AFTER working closely with NASA astronauts, an employee scored a very special model of a famous rocket that turned out to be worth $30,000.
NASA's Apollo 11 took humans to the moon for the first time.
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While only three people were on board the 1969 space trek, a huge team made it happen.
One of those people was a guest on Antiques Roadshow. He had worked for North American Aviation, an American aerospace manufacturer that designed and built several notable space crafts.
He started as an inspector and worked his way up to an engineer.
After the Apollo 1 tragedy, he started collecting pictures and other memorabilia.
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One of the first things he bought was a jacket with the Apollo Project logo on the back and his name and position on the sleeve.
"I think it was $40, which was a lot of money in the '60s," he said in an episode of the PBS show.
He had a picture of himself inspecting the Apollo 11 command module along with a ship model that came apart to reveal the first—and second-stage rockets.
He managed to get 15 astronauts to sign the model.
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"I was good friends with them, I met them in the early '60s," he said.
"We had to go through classes together, so I got to know them on a personal basis, and they're crazy guys, so we had a lot of fun."
My grandad passed down his 'crown jewel' hall of fame program - an expert said it's worth $50k because of key signature
The collection also included the serial number sticker from the Apollo 11 command module and the sticker labeling the rescue hatch.
"You realize that space nerds everywhere are going crazy right now?" said appraiser Matthew Quinn.
The guest said he had no idea what any of it was worth, but Quinn had good news for him.
Quinn estimated that the jacket alone would sell for between $3,000 and $5,000 at auction.
The guest was pleasantly surprised, but the model was worth even more.
"This is an executive model," Quinn said.
"They have come up at auction before. They have not come up with the signatures that you have."
He pointed out the names of Walt Cunningham, Buzz Aldrin, Aland Shepard, and even a faint Neil Armstrong.
He estimated that at auction, the model would sell for between $20,000 and 30,000.
The most valuable items were the stickers, which could be sold for between $30,000 and $50,000 since they came off the actual ship.
The guest was in disbelief and laughed because he displays the model in his "man cave."
"Well, that's a nice thing to have in the man cave," joked Quinn.
All about Apollo 11
The Apollo moon landing marked the first time humans stepped foor on the moon.
On July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin toucheddown in the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle.
Armstrong became the first person to step onto the moon's surface, and Aldrin later joined him.
The two spent just over two hours exploring the surface as pilot Michael Collins flew the command module Columbia alone in space.
In total, Aldrin and Armstrong were on the moon's surface for 21 hours before rejoining Collins.
The three men returned to Earth eight days later on July 24, landing safely in Hawaii.
AMERICAN HISTORY
Another part of American history was featured on Antiques Roadshow in the form of some sports memorabilia.
The guest explained that his grandfather had snuck into the 1939 grand opening of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
He had to hide in the bathroom all day to avoid getting caught and got autographs from some of the biggest names in the game.
Antiques Roadshow expert evaluator Jasmani Francis said that the program would only be worth a few bucks on its own.
The signatures of Cy Young, Walter Johnson, Honus Wagner, and, most significantly, Babe Ruth made it worth a pretty penny.
"An auction estimate we think appropriate for this piece with all of the autographs, talking about the centennial 1939 Cooperstown program, we think an auction estimate appropriately is around $10,000 to $20,000," Jasmani said.
"Interesting, well, grandad — this was his crown jewel," the guest told Jasmani.
"He knew he had something special, and he loved sharing the stories with us."
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Another Roadshow guest had a rare Red Sox jersey that was worth at least $200,000.
Plus, see the decorative box that had been passed down for generations that is worth $15,000.
