RICK HARRISON: What do we got here?
I have a signed letter from Napoleon from 1809.
He's writing to his minister of war regarding
gunpowder replacement.
RICK HARRISON: OK, cool.
So is that his initials?
That is a signature from that time period.
OK.
Looks a lot like mine, just.
[laughter]
[gunshot]
JASON: This letter is different because it talks
about gunpowder, which I don't think there is any letters
out there with that documented.
I'm going to be asking $3,000.
Napoleon was a great general, and he knew how to micromanage,
and that's what I like the most.
RICK HARRISON: The little general.
JASON: The little general, that's right.
RICK HARRISON: Napoleon was a really, really,
interesting guy.
He was the lowest of the low when it comes to royalty.
But since he was royalty, that really
helped his rise to power.
He was a little bit [bleep] crazy.
He worked like 18, 19 hours a day.
You know, the reason why he's bald right there
is from pulling his hair out.
Because he tried to do everything.
Napoleon Bonaparte is considered one of the greatest
military leaders in history.
He had the little bit of an ego, though.
When he was crowned emperor, he thought
the only person actually worthy to put the crown on his head
was himself.
So, I'm assuming you want to sell it?
JASON: I do.
RICK HARRISON: All right.
How much do you want for it?
I'm asking $3,000?
You know, I've been burned on Napoleon signatures before,
and I don't want that happening again.
So, do you mind if I have someone look at it?
JASON: Not at all.
I'm going to give him a call.
I'll get him down here, It will take him 10 minutes.
Sounds good.
If this checks out, it could be worth some good money,
and is definitely sell-able.
So I called in Steve, so he can take a look at it.
How you been?
RICK HARRISON: Parlais vous Francais?
Uh, oui.
Well this is what I called you about.
He says it's Napoleon.
This letter is about talking to a general
that we need more gunpowder.
And if you think about it, that shouldn't be, you know,
signed by Napoleon.
It should be someone lower.
But he was such a micromanager, he had to do it himself.
Of course.
That's just how the guy was, and it
kind of lends to his character.
RICK HARRISON: So is this legit?
STEVE: Well, the first thing I want to do
is I'd like to see it out of glass,
so I can see if it's printed or not.
No problem.
So can you take that out for me?
- Of course. - OK.
Through the years, I've seen my fair share
of Napoleon's signatures.
They're kind of rushed, hurried, more or less sloppy.
Like he just wanted to get through the stack of things
he had to sign.
So the first thing I'm going to do
is just put this on top of it.
And we're just kind of going to look at the ink on here.
See the ink right here. - Yeah.
You see how it starts to cut through it here?
And when I look deeper, there's no doubt in my mind,
that's live ink on there.
RICK HARRISON: OK, cool.
The next thing I want to do is rule out
any kind of secretarial versions,
or something else someone signed for him.
The most typical Napoleon signature
is more or less this style.
So basically, what we see is almost an NP.
His p is a little oversized here.
Here's another document.
Take a look at it again.
We see the same type of letter formations.
He comes right under here.
Look at this pressure he puts here.
He's putting that pressure there.
RICK HARRISON: So you think it's 100% legit?
No question about it. Yeah.
All great signs, yeah.
Great piece.
Good, good, good.
OK, so.
What's it worth?
The marketplace has really been flooded
with this guy's signature.
There's a lot of it out there.
And you know, collectors still collect it.
But you don't have a tidal wave of people trying to rush out
and get Napoleon signatures.
Based on all that, the value this is right about $1,500.
OK.
RICK HARRISON: Well thanks, man. Appreciate it.
Good to see you.
Good luck with that, man.
Thanks.
Nice talking to you.
You know I think a piece signed by Napoleon,
especially framed up with a picture of him,
I think that's something that is going to go pretty quick.
Because people do know this guy.
He's a big part of world history,
and he's still a desirable autograph.
So you're not going to give me $3,000 are you.
RICK HARRISON: No.
Well, now I can probably sell it for around $1,500.
There's definitely value here.
I mean, it's not like it's worthless.
But you know, $1,500 is a lot of money for someone
to spend on an autograph.
$2,000.
Why in the world would I ever do $2,000
when I could sell for $1,500? OK.
I'll tell you what. I will give you a grand.
Can't do it.
Thanks bringing it in, man.
If you change your mind, come and see me.
OK.
I'm pretty disappointed, because I just
figured that it was worth more, based
on the contents of the letter.
I guess I'll take it back home, put it in my collection,
and wait another 200 years.
See if it'll go up in value from there.