I finally had a chance to watch the episode. I had that loco and tender in my hand and was able to look at it first hand. At first sight it looked decent, but up close it was a poor restoration. The people that originally bought out that hobby shop in Maryland were taking some to auctions and the rest was being carted around to various local flea markets. That is where I was able to see that loco and the case. He wanted $10/K at the time but could not prove that it was ever owed by Cash or any member of his family. He was pretty much scoffed at.
On the show the original asking price was way out of line and I said immediately no way its worth maybe $500 which is what Johnny came up with. Johnny was able to do some searching and was able to actually contact Cash's son who confirmed the provenance. Then the value was bumped up by $2000. I still would have never paid that much seeing that it was such a poor restoration. Rick paid the $2000 because he wanted it for his mantle.
Many items seen on the show are long gone if you visit the shop. These episodes are recorded months ahead of time and thousands of people visit the shop each week. If your the typical tourist you'll have to buy something while your there, over priced or not so not much from the show stays around for very long. When I visited the pig oiler was still there from a few seasons prior, but not much else that I recognized.
Tin