Garage Sale Picasso from Leisure World Turns Out to Be Worth a Lot More Than $1

It’s every garage-saler's fantasy: A $1 find buried in a box of old junk turns out to be worth a fortune.

While it may be more dream than reality for most, Ruby Emam of Leisure World is content to know that the Picasso sketch she bought for $1 is worth $65.

“I saw it at an estate sale in Leisure World, and I bid $1 and got it,” Emam said. “It’s worth $65, so how can I not be happy?”

Emam was one of dozens of antiques collectors to attend Sunday’s Seal Beach Friends of the Library antiques appraisal workshop and membership drive at the Mary Wilson Library. People brought in family heirlooms along with garage-sale and flea-market finds to be appraised by auctioneer Janet Greene. While sharing antiquing tips with the crowd, Greene examined everything from antique coffee makers, jewelry and sewing tables to a Japanese vase and a piggy bank handed down through the generations of one family.

While Emam was happy to learn the value for her Picasso, she was disappointed to learn that a necklace that had been passed down from her grandmother in Russia was only worth $100 to $110.

“It has been in my family for 150 years,” Emam said. “They say it is a gemstone, and I was expecting more because they say it is the cut that makes it so special.”

However, in Greene’s appraisal, the green, emerald-like stone is probably  glass.

“It is a pretty piece,” Greene said. “But I think the stone is glass.”

A good trick is to place droplets of water in the stone, said Greene. If it remains a bead of water, it is likely a stone, but if it flattens on the surface,  it is likely glass, she said.

It can be a delicate process, letting people know that a particular antique may have more sentimental than monetary value, said Greene, who periodically conducts the free appraisal workshop for the Friends of the Library.

For many antiques, Greene suggests that owners wear them, display them or use them, rather than hide them away.

On Sunday, Green also examined a small antique and intricately carved wooden stool purported to have belonged to Adolf Hitler.

Greene appraised its worth at $125 to $150.

“Small chairs sell not for sitting, but for decoration,” she explained. “We’ll skip the Adolf Hitler aspect because there is no way to prove it unless you have a great picture as proof.”

Greene’s youngest client of the day was 5-year-old Steven Bender, who brought in a small statue of a dog that serves double duty as a coin bank.

“It belonged to my grandma, and then to my dad, and then my dad gave it to me,” said Steven.

Banks are still very popular with collectors, and this one has crossover appeal to people who collect dog figurines, said Greene.

“I think this would sell for $75 to $80, and that’s not counting what is inside,” she said.

Greene also examined some antique Nippon dishes. Following an 1890 law that required imported goods to be imprinted with the country of origin, Japanese importers began using "Nippon" instead of "Japan" to combat a perception that the quality of Japanese products was inferior, said Greene.

As for the Picasso, it was likely a commercial piece and not a limited edition, said Greene. Its value today stems partly from the fact that its bold, graphic design complements the midcentury-modern style of decor currently in vogue, she said.

“It’s very striking,” she said. “It’s graphic, and it fits the market right now.”

Note: To join the Seal Beach Friends of the Library, call 562-431-2020.