A gold Royal typewriter originally given as a gift for an employee’s 10th year as vice president in 1940 was appraised on “Antiques Roadshow” for between $30,000 and $40,000.
The typewriter was brought to the appraisers by the original recipient’s granddaughter, who added that all of the top salespeople had their signatures engraved onto the typewriter, making it a truly one-of-a-kind piece.
Royal took the typewriter to Cartier, where each piece of the typewriter was plated in gold. Appraiser Grant Zahajko said that this typewriter in 1939 would have cost $5,000.
“When I asked some of the appraisers at the jewelry table, ‘What would you think it would cost to have something commissioned like this today?’ they couldn’t even put a number on it barely,” he said. “Because the cost of labor was less back then, and the cost of gold was less back then, $150,000 to $200,000 they speculated.”
This specific typewriter was even even exhibited at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York, and toured around the country to different Royal sales offices before being presented as a gift in 1940.
If anyone ever says there’s no value in personalized gifts or employee appreciation products, show them this.
