Beatles tickets worth more than memories

By the time the Beatles arrived in Detroit to play a concert at Olympia Stadium on Sept. 6, 1964, their first U.S. tour had already caused a stir in other American cities. The tour, which started on Aug. 19 at the Cow Palace in San Francisco and ended at New York's Paramount Theater on Sept. 20, went on to make international history and launch the now-legendary band on their road to stardom.

Up to 30,000 fans crowded into Olympia Stadium for the sold-out show. Lucky ticketholders Gayle and Mike Orlowski, now of Richmond, were among them. They paid $4 per ticket -- $3.73 plus 27 cents tax, Gayle notes. Tickets were also available for $2 and $3.

"We were there," Gayle told Robert DuMouchelle of DuMouchelle Art Galleries in downtown Detroit, during a recent appraisal session. Gayle was 15 and Mike 16 when the Beatles visited, and the now long-married high school sweethearts recently found the concert ticket tucked inside a bunch of high school memorabilia. Included was her used ticket stub, an unused ticket and the envelope they came in.

She was most intrigued with the unused ticket, which her son told her may have value. Son Matt explained how they came about having the unused ticket in his initial letter to Trash or Treasure.

"Per their usual weekly tradition, my mother and her parents were at a cousin's house for poker night," he wrote. "Her father, my grandfather, surprised her with the tickets. On the spot, my mother invited two of her cousins rather than any of her friends from school. Of course, having already been dating for a year, she also brought along her boyfriend at the time, my father, who coincidentally has been her husband now for 42 years. The night of the concert, one of the cousins was unable to attend, so the three of them went to the show with instructions from my grandfather to sell the ticket which, for whatever reason, they were unable to do. More than 40 years later, the ticket has still gone unsold and now sits as a reminder of a much simpler time, when you could see the most popular band in the world at a neighborhood arena for $4."

Unfortunately, says DuMouchelle, the unused ticket isn't in perfect condition. A small piece of it has been torn off the bottom. If perfect, the unused ticket would be worth about $750, says DuMouchelle, a price that similar items from the Shea Stadium concert in New York have brought. In its current condition, it would bring about $200-$250. The used ticket is worth $75-$200.

Gayle says she'll probably hang on to the ticket. "My son thinks it will go up in value when Ringo and Paul die," she says.

He may be right, says DuMouchelle. "It's hard to predict," he says.

What does she remember from that now-famous moment in history?

"It was complete pandemonium," Gayle recalls. "You couldn't hear anything."

About this item

Object: Beatles tickets

Owner: Gayle and Mike Orlowski, Richmond

Appraised by: Robert DuMouchelle,

DuMouchelle Art Galleries, Detroit

Estimated value: $75-$250

Do you have an object that you'd like to know more about? Send a photo and a description that includes how you acquired the object to: The Detroit News, Trash or Treasure/Homestyle, 615 W. Lafayette Blvd., Detroit, MI 48226. Include your name and a daytime phone number. You may also e-mail your photo and description to trashortreas@aol.com">trashortreas@aol.com. If chosen, you'll need to bring the item in for appraisal. Photos cannot be returned. Do you have an object that you'd like to know more about? Send a photo and a description that includes how you acquired the object to: The Detroit News, Trash or Treasure/Homestyle, 615 W. Lafayette Blvd., Detroit, MI 48226. Include your name and a daytime phone number. You may also e-mail your photo and description to trashortreas@aol.com">trashortreas@aol.com. If chosen, you'll need to bring the item in for appraisal. Photos cannot be returned.