Sports Memorabilia

Nancy Kerrigan: Olympics Figure Skating Memorabilia & "Halloween on Ice" Costume

Celebrity Edition: Nancy Kerrigan

Transcript

APPRAISER: I know we got some more fun stuff over there.

GUEST: Yeah, come take a look.

APPRAISER: So we set some of your goodies out.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: Tell me a little bit about this one, it's very familiar.

GUEST: Yeah, well, it's, like, a replica of what Michael Jackson wore in the "Thriller" video, and I wore that in "Halloween on Ice." I had pallbearers carrying me out onto the ice in a coffin, and I lay there for ten minutes before the music started, creepy, and start, you know, that creak of, sound of the coffin opening up. And then I came out and did a whole production number. It was so much fun. It was the start of "Halloween on Ice," which I've done for over 20 years now, and allowed me to do something other than competition skating, and be a character in something really different.

APPRAISER: Over the years, it's deteriorated a little bit.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: That happens with costumes. They're not meant to maintain for all these years.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: But it's pretty classic, and people collect figure skating costumes. But the condition is a factor.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: So if I were to estimate this in an auction, I'd probably put an estimate of maybe $500 to $700 on it. And, if I were to insure it, I'd insure it for about $1,000.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: Now, this one I recognize.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: Instantly. So you wore this in 1992 at Albertville.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: This was the long-form dress, the wedding dress that got all the attention.

GUEST: (laughs)

APPRAISER: Tell me a little bit about it.

GUEST: It's a Vera Wang. Vera Wang actually was a skater herself, and she skated in Lake Placid with my coaches. And so, Mary Scotvold, one of my coaches, called her and said, "Hey, would you mind doing a dress for a skater?" And so she did. This was a challenge for me. It's beautiful and it fit really nice. But it didn't stretch enough, so I never got that triple lutz in the competition wearing it, so that was a little frustrating. But it got so much attention. It was on the cover of "Life" magazine at the year end, which was pretty cool, because Kristi Yamaguchi won the Olympics-- I was third. So I think I was on the cover because of the dress. It's so beautiful and classic, and not so "figure skating looking," which I, I really liked.

APPRAISER: What makes this really exciting is, obviously, it got a lot of attention at the time. It's also kind of credited for ushering in a, a new kind of fashion couture...

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: ...into figure skating, very much...

GUEST: This was a big deal to not have seams on the shoulder. Like, that was, for some reason, they made such a huge deal of that, because the structure was more difficult, I guess.

APPRAISER: That's right. It's not only sports memorabilia, it's, it's fashion history. It's probably one of the most famous figure skating outfits, if not the most famous figure skating outfit...

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: ...in the world. So it's pretty good. If I were to estimate it in an auction, I'd probably estimate it somewhere in the $20,000 to $30,000 range.

GUEST (laughing): Seriously?

APPRAISER: Yeah. Yeah.

GUEST: Wow. That's crazy.

APPRAISER: And if I were to insure it, I wouldn't insure it for anything less than $50,000. Nancy, this is a museum piece.

GUEST: Wow!

APPRAISER: Just as a piece of fashion.

GUEST: Wow.

APPRAISER: And history

GUEST: Amazing.

APPRAISER: So it's really cool.

GUEST: Great.

APPRAISER: You've kept it very nice, it's beautiful.

GUEST: I mean, it's important to me, but I didn't realize it would be...

APPRAISER: Yeah.

GUEST: ...worth so much.

APPRAISER: Oh, yeah, it's a, it's a great piece.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: And speaking of great pieces... We've got these.

GUEST: This is from 1992 when I got the bronze medal in Albertville, France. And the middle, from what I understand, is Lalique crystal, which is from

France, and this is from 1994 in Lillehammer, Norway. It was just an amazing thing to be able to represent the U.S. at the Olympics. I feel very, very grateful.

APPRAISER: Well, and I think America was very grateful to you, as well. And obviously, your story is incredible, and here is a tangible thing that kind of tells your story. Olympic medals are the apex of Olympic collectibles. To the person, the athletes who dedicate their entire lives to the sports, they mean everything and are totally priceless. But there are collectors who collect this stuff. The bronze, it's a very high-profile medal because of the dress, because of you. It's beautiful, it really is. The Lalique is beautiful. Some medals are nicer-looking than others. I would estimate that at auction $30,000 to $40,000.

GUEST: Wow.

APPRAISER: I would, I would insure it for $50,000. It's a very important medal.

GUEST: (exhales)

APPRAISER: Your '94 medal, again, because of everything that happened and your triumph in getting there and doing it, and everything about it, I would estimate it at $50,000 to $70,000. And I would, I would insure it for at least $80,000.

GUEST: Wow!

APPRAISER: Yeah. All these things are, are really... They're powerful pieces, and I know that, that when people are watching this now, they're, like, "Wow, I remember that," you know?

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: And, and that's important.

GUEST: It means something to me because I felt people behind me, people rooting for me. From locally, and my own team getting me there, and helping me through a tough situation, to my community as a figure skater. But the world, like, sending me letters by the bucketful day after day. I just feel so thankful that I had that support. It really... It helped me to do it.