Featured A curious piece, I'm looking for advice on value

Hi everyone,

It's been awhile! I came across this crystal ice bucket that has plated silver, but what made me purchase it was the inscription. It reads "P.G.A. Champions Dinner 1968". The only other one I can find online sold at auction for a silly price. One of the reasons the other one sold so high was because it was owned personally by Sam Snead and included verifiable provenance. With that said, I'm struggling to think about how I value the piece absent of the provenance (a tricky business I know). I suspect this was only handed out to those in attendance of the champions dinner in 1968, and there don't seem to be many around, what do you think? I paid $13 by the way. The last image is the auction crystal that sold for over $500 on Heritage Auctions (i've already contacted them, waiting for response).

 

That's a tough one, Nate. Was the $500 one the ex-Snead or without a big name owner?

 

Golf collectors still abound,so Im sure there'd be a market for this. Did you see this ? https://greenjacketauctions.com/bids/bidplace?itemid=21860

 

Well, according to a quick internet search, the gift at the dinner was selected by that year's P.G.A. winner which in 1968 was Julius Boros. Perhaps that will provide something to hang a value on.

Debora

 

Isn't the glass of your piece a different pattern than the Snead bucket? I'm going nuts scrolling up & down, but see sort of a grapes/fruit motif on Snead's?

 

I thought

Thank you for the link Johnny, that helps in my research a lot.

 

I thought that also when I first looked at it, but what you are actually seeing on the auction site is the crystal reflecting the pattern on the base. I feel very confident that it is the same item, with a different owner.

 

The $500 was previously owned by Sam Snead, a major owner (one of the best golfers of all time).

 

I know who he was, just wasn't sure that the one that went for $500 was his.

 

I did wonder whether I was being tricked by reflections, lighting, etc., since it made little sense that they would be different.

 

Hi, Nate! I'm getting ready to send several dozen items from various PGA tournaments to Green Jacket Auctions this week. I've spoken with Bob several times and he's a super nice guy who's full of info that he's happy to share.

To save a little time, ice buckets like yours were probably at each table during the dinner. Crystal pieces like your lovely ice bucket are only worth the "big money" if they can be attributed to a particular player.

At $13 it was a great buy! Green Jacket only charges 15% commission, but you have to pay the shipping and insurance to get it to them in New Jersey.