COREY: Hey, what's up, man?
How you doing?
So I brought a little touch of jazz for you today.
OK.
I have an autographed picture of Louis Armstrong,
but more importantly, a handkerchief
signed by Louis Armstrong.
Oh, wow.
That is really cool.
WILLIAM: When Louis was on stage,
he always had a handkerchief.
COREY: I don't know if I really want
to touch this because it's covered in sweat and spit
and everything else.
WILLIAM: Absolutely.
I came to the pawn shop today to sell
an autographed picture and handkerchief
of Louis Armstrong.
I'm not necessarily an isolated fan
of anyone in particular in jazz, but Louis Armstrong, I think,
everybody is a fan of.
I'd love to walk out of here with a couple of grand.
Probably won't go lower than $1,000.
COREY: So these are really cool, man.
Where'd you get these?
Well, my grandfather was at a Louis Armstrong concert.
And at the end of the show, he happened
to throw the handkerchief out into the audience.
And my grandfather caught it.
And at the time that he got this autographed,
he went ahead and got this autographed as well.
So he gave it to me a long time ago.
COREY: OK.
Yeah, I mean, the guy had a really, really long career.
Satchmo, which is what his nickname was,
and the reason they got that was because he was able to, like,
breathe so much, and it was like his mouth
could hold so much air, it was like a satchel.
WILLIAM: Yes.
COREY: I mean, how many trumpet players does anybody
know besides Louis Armstrong?
WILLIAM: He was very original.
COREY: Yeah, he actually made his big break playing
the cornet, not the trumpet.
One day, somebody told him, hey, man, you should switch
to the trumpet, and he did.
And there you go.
WILLIAM: The rest is history.
The rest is history.
Louis Armstrong was one of the most influential jazz
musicians in history.
And it's crazy to think, this guy's career
lasted almost 50 years and never really died down.
And judging from the way the guy could scat, I could see why.
Tell me this, man.
What are you looking to do with it?
Well, I definitely want to sell it.
OK.
Any idea what you're looking to get out of it?
This is such a rare piece, especially
the handkerchief itself.
I definitely could see getting a few grand for this.
A few grand meaning 3,000?
Yeah, we could start there, $3,000.
COREY: OK.
Definitely really cool.
Have you ever had anybody authenticate it or anything?
No, actually, I haven't.
OK.
Let me get my buddy down here so we can make
sure the signatures are legit.
And he can tell me what they're worth.
- OK, sounds fair. - All right.
I'll be right back. Take a look around the store.
I'll grab you when he gets here.
WILLIAM: All right, thanks.
My grandfather, he's an honest man.
I just know that it's legitimate.
I just hope that the guy comes across with a good price.
A signed handkerchief and glossy from Satchmo.
That's cool, dude.
One of the greatest jazz musicians of all time.
He started pretty much as a kid.
And then he became-- started becoming influential
in the '20s and '30s.
And the guy was still relevant in the '60s.
It's absolutely amazing.
Louis Armstrong, when you think of great jazz musicians,
he's the first guy you think of.
I think that guy faced a lot of adversity,
but he overcame everything.
And he is still at the top of the charts.
What are your concerns, Corey?
COREY: I need to know if the signatures are legit--
Sure.
--and what they're worth, man.
STEVE GRAD: OK, first thing I want
to do is, I want to take a look at the overlapping and the ink
and how it wells up.
And we take a look at that, and we see that right here.
COREY: OK.
STEVE GRAD: So we know we've got some live ink.
I love the green fountain pen.
That was kind of his trademark for signing for people.
So that's a good sign.
Next thing I want to do is take a look
at the examples I have on file.
He had this really nice flourishing L
that flowed throughout, and you could see that here.
Well, based on everything I see here, no question
it's 100% authentic, Corey.
Right on.
It's really cool, man.
So what do you think it's worth?
Well, I like the fact you've got the handkerchief with it.
It adds more to the story.
I'd place this whole package together--
at about 1,500 bucks.
Whoa.
Wow, man.
I appreciate you coming down, Steve.
Thank you very much. - Good seeing you.
All right, thank you very much.
Yep. Thanks, man.
Louis Armstrong died in 1971, but people still love the guy.
I mean, if you're going to start a jazz musician collection
or have the jazz greats, he's one you want to have for sure.
COREY: So you're asking for two grand, man.
You're-- - I was asking for three grand.
COREY: Three grand.
Already low balling me now, come on.
[chuckles] Now, can I build a big shadow box
for it and mount this in there and actually
market it and sell it?
Yeah, but what am I going to have to pay to do it?
That being said, man, I'll do 800 bucks.
Whew.
800?
That's a huge drop-off.
Come on, bro.
You got to work with me.
Look, look, buddy-- WILLIAM: How about 1,500?
He said 15. - He said 15.
He said that's what I could get for it.
I'll tell you what, I'll do 1,000.
That's more than fair, my man.
Whew, man.
Got me sweating.
I wish I could use this to wipe my forehead.
COREY: [chuckles]
All right, let's settle on 1,000.
COREY: Cool, buddy. Come with me.
I'll write you up.
All right.
Am I disappointed that I dropped to $1,000?
Yeah, but I'm happy that at least
I didn't get below the range that I said I wanted.