Antiques Roadshow's Most Valuable Find Ever: Rhino Cups May Set New Record (VIDEO)

The whole point of bringing your goods to Antiques Roadshow is the possibility of having found a small fortune in your attic.

For one man, that dream seems to have come true in a big way. The show recorded its biggest find ever on Saturday, after a Tulsa, Oklahoma, man brought in five antique carved rhinoceros horn cups, dating back to the late 17th or early 18th century, according to ABC News.

The man, who has chosen to remain unidentified, learned that the whole set was worth a whopping $1-$1.5 million, according to Reuters.

Apparently, the man had bought the cups for a tiny fraction of their value in the 1970s, reported CNN. The payout seems more than adequate.

The show's host, Mark Walberg, told KTUL that this was the show's second million-dollar find (and likely the most valuable in the show's history). "We had not had a million dollar find until last season we found some jade in Raleigh. Now, Tulsa, you are the top dogs now," he told the local affiliate.

You can scroll down to see the cups for yourself.

WATCH (The report from NBC):

The Cups:

Comments

[hempster]

04:58 PM on 07/30/2011

Oh the fortunes I've found and lost and even given away. Oh well.

[CSKAP]

03:12 PM on 07/30/2011

These are from Rinos from the 1600's. Not actually endangered at that time. It's like complaining about people who buy dinosaur bones since they are .....endangered to say the least.

[bluntobject]

01:50 AM on 07/30/2011

Great for him. Bad for the original owners. And very bad for the world at large in 2011, where you have some who will look at this more motivation to continue killing Rhinos for anything from superfluous medicinals to table ornaments.

[FalstaffsMind]

02:30 PM on 07/28/2011

I wonder if they would like my set of narwhal lawn 'jarts'.

[Sheldonrs]

12:46 PM on 07/28/2011

I wonder if they were made inot cups because of the belief that Rhino horns increase virility, which is why they are hunted to this day.

[littlepuffycloud]

10:33 PM on 07/27/2011

I bet they looked better on the rhino.

[LadyAurora]

04:30 PM on 07/27/2011

For those of you who believe that something is fishy with this guys story. My MIL collected antiques of all kinds. One thing she collected was old bottles. Some she bought at yard sales, some she dug up.

When we settled their estate a few years ago - we held an auction on the items that the family didn't want or had no room for (kinda of sad we couldn't keep more) and one bottle went for $700 dollars. Granted it was old - but no one ever thought it would be worth that much.

The people on ARS don't over inflate their quotes and when it comes to any item - as long as their at least two people who want it - well up goes the price. . .

[amaboss52]

04:06 PM on 07/27/2011

Congrats on his good fortune, sorry rhinos guess you'll have to bid higher if you want them back.

[Leadsled]

12:19 PM on 07/28/2011

Pretty sure the Rhino's involved, their families, friends and associates have been dead for several hundred years.

[amaboss52]

12:32 PM on 07/28/2011

Well there could be a Rhino antique collector out there. You never know, stranger things have happened. :-)

[Sheldonrs]

12:42 PM on 07/28/2011

Maybe they could work out some kind of Cup & Trade agreement. :-)

[pickle541]

03:57 PM on 07/27/2011

The value here might be from a lot of things... the age of the items for one, the exquisite artisanship of the carving... the rarity of these types of carvings expressly due to conservation laws, the history of how and why the things were made... but I think that the actual use of rhino tusks is takes away value both because people today feel disgusted about it, and because artists just use what they can get their hands on and what gives good results. Why is this not like leather goods?

[Debbie338]

02:47 PM on 07/27/2011

When they were made, rhinos were not endangered. But, why on earth would you give big publicity and big bucks now? You're just going to reward people who'll repeat the act to make money. The idea is to make them worthless so people won't KEEP killing rhinos.

[AKJM]

03:11 AM on 07/29/2011

Worthless and gauche would be a better appraisal.

[TheSarge]

02:40 PM on 07/27/2011

What your not considering is one of the reasons these are so valuable now is because of the rarity. (and the age and skill of the artisan) But they are rare now because we protect the rhinos, well we are trying to protect them. My only fear is sales of this type and value might encourage poaching, but in Africa poachers get shot.

[DJ Jack]

10:55 AM on 07/27/2011

They came from poached rhinos. How great is that? Not.

[GraphicMatt]

02:27 PM on 07/27/2011

Were they considered "poached" back in the 16/1700s when they were made? I'm all for protecting animals used for their tusks in this day and age, but whining about something that was made 250-300 years ago is just sort of petty.

[TheSarge]

02:41 PM on 07/27/2011

There were not poached! We had no laws in regards to conservation 4 centuries in the past.

[patardugno]

10:35 AM on 07/27/2011

EEeeeewww!!!!!

[astroup123]

09:19 AM on 07/27/2011

Thanks for giving hoarders more ammunition ARS.

[Joe Mando]

10:30 AM on 07/27/2011

Not a "hoarder" but offering to eliminate the 'middle man' in a great investment of a collector's item.

FWIW: I have a 1923 Gibson Model F5 "Lloyd Loar" Mandolin for sale. Signed by Gibson company designer/luthier Lloyd Loar. Only signed and approved by Loar from 1922 to the end of 1924. So far fewer than 300 are known. These range from $150,000 to $250,000 (depending upon condition and original parts, etc). This one was played and owned by bluegrass professional musician and pioneer Joe Val from 1979 - 1986. Current condition is excellent, and in perfect playing condition. Current price is 165,000 Euros (its housed in The Netherlands, but can be hand delivered to any country.)

[Joe Mando]

10:32 AM on 07/27/2011

Forgot to post the serial number: #72207.

Contact me about the mandolin at: KLbgrass(at)aol.com

...or just do a simple Google search for "Joe Val Mandolin For Sale" -- it will show up.

[muireinstein]

08:40 AM on 07/27/2011

I'll have to watch that episode. I confess, I watch all the episodes.