Conversation at the BAD gathering the other night got me wondering…
What cool old funky thing do you have in your house that might be seen on Antiques Roadshow?
StoryTyler
“Not everybody does it, but everybody should.”
I Spy Ty.
Whereas me and the little lady don’t have anything really…
WE want to bury these little procelain dragons we got in Chicago’s Chinatown for like 10 bucks. Then take it in there and appear really crestfallen when they told me it was worth like 5 bucks!
heeheehee
-Frankie
I’m not a shrimp, I’m a King Prawn.
-Pepe the Prawn
Can the cool old funky thing be a person?
Nothing. I hate antiques. It all looks like a bunch of old, worn out crap to me. Everything in my house is NEW! 
“Teaching without words and work without doing are understood by very few.”
-Tao Te Ching
Oh, right, like I’m going to tell you people exactly what valuable treasures are lying around my house. “Here’s where I keep 'em, this is when I’ll be away, and–oh, here are my keys.”
I ain’t QUITE as dumb as I look!
[insert punch line here]
does a 300MHz Pentium II count as an antique yet?
I once lost my corkscrew and had to live on food and water for several days
(W.C. Fields)
Several years ago I bought a bow for my upright bass from an 85 year old violin maker.
It’s about 100 years old, pearl frog, silver mounted, strong pernambucco (sp?) wood and real ivory tip. I paid $500 and really wonder what it’s worth.
Formerly unknown as “Melanie”
I have a picture that my mother gave me. It’s painted on a mirror, and portrays a German castle. It was one of a pair given to my great-grandparents as a wedding gift. I have no clue what it’s worth, and I’d sort of like to. But there aint no way I’m giving it up.
Several first-edition psychedelic posters from the Fillmore West and Avalon Ballroom, circa 1966 & 1967. I have two rare Grateful Dead ones, and one for Big Brother & The Holding Company with the Zig-Zag Man on the front (very cool).
A Waterford crystal tea set from the 1880’s that was a wedding present to my Great, Great Grandparents in Ireland.
A Neolithic axe head, probably about 10,000 years old.
A World War II gas mask, unsed in the original box, from 1939 that the British government handed out to my grandmother in Belfast during the war.
I went to the Antique Roadshow when it was in Salt Lake City a few months ago.
WHAT A FUCKIN JOKE!
We arrived early - before 5:00 a.m. They herd you in like cattle with the other thousands of people just to stand around 4 or 5 more hours. Finally, they direct you to yet another line to speak with an appraiser with expertise in whatever type of item you brought. Once there, you only speak to the person for less than a minute until they push you away to make room for the next person.
They didn’t tell me anything that I didn’t already know about my items. “Hard-bound bible, 16th century, written in Danish, fairly good condition. Worth approximately $300.00 to $350.00. Next. . . .” Then I am directed to another line to see about my second item.
The people you see on the television are pre-selected by people from the show.
I really enjoy watching the show, but if they ever come to your town you may want to think twice about going.
>^,^<
KITTEN
Fluff yer hair Beula, I’s feelin frisky - M.S.
Not even close. Now my Data General System One, the first IBM compatible laptop, which I bought in 1985, now that’s an antique. 4.77 mhz, 256k RAM, 300 baud modem and dual floppy drives; they don’t make 'em like that any more! What am I bid?
TT
“Believe those who seek the truth.
Doubt those who find it.” --Andre Gide
I love the show, but it always looked like rather a zoo. You can always see long lines in the background, and now they’ve taken to showing snippets of the very brief appraisals most people get between the more extended segments. I assumed they selected the especially unusual or interesting stuff for TV – I wonder if they warn the poor souls who have forgeries before they agree to go on camera?
My favorite guy was in the first season, a Scotsman who had a watch that turned out to be quite valuable. The appraiser said, “Of course, you may not want to sell it, since it has such sentimental value.” Replies the Scotsman, “I’m no’ tha’ sentimental!”
Catrandom, who has Scottish relatives 
Tandy TRS 80 Model 1, with the tape drive. Don’t have a monitor, but this black and white TV works fine It was a Christmas present about 10 years ago, and it was bloddy ancient then.
Seriously, I wonder about a lot of the old junk in my house, but I figure a lot of it’s probably just that. As long as I don’t have an expert tell me that, though, then I can keep my husband from throwing it all away by saying, “But it may be valuable someday!”
No, really seriously, I do have an old antique AM/short wave radio, one of the big ones the size of a chest of drawers, that’s in good shape except the plug needs to be replaced. I’d kind of like to know how much it’s worth.
“I hope life isn’t a big joke, because I don’t get it,” Jack Handy
Huh. I have some antique hairballs under the bed, but not much else.
But I do love seeing the people’s eyes light up when they learn their great-uncle Harold’s nose-organ from fourth-century Ceylon is worth more than the Taj Mahal.
AND I enjoy the blowhards who bring in Custer’s gun and boots with some elaborate story–but never saw the Made in China stamp on the bottom that means they’re worth jack.
“Well John, Custers boots are worth anywhere from 500,000 to 750,000.”
Johns eyes get huge andjaw hit the floor…
“But if you’ll look at the bottom of the right boot where it is stamped with ‘made in taiwan’ shows that its a forgery. Another indication would be the fact that its made of plastic…Sorry, but I bet it has alot of sentimental value”
John slinks away cursing the fucking appraisal jack ass…
Man I love that show!
-Frankie
I’m not a shrimp, I’m a King Prawn.
-Pepe the Prawn
Like Diane, I went when it came to my area. It was a true cattle-car experience with hours of waiting alongside literally thousands of people in line. I’m glad I did it though; I had fun.
The 2 items I took was appraised at @ $100 apiece, which was less than I thought.
What I DIDN’T take was a watercolor I have by Fogg, it’s insured for $12000.
I love the show. The tension when you try to guess what someone’s stuff is worth and the way they try to take it stoically when it’s basically crap.
I actually have a brush of fame of sorts with the show. Every now and then there is an appraiser named Frank Boos ( Like Booze) a white haired guy with a boy tie from Boos Galleries ( or something like that) in Birmingham, Michigan. His daughter was my Girl Scout Leader.
I have a 1850’s Story & Clark pump organ that was last appraised in 1980 (ish) at about $3,000. (My parents bought it for $150 in 1960) I wonder what it’s worth now. It is too heavy to move and fits perfectly on the wall where it’s at, so you won’t see me on the ARS.
What really gets my goat about that show are those brothers – are they twins? – the furniture guys.
They never fail to tell you that your piece would have been worth so much more if you hadn’t cleaned it up. Two hundred years worth of varnish and lacquer and Pledge on the highboy – and that’s a GOOD thing!
AuntiePam said - “What really gets my goat about that show are those brothers – are they twins? – the furniture guys.”
Ah, the Keno brothers (Leslie and Leigh). When I first started watching the show I really didn’t like them, either. I thought they were smarmy and condescending. But you know, they’ve kinda’ grown on me. They really seem to know what they’re talking about, and I like the way that they explain all the little details that make certain things so valuable.
I am extremely sexually attracted to Leslie and Leigh Keno. I think I might start stalking them when they get back to town. Or at least I’ll flutter around the auction houses. Do you think they’re gay?
Formerly unknown as “Melanie”