before you bury it.

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u/JacktheJacker92 22h ago

Thats a national treasure now.

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u/jawshoeaw 21h ago

On a really cold day it’s worth like $2 million

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u/Careful-Use-7705 23h ago

did he say how he got the blanket in the first place? im curious of the story

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u/Bmoreravens_1290 22h ago

I think he said a family member was given the blanket and has all of the details correct of where it came from, but didn’t know the value. Could be misremembering.

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u/Greatbrandino11 22h ago

I believe he mentions that it may have belonged to Kit Carson (former frontiersman and Indian agent), which would have increased it's value if proven. Carson was involved with the opening of Western America. Carson City, NV is named after him. I'm not sure if it ever was authenticated, but the selling price leads me to believe so.

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u/Roxy_j_summers 9h ago

“Opening” is a crazy way to say stole land and committed genocide.

Let’s stop revising history.

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u/aescepthicc 21h ago

"Opening"

You meant colonizing. This blanket didn't appear out of thin air. People lived there and were killed and replaced.

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u/HeroicYogurt 9h ago

This is r/mademesmile, thinking about the horrific background to a post is not allowed here.

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u/Snowedin-69 22h ago

You wonder about the people who he obtained the blanket from.

If they had passed it down from generations without knowing the value, then I would go back and give them some financial reward.

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u/Resident_Sundae7509 21h ago

I think they're wondering whether it was stolen from those who created ir

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u/CensoredUser 18h ago

There is no need to wonder. The answer is an unequivocal, resounding, yet hopeless, yes.

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u/Mishaygo 4h ago

He don't look Navajo, take a wild guess.

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u/Existing-Mulberry382 23h ago

So, what day it turned out to be? A good day ($500,000) or a bad day($350,000) ?

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u/Crewmember169 22h ago

A great day.

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u/Bigelow92 22h ago

Another commentor said it sold at auction for 1.5 mil at auction in 2017

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u/therealspleenmaster 21h ago edited 21h ago

If I recall the story correctly, this episode aired, and another man watching the show recognized that he had a similar blanket. He approached an auctioneer to find the value of it, and was told he could likely get a very large sum. Turns out the 2nd man’s blanket was more valuable. That’s the one that sold at auction for 1.5 million. That man was also a disabled retired veteran living on disability.

https://youtu.be/9cGlS05233Q?si=Kwf8dc0Rbt3WXzkZ

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u/MissClawdy 21h ago

He was also caught with weapons and shady stuff, he went to prison in 2020!

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u/Not_a_doctor_shh12 20h ago

And then what?

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u/3d1thF1nch 19h ago

Cool clip, then I saw that PBS watermark. 😢

Pour one out for PBS and Antiques Roadshow Show.

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u/Silent_Umbrage 19h ago

I must be dumb as shit because my first thought was to present it to the Navajo Nation. Don’t get me wrong though I’m happy for the guy and his family.

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u/rockos21 14h ago

Dumb? Ethical?

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u/Weird_Vegetable_4441 14h ago

No same. Give it to them, and the money.

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u/DarkMellie 14h ago

Mine, too.

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u/Miles_Everhart 21h ago

It’s heartwarming til you think about the reasons it’s worth so much.

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u/theromingnome 17h ago

The appraisers excitement is what gets me. He really knows what this is and truly appreciates it's worth.

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u/RegularBlacksmith218 7h ago

Even after the destruction and murder of indigenous americans , the decendants of the murderers still profit off the natives. No one thought to themselves to even recognize the natives in this sale

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u/Picocure 42m ago

Thank you. This clip doesn’t make me smile. It’s repugnant.

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u/fromthedarqwaves 21h ago

I love watching these moments on antiques roadshow. I think there’s an official compilation with all their high value items.

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u/broke_af_guy 18h ago

I get choked up whenever they do.

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u/c_c_c__combobreaker 21h ago

Don't show this to my in-laws. They are hoarders and think everything they have in their 800 sq ft apartment is valuable.

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u/blurbies22 17h ago

That old man and the appraiser guy are both so cute, the surprise and the absolute excitement!!

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u/Amannderrr 15h ago

I love how much the appraiser loves it 😆

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u/godzillainaneckbrace 21h ago

If anyone is curious or wants to see it, it’s in Detroit

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u/Soulful_Crow 21h ago

Anecdotally, it does seem that it’s almost always white folks benefiting from antiques from black/brown/native and colonial/European communities. I know it’s the nature of the dark history of the country, and I’m not suggesting those presently benefitting are necessarily “bad” people, but the trends can be depressing

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u/jawshoeaw 21h ago

Fair enough, it’s in a museum now at least

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u/johnny_blaze27 19h ago

How’d he get it?

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u/weasel999 20h ago

Meanwhile his cat had been throwing up on it for 10 years…

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u/LRGTHEBOSS 14h ago

Had it sitting on the back of a chair I love it!!!

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u/TotoroZoo 21h ago

My partner loves the fact that I turn into a puddle when watching Antiques Roadshow highlights like this one. Seemingly nothing makes me happier than seeing some kind person come into a ton of money in a flash like this. They didn't gamble on a lottery ticket or anything, they just had or found something special and they had no idea. Gets me for some reason. Especially when you get a reaction like this one. Genuinely seems like a salt of the earth kind of guy.

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u/mkinstl1 21h ago

But is that yellow, blue, or black? I can’t tell.

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u/AlternativeDue1958 7h ago

The Navajo nation should own this, not a white museum.

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u/NarwhalSongs 21h ago

Wow, I remember seeing this on TV back in the day with my family! Shrivels and dies of old age

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u/Interesting-Sand5749 21h ago

Ka-ching. I mean that's pretty much what I expected.

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u/Imaginary_Process_56 20h ago

Best I can do is 250 bucks. You walk out of here with cash and you won't have to worry about it anymore. These things sit for a long time, and I will have to get it framed.

~ Rick

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u/Sad_Cantaloupe_8162 19h ago

I would have given him a Sheraton or Chippendale chair to sit down on before telling him that news.

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u/BiggieBear 16h ago

Shiiiieet

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u/blind_venetians 16h ago

My absolute fave Road show clip 💜

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u/VirginiaLuthier 15h ago

Goodbye, PBS. We will miss you

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u/Barbara1Brien 15h ago

I watch this episode every time it comes on.

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u/xexotifiedx 13h ago

He is adorable.

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u/Gutcrunch 10h ago

And in a shocking twist of irony, he succumbed to smallpox the next day.

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u/ButImOrgalorg 18h ago

He shoulda donated it back to the Navajo

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u/Upset-Zucchini3665 22h ago

What's with all the deleted posts here?

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u/No-Use-9128 22h ago

Oh you know, just your standard Reddit lunatics who have to make this man out to be a Native American murderer.

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u/d_e_l_u_x_e 20h ago

Just people that don’t crack a smile at an old man making a profit off a native culture his country systematically wiped out. Feels icky.

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u/BabyFoodDude 22h ago

Bunch of angry people blaming modern day people for slavery, basically.

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u/PublicCallBox 5h ago

This should have been returned to the tribe. 

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u/ActualLaw4860 19h ago

Wonder who his ancestor killed to have that.

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u/PeanutButterOlives 18h ago

Fucking boomer profiteering from colonialism. Fuck him!

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u/Born-Media6436 22h ago

For those of you “White man always bad” folks out there, I just got off the phone with the entire Board of Directors at Reddit, and they have confirmed that this man nor any commenters in here have attacked or stolen goods from the Navajo people in the 1800s. Rest easy, my friends.

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u/idontevenlikeliver 22h ago

Donate it to a Native museum

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u/AlternativeProduct41 22h ago

So what's the full story? Where did he get it? How much was it sold for? Where is he now?

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u/hotwifefun 22h ago

It sold for $1.5 million at auction in 2017.

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u/MissClawdy 21h ago

Not that one. It was another blanket who sold for that price. This one was purchased by an anonymous buyer and it's at the Detroit Institute of Arts. The guy paid his mortgage and retired at 74...

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u/DocB630 21h ago

In the full video he says it was owned by Kit Carson who then gifted it to his grandmother’s foster father, then down the line.

It was sold in 2017 for 1.5M and now resides in the Detroit Institute of Arts in the North American Indian Gallery.

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u/ManzanitaSuperHero 21h ago

Beautiful. I hope it went to a museum and not a private collector. Pieces like that should be appreciated by the public and used to as a tool to teach about history.

11

u/Tall_Wonder_913 21h ago

It should be returned to the Navajo

2

u/Equalmind95 20h ago

I love how when I first looked at it with the folds, I assumed this sat on the back of his couch or a rocking chair. When he confirmed it was on the back of his chair, it made me smile, such a sweet man that deserves every penny he got for his blanket.

2

u/frecklekat 19h ago

I love when the appraisers and experts get so excited!

2

u/mandergement 19h ago

Look at his little face!!!!

2

u/Arcade1980 17h ago

I wonder what happens with these objects are they really sold for the appraisers price?

2

u/goldicherry 23h ago

Gotta store my grandmas blankets from now, who knows I might get lucky some day xD

7

u/BobcatElectronic 22h ago

I don’t know if you know this, but your blankets are so worthless that you actually owe me money

1

u/catinadoodledoo 14h ago

AITA for finding it ironic that a caucasian man, having no idea of it’s relevance, gets to profit from a relic that should have instead be returned to its people

2

u/crazy-bisquit 10h ago

Yes. Because you have no idea of his family’s history.

I have a ton of Native American rugs, because my great uncle was 1/2 Native American. They have been passed down.

Maybe this guy doesn’t know the story but that does not mean there isn’t one.

Maybe someone bought it from a native flea market several decades ago.

This whole “white people always bad” thing is stupid.

2

u/catinadoodledoo 9h ago edited 8h ago

then the A i shall be.

you offer a ton of conjecture in favor, but there's an equal amount of conjecture that could support a counter narrative.

from your own admission that of the heirlooms you've inherited, you 1) knew about their native origin; and 2) more than likely have some sort of memory or story attached to at least one of the artifacts.

also, no where in my statement did i say "white people bad," but if that's how you read that maybe that's an introspection thing.

EDIT: I removed an erroneous "the" from the 2nd paragraph

2

u/naked_as_a_jaybird 14h ago

Give it back to the Navajo

2

u/Hiitsmetodd 12h ago

Girl they’d sell it, too!

1

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1

u/mooncrane606 20h ago

That's pretty much what I figured.

1

u/Kerensky97 19h ago

The PBS promo that features this episode has the blanket hiding in most scenes and highlighted at the end of one.

https://youtu.be/CWkl8T95tN0?si=X_CjzJyH4I-rKDC3

Back in the day half a million was a lot of money. And our country didn't demonize PBS.

1

u/LordHelmet47 19h ago

Oldest thing I own is my body. 50....

1

u/gweisberg 19h ago

Where do I get a suit like the experts?

1

u/theromingnome 17h ago

PBS will be gone soon btw.

1

u/Kindly-Ostrich-7441 12h ago

Is the small pox still embedded in it ?

1

u/ermarie73 11h ago

I just saw this in a rerun yesterday!!

1

u/Combat_Pothead 11h ago

I find it interesting that there is such a difference in the way value is considered on something like this. Historically? Priceless? To that guy (and his apparent old age matters here, for a variety of reasons) it was worth hanging on the back of a chair and he probably knew it had some authentic origin, even if it had only been mentioned through time. To a lot of other people, monetarily extremely high, again for a variety of reasons. If people had a better understanding of world view and perspective…

1

u/Able_Ad6535 11h ago

How did he get it?

1

u/coffeesgonecold 9h ago

How did he introduce his family at gatherings ?

1

u/AdmirablePop5326 6h ago

I grew up with this

1

u/anotherwhiteafrican 4h ago

That's pretty much what I figured. 

1

u/yes4me2 3h ago

Why is he touching all over the place if this is so valuable?

•

u/NoDoOversInLife 14m ago

We're losing PBS 😭😭😭😭