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AMERICAN PICKER EPISODE: MUSEUM MAN


BEAST
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If anyone saw the newest episode of American Pickers, they were in Indiana (filmed during Summer '14) and they visited a woman (Petey) whose parents run antique shops and had a lot of military. One of the items shown in the episode was the uniform worn by Col John Foster who was the ambassador to Mexico and Russia in the 1880s. The viewer didn't get a very good look at the uniform or the rest of the group, but it was sold at the Rock Island Auction in September 2014 for a realized price of $28,750.

I grabbed one photo of the uniform from their site and have included a link to the page if anyone is interested. Col Foster was a Hoosier who served with throughout the Civil War.

http://www.rockislandauction.com/viewitem/aid/62/lid/1032

post-203-0-94746300-1421430463.jpg

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Beautiful Uniform. Did Mike and Frank purchase it on the show or pass it up?

They probably passed it up because it wasnt a motorcycle or a sign.

 

-Dave

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They probably passed it up because it wasnt a motorcycle or a sign.

 

-Dave

They did pass on it. You are exactly right though, they would've been all over it if it was a motorcycle or a sign.

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When they saw it, there comment was that it "was out of their wheelhouse." However during the show, they did contact someone at RIA and sent them photos of the uniform. The contact from RIA contacted them back and said the auction house would love to have a chance to auction it and they gave the contact information to Petey.

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They did pass on it. You are exactly right though, they would've been all over it if it was a motorcycle or a sign.

Not enough "meat on the bone" for the bungler. ..I mean bundler...I mean Frank :)

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When they saw it, there comment was that it "was out of their wheelhouse." However during the show, they did contact someone at RIA and sent them photos of the uniform. The contact from RIA contacted them back and said the auction house would love to have a chance to auction it and they gave the contact information to Petey.

One of their buddies is pretty involved with Rock Island.Hes been on the show and is a long time gun and Militaria dealer.

 

Thinking Petey didnt get the $ 25 grand after fees......

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I watched that episode. The guy looked like he had quite a bit of military packed away on those shelves.

 

- Henry[/quo

 

Ifit is the guy I have heard about a friend of mine has been in his shop over the last 5 or 6 years he has a ton of stuff and has sold a lot of stuff. I have heard he has four or five buildings full of items but a couple of the buildings are getting in bad shape and the roofs are caving in

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They bundled the bed roll with a Navy sea bag.

 

The sea bag had Navy WWII frogman fins in it that he gave back to her.

 

I've only seen fins like that once before from a frogman who reconnoitered a beach on Iwo Jima a couple of weeks before the invasion.

 

I don't think Mike's decision was a good one to give back the fins and not look for the rest of the group.

 

He passed up a great opportunity but as he put it "I'm out of my wheelhouse on these".

 

And by the way that's the first time I ever heard that expression only to hear it again on the news the next day.

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They bundled the bed roll with a Navy sea bag.

 

The sea bag had Navy WWII frogman fins in it that he gave back to her.

 

I've only seen fins like that once before from a frogman who reconnoitered a beach on Iwo Jima a couple of weeks before the invasion.

 

I don't think Mike's decision was a good one to give back the fins and not look for the rest of the group.

 

He passed up a great opportunity but as he put it "I'm out of my wheelhouse on these".

 

And by the way that's the first time I ever heard that expression only to hear it again on the news the next day.

 

Anyone see the rare German helmet during the bed roll scene ?

I think the seller said that she will throw in the fins as they shook hands, but he will probably never know the significance of them.
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USMC-RECON0321

 

I don't know where they sell their finds. We stopped at their shop in Iowa on the way out to Nebraska last year and the only things "For Sale" were Souvenirs, T-shirts, magnets, hats, etc... Not a single antique for sale in the shop, just a few "not for sale" items on display.

 

Troy

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That bag that had the fins in it was a WW1 denim barracks bag. It was ID'd on the outside to a guy in an MG battalion, but it went by too quick to make it out.

 

Way overpaid for the bedroll.

 

Bedrolls are usually the kiss of death. Very slow to move.

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Yeah, he passed up lots of good stuff. They just don't get there is a great market on militaria

 

-Dave

 

I think they 'get it' on the militaria market but don't possess the knowledge on how to even begin to guess at values and have probably 'over paid' or have been burned [like a lot of us have been at some point in our collecting careers] by fakes or reproductions

 

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Manchu Warrior

I hope they stay far far away from militaria items. Or they may end like Rick on Pawn Stars telling the viewers that a WWII US Navy Mark IV gas mask that he just purchased for $100 was worth over $300. By the way I just happen to have a couple of Mark IV masks and I am not greedy. Therefore I will gladly take $250 a piece for them. Any interest?

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American Pickers is a guilty pleasure. I know it is heavily staged etc etc, but I like the interaction of the cast. They DO seem to have a genuine passion in their primary collecting fields, and I can respect that...

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Their business is not selling collectibles: their business is being TV stars. Keep in mind that they really don't care for the most part about buying for resale: just like the Pawn Stars cast they are got rich from being paid as TV performers. Their stores (actually Mike's stores) probably turn a profit just selling t-shirts to tourists.

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But also, keep in mind, they are pickers - they have a clientele list that have them looking for things for them, not for Frank and Mike. So they buy many things and they go right to their customers.

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But also, keep in mind, they are pickers - they have a clientele list that have them looking for things for them, not for Frank and Mike. So they buy many things and they go right to their customers.

 

That is a very small part of what they do. Most of what you see them buy on the show was picked by their staff, according the various accounts. The production staff visits a site before the shooting day and decides what will be picked by Frank and Mike. They also agree with the seller on a price, so that when the show is filmed the outcome of the pick and the "negotiations" is predetermined. Again they have a TV show in which they play pickers and if something comes along that is right for one of Mike's "clients" they will often work that into the show. They've worked celebrities such as NASCAR drivers and William Shatner into the show by finding something they wanted. I liken the show to Storage Wars: what they spend for storage lockers and what they get for the contents is inconsequential when you consider that at one point, at least, Dave Hester had a contract that would pay him up to $750,000 for one season. I'm sure Mike and Frank make a lot more than that, espcially Mike who is credited as the creator, executive producer and co-host of the series: he has a level of control (and profit-sharing) that no one on Pawn Stars or Storage Wars has.

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