The Most Valuable Treasures Ever Featured on Antique Roadshow

Antiques Roadshow isn’t just for old folks. The show appeals to a broad demographic, with people of all ages tuning in to discover the secret value of seemingly mundane objects. It’s exciting to think that you could have something valuable lurking in your attic or basement. So, we watch with empathy (and perhaps a little envy) as other ordinary people like ourselves learn how much money they could make from their heirlooms.

Most people are aware that Rolex watches are valuable. However, few people understand just how valuable some special models can be. One Antique Roadshow participant was blown away when he discovered how good of a deal he’d secured himself. This U.S. Air Force vet picked up a Rolex in Thailand in the 1970s.

Back in the 70s, Rolex watches were luxury items, but they hadn’t yet become collector’s items. So, the man paid a decent chunk of change for his sparkly Rolex, but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t afford. 

The Antiques Roadshow appraiser could not believe he was really looking at this rare and special Rolex. It was one of the most incredible things to pop up on the show, and he quickly confirmed that it was a rare Paul Newman model. The owner had no idea it was so special. 

Back in Thailand all those years ago, the man had paid $345.97 for the watch. At the time, this was his entire month’s salary, so it was a significant investment. Still, when he discovered how much the watch’s value had grown, he was (literally) floored. 

One woman showed up for an Antiques Roadshow episode with a large oil painting in tow. It had been commissioned by her family in the early 1900s and passed down through the generations. The current owner’s grandmother is the woman in the painting, and the artist, Robert Henri, was a friend of their family at the time. 

The current owner knew Robert Henri was well-regarded, but she still didn’t realize just how valuable the painting had become. The last time she’d had it appraised was in the 1960s when it was handed down to her as part of an estate. 

The sentimental value outweighed the 1960s price tag, but what about now? Had anything changed in the decades that spanned between that last appraisal and this new one? Since it was a family portrait, the woman wasn’t holding out much hope. After all, what museum would want a painting of her granny?

It’s possible that the value skyrocketed after the 60s. However, it’s more likely that the appraiser the woman took the painting to back then simply didn’t know a masterpiece when he saw one. The painting was reappraised and given a startlingly high value. 

This 1896 Frederic Remington portrait ruffled some feathers between the owner and appraiser when the episode aired in 2014. The appraiser explained, “I’ve never reprimanded a guest for manhandling a painting before. When you were pulling it out and that foam core was there…”

The family members who had owned it had taken extremely good care of the art and had even kept the letter to the owner’s great-grandfather, who is pictured in the painting. 

When the show aired, the director of the Remington Art Museum, Laura Foster, was interested enough to look back at the records. She found that the owner’s family had actually done a trade with the museum for the piece to come into their possession.

Apparently, the 2 Remington paintings that the family had traded to the museums were not Remingtons at all! They were actually replicas of the famous artist’s work.

The trade involving the fake Remingtons meant that the family actually got an unbelievable deal on the valuable painting brought to the Antique Roadshow. 

This fascinating find was one of the most surprising Antique Roadshow items for audiences everywhere because the artwork doesn’t look like anything very impressive.

As it turns out, this item was one of the most valuable art pieces appraised on the show, which came as a shock to the owner as well as audiences everywhere. The piece was a work of art done by the artist, Alexander Calder.

Alexander Calder was so impressed by the work that he gave her this mobile as a thank-you for the pillow. Now, it might not look like much to a layman, but this mobile ended up being incredibly valuable.

In one of the most impressive Antiques Roadshow episodes which aired in 2009, a woman brought in a very impressive collection of jade. Her father had collected the jade items when he was stationed in China in the 1930s and 40s. 

This collection made Antiques Roadshow history because it was the very first item to be given a value of more than $1,000,000. The entire collection was valued to be between $710,000 and $1.07 million!

However, there was a major twist in the story that reminds us not to count our chickens before they hatch. While the collection was valued at over a million, an item is only really worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

Anyone who has collected baseball cars would be thrilled to have a collection like this one that was appraised on a 2015 episode of the show. The collection had come into the family in 1871.

That’s what made this collection so special. These were some of the first baseball cards from professional players ever! The letter that accompanied the cards had little handwritten notes and signatures from each of the players as well.

Apparently, the owner had once been offered $5,000 for the collection. While that might sound like a nice chunk of change, that is nowhere near the true value of the collection. When she heard what it was really worth, the owner was extremely grateful she hadn’t sold the collection for $5,000.

This item brought to the roadshow in an episode that aired in 2011 stirred a lot of controversy among audiences. This individual brought in a set of cups made from rhino horns.

The owner was fascinated with the stunning cups and collected them throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He explained to the appraiser how he had come into contact with each of the cups in the collection.

He was so invested and fascinate by the handy work of the rhino cups that he traveled all over and continued to add to his collection. He even stated that he “would rather collect something like this than eat”.

As his collection grew, the value increased as well. He was stunned to hear the real value of his collection. He knew the value it had for him but couldn’t have imagined the monetary value.

This Navajo blanket was brought to the roadshow in Tucson, Arizona in 2001 and made Antiques Roadshow history. In fact, it’s one of the episodes that many people are familiar with even if they don’t typically watch the show.

While the appraiser was interested in the connection to the famous American Frontiersman, Kit Carson, the owner had no proof of this so it could not add to the value of the appraisal. The owner did not know the value of the blanket until the appraiser said something surprising.

The appraiser asked the owner if he was a wealthy man to which the owner responded that he was not. The appraiser stumbled over his words. He stated, “Well, sir, um… I’m still a little nervous here, I have to tell you.”