since its inception antiques roadshow
has been a reliable albeit low-key money
maker for its network for more than two
decades fans have tuned in to see what
things such as vintage sewing machines
paintings toys and jewelry are worth
sometimes what people believe are
genuine historical artifacts or
priceless treasures end up being
worthless replicas other times what
unsuspecting owners think are just
novelty knickknacks turn out to be one
of a kind and extremely valuable works
of art antiques roadshow is currently on
its 26th season the series's simple yet
irresistibly charming premise has earned
it a devoted following over the years
but not everything you see on screen is
exactly as it appears in this video
we'll be taking a look at a few hidden
secrets from behind the scenes of
antiques roadshow that fans won't see on
tv your chance of getting on the show
are quite low throughout each season of
antiques roadshow at least before covet
19 the show's production team visits six
cities for taping between june and
august at each one of these events
organizers appraise between six thousand
and ten thousand items around four
thousand people are selected randomly
from a pool of online applicants for a
ticket each lucky ticket holder can
bring up to two objects for evaluation
of these 4 000 people only about 80 are
chosen for inclusion since 2019 the
average was roughly 30 items per episode
out of a pool of about 5 000 pieces
items that have the greatest chance of
being featured on the show are typically
intriguing with a fascinating backstory
on top of that the appraiser also needs
something riveting to say about the
items unlike most other reality shows
there isn't some kind of board of
producers that makes decisions about
what content makes it on the air it's
the appraisers themselves
that petition the producers to feature
the items based on how interesting they
find them to be an item can't simply be
valuable it also needs to be compelling
enough to make for good television
previously the show has passed on
featuring valuable pieces of art worth
upwards of five hundred thousand dollars
just because their backstories weren't
very appealing so if you really want to
make it on the show you both have to be
extremely lucky and have something super
unusual tucked away in your attic with
one heck of a history in 2020 the
producers were forced to switch up their
tried and true formula after kova took
the world by storm that year's tour
ended up being cancelled instead the
show's appraisers visited a number of
celebrities to discuss and appraise
their belongings four episodes were made
in this format which aired in 2021 for
the 2021 tour the appraisers returned to
working with everyday people but
segments were not filmed on location at
large crowded events instead guests at
each tour stop were invited to have
their items appraised on closed sets a
set of dealers were accused of fraud in
2001. in march of 2001 a duo of antique
dealers were indicted on federal mail
and wire fraud charges after they were
accused of staging phony appraisals on
antique roadshows to boost their
reputations as civil war era weapons and
military artifact experts russell
pritchard iii and his associate george
juno of pennsylvania were accused of
faking the televised appraisals of
several items in 1996 by arranging for
their friends to come on the show and
present the objects in reality they had
already rehearsed the entire thing and
knew full well the value of the antiques
in 2009 pritchard pled guilty to the
scam and was sentenced to a lengthy
prison sentence in 2020 he pled guilty
to additional theft charges for stealing
antiques worth more than a hundred
thousand dollars if convicted he could
face up to 24 years in jail appraisals
are provided free of charge while it
might be difficult to actually get on
the show all ticket holders still
receive a free appraisal for their two
items antique appraisals typically cost
between 250 to 300 per item so this
still ends up being a pretty decent
benefit even if ticket holders don't get
selected for air time appraisers are
given time to research the items while
clearly the appraisers on antiques
roadshow are experts it would be
impossible to know all the little
details about each and every item that
comes their way once an antique has been
selected to be featured on the program
appraisers are given somewhere between 5
and 30 minutes to do a bit of fast
research to come up with information to
share when the cameras are rolling the
appraisers aren't always right with so
many items to look at every year it
would be impossible for the appraisers
not to make a few mistakes in 2016 the
show experienced a bit of embarrassment
after a jug featuring a disfigured face
was presented for appraisal by expert
stephen fletcher after identifying the
jug as a rare piece of collectible
pottery dating back to the late 19th or
early 20th century fletcher declared it
to be worth between thirty and fifty
thousand dollars in reality however the
jug which was acquired at an estate sale
for three hundred dollars turned out to
be an oregon high school students art
project from the seventies after a
friend of the actual artist bend oregon
resident betsy sewell told her about the
jug's appearance on the show she
contacted pbs to inform them about the
mistake fletcher later re-evaluated his
estimate and valued the jug between 3
000 and 5 thousand dollars before we
tell you more about antiques roadshow be
sure to give this video a like and
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already the most valuable antique ever
featured on the show might surprise you
throughout its 26 year history many
valuable and priceless items have found
their way onto the show so it's a bit
difficult to determine what constitutes
the most valuable regardless a few items
have been appraised on the program that
clearly are something special for
example in 2018 a 1904 painting entitled
el abanil or the laborer by mexican
artist diego rivera was valued at 1.2 to
2.2 million dollars by appraiser colleen
fesco when originally evaluated in 2012
fesco appraised the painting at eight
hundred thousand dollars to one million
dollars but she updated the value to
reflect the prices of other works by the
artist one has even sold for 9.7 million
dollars they'll move bulky furniture for
guests a rare baseball card or painting
might be easy enough to pack up and take
to a taping but you might wonder how
giant pieces of furniture end up getting
at the events if the appraisers find an
item to be interesting enough they'll
request the show move it for the guests
for free ticket holders can submit
photos of their belongings to the show's
producers before taping if they're
selected a crew will come and pick it up
for them at no charge provided they live
within a 60 mile radius of the taping
location and yes they'll pack it up and
deliver it back for them afterwards
there's a strict dress code producers of
antiques roadshow have one rule for
guests on the program if selected for
taping a guest cannot wear any item of
clothing that incorporates a corporate
or brand logo this is because the show
would have to petition the company to
get clearance to display these logos
some items are forbidden an item's high
value doesn't necessarily mean it's a
shoe-in to be featured on the program
appraisers are free to refuse to assess
an item if it's something that falls
into one of several categories
prohibited items include fossils tools
currency motor vehicles stock
certificates stamps explosives
ammunition or anything else potentially
hazardous one of the most interesting
prohibited items are glass fire
extinguishers these fragile objects also
known as fire grenades were thrown into
fires in the 1800s to help extinguish
blazes they contain the poisonous
chemical carbon tetrachloride which
probably shouldn't be handled by anyone
even so some fire grenades have been
sold at auction for up to two thousand
dollars now it's time to hear from you
what's the wildest item you've ever seen
on antiques roadshow let us know in the
comments section below and before you go
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