Christopher Coover, Longtime Antiques Roadshow Appraiser, Dead At 72

Christopher Coover, best known for his role on Antiques Roadshow, has passed away. He was 72 years old. According to Deadline, Coover passed away at a New Jersey hospital on April 3. According to Coover’s son Timothy, the scholar and TV personality passed away due to complications relating to his Parkinson’s disease.

During his frequent appearances on the long-running PBS series, Coover served as an appraiser of rare books, manuscripts, and other printed matter.  In addition to more than a decade on the series, Coover served in a similar expert capacity for Christie’s Auction House for 35 years. According to his official bio at PBS, Coover has served as trustee of the Manuscript Society since 1989 and from 1994-1996 as president, and has lectured on American historical documents and the writings of Mark Twain and Oscar Wilde. Of his years of work on Antiques Roadshow, Coover would admit that although he was sometimes out of his depth, he was never bored, and enjoys the unique aspects of every item he handles.

Among the most valuable and interesting items he evaluated on the show were a 1737 German atlas ($10,000 Auction – $15,000) and an Abraham Lincoln-inscribed speech and funeral invitation ($77,500).

In 1994, Coover oversaw the sale of the Leonardo da Vinci “Codex Hammer” for a record $30.2 million. In 2001, Coover wrote the catalogue for the sale of Jack Kerouac’s 119-foot scroll typescript of his landmark Beat novel On the Road, which sold for $2.46 million and has since been archived and reproduced for mainstream sale. PBS also touted Coover’s work overseeing the disposition of Malcolm Forbes’ collection of American historical documents, including letters from more than a dozen U.S. presidents. The collection as a whole sold for more than $40 million, a record, with numerous of its component pieces selling for smaller individual records along the way. 

Coover is survived by wife Lois Adams, son Timothy, daughter Chloe, and two sisters. Our condolences go out to his friends, family, collaborators, and fans during this difficult time.