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I heard that on tonights show the Pickers will be in North Carolina visiting with Thorton Beroth. Thorton is a good old boy that goes to the shows and has a great collection. I have seen him several times at Iowa, Columbia and Peotone and he probably goes to other places as well. Take the show for what it is worth but it will probably show some of Thortons great collection. I saw it once in person. Or I thought I did, I found out later he has a lot more than is on display in his old two story bank building.

...can't imagine Thornton had anything in the Peckers' price range...

Non-reality TV.

I don't think the meaning of the post was to rehash that reality TV isn't really reality. We all know.
Turn the volumn off and check out the collection. It's fun to see people's collections, at least for me.

Watched it SWEET collection!

Great collection, Harley back lit is same as a 1920's ink blotter, I'd be nervous spending that kind of money on it.

I personally thought the Harley back lit looked new......Anyone elses thought?

Brandon

IMO fantasy item made for someone Named Lou

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/harley-davidson-firestone-tires-lighted-sign

My first thought seeing it was fake. IMO

Great job Thorton!!! And by the way, Thorton doesn't do "fake", so if he says it's real then you can take it to the bank (no pun intended).


Richard

Thorton is a really nice man. Always congenial. First met him I'm 1990 at IG.

...this might come as a surprise to some of you but I didn't bother to watch last night, because I can't stand the 'stars' of that show, or the contrived format...I've been fortunate enough to be able go to Thornton's to see his collection a couple of times...I suppose if you watched it with the sound off and managed to turn away from the set when the Peckers were on screen, it might have been of some value...

...personal feelings for Thornton aside, IF the sign shown in the Worthpoint auction linked above is the same sign from American Peckers, it's a fake full of computer-set type...

I was waiting for Mark to chime in as I respect his opinion on screen printing. My first thought was its a pure fantasy piece. The font of Harley Davidson looked too new. Makes for some good TV though,don't you think their "expert" should have known?

I've know Thorton for about 15+ years and he's a great guy to deal with. He's always threaded us fair over the years.. That aside the sign is 100% fake.. It's a late 20's logo on a 50-60's light box.. not mention the lettering, defiantly not from the 20's... It's a shame that they could air something like that on tv, just goes to show they have no idea what there doing on that show...

I agree with john. I regard marks opinion on font, typeset, lettering to be the pinnacle of our hobby. He really knows this stuff.

I too was thinking fantasy on the HD sign. Would be easier to determine if you could see the inside of the sign.

I ment NO disrespect to Thornton,he is a stand up guy and a good friend...its the TV show

...me neither...the sign is what it is...

I said to my friend I was watching the show with that the Harley item looked questionable to me. The fonts and the sloppy Firestone wording just didn't look right. Just my initial thoughts on it....
Darin

Here is a question. Who is to say that the sign was actually Thornton's? Is is possible (with the history of the show) that that sign was planted. Just a thought.

...that's certainly plausible enough - honestly, I'm less concerned with whose it was, and more about that sign being passed off down the road as genuine...

I agree.

I double agree,especially when their "expert" says it's worth 5K
It won't be long till the are everywhere

Hear! Hear!

Have heard horror stories on how the little guy( one of the stars) treats people out in the real world. So if they got taken, well what goes around comes around. Loved looking in Thornton's place but how these two TV stars??? act, they have not done the collecting world any favors. Is fishy when so called expert always comes up with a much bigger price of things they buy on the show.

On this week's episode the guys met the "Duke of Oil." I can't remember his whole name but it was Thorton something.

Just wondering if anyone on here knows him or has been by his shop? It's open to the public.


The Marilyn Monroe poster was probably my favorite piece. He had one of the better conditioned Pan Am Doughboy signs I've ever seen.

Waaaayyyyyy too much for the eyes to absorb in 20 mins.

I'd also be interested to know if anyone noticed any repops? The guy has been collecting only since 1995. So his time in the field makes me wonder if he really had the knowledge to obtain all of that so fast and not get burned. However, he was apparently the VP of some oil company. So he could have easily been knowledgable before he started collecting.

PLEASE, I know how much negativity American Pickers generates sometimes. I don't care about Frank, Mike, the prices, or anything else. The collection could have been on Antiques Roadshow or Jersey Shore and I would've been just as blown away .

Here Eddy, read this thread. It has some of the info your looking for.

http://www.oldgas.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=371212#Post371212

Thanks Dave. I searched a little and didn't see that topic. I'm on my iPhone so it's hard to tell lol. Away from my laptop for the holiday

Thorton is a great guy. Very generous. I love it when he brings his antique electric hot dog cooker to the shows and feeds us hungry soles. When you are around him you can tell he really enjoys the hobby. His wife is a peach as well. Always enjoy spending time talking with her.

that harley piece was made within the past 10 years imo,

I watched the show and all I herd him say was he had it for ten years and looks like that is how old it is if you look close at the box.

I know I'm late but i just saw the one were they bought two Tokheim 850s for less than 800 dollars. They called them some stupid name and said they were made in cedar rapids iowa but Tokheim moved to Fort Wayne in 1918 ..before 850s were even designed. They act like they are contributing to the hobby but they don't even have their facts straight

americans believe what they see on tv! If they did not show what they bought and sold an item for no one would watch..Most people care about the value not the history. Wait till one of those firestone light ups hits ebay....now that will be fun to watch

Inflating the value of any repop is wrong. Point blank period.


However, I do not agree with those that say that reality t.v. is damaging the hobby as far as values of real items go. There have been MANY (in fact I would say the majority) of the items that the Pickers, Pawn Stars, or some other reality shows I've seen, have had on there, and they are very regularly priced MUCH lower than most of the items at auctions end up being, they're lower than most of eBay, and they are lower than some of the listings on sites like this and others.

I for one wish more people would price items like the Pickers do. Even the price they sell them for is cheaper than I can buy.

Take the episode in question. They traded a PanAm Doughboy. Fairly rough condition, but not horrible by any means. In the trade, they gave it a value of $475 I believe. I'd buy Doughboys alllllll day for $475 lol.

They do misinform and make things about money too much. But they aren't all bad.

Thorton Beroth gives tours of his collection to small groups at certain times during the cruise-in.

The Cruise-In at Pilot Mt. NC is held the 1st Sat. of the month for 6 mos. May to October. The Cruise-In features a live band that plays (beach music). This is one of the Best Cruise's ever and should not be missed.
Bob in the Carolina's

I also know Thornton and have enjoyed sitting and hearing his stories. For my part I would love to think that Thornton knew exactly what he had and "took those boys to the cleaners". That said, I do enjoy the show just for semething to watch. On the slow day at Iowa last year we hooked up and drove over to LeClar to see the shop. It's prety much what you see on TV with the big seller being T SHIRTS AND HATS. Very little else for sale but we were hoping that Danielle would be there and she had just left half hour before we got there. She was out here at the Rose Bowl Flea Market some months ago, with another women, being filmed buying things

The last time I was at Thorton's I spent about 4 hours looking through his collection. He has so much stuff that I still missed items. He was very patient with my going very slowly looking at everything. That said I haven't seen the episode, but have found it online and will take a look at it tonight. Thorton is usually high on most things, but I've never known him to be misleading.

Seen the show tonight. I was in awe at that collection at least from what I could see from the cameras moving. I envy the guys that have been through this collection.....and Thorton himself. So cool

I have known Thornton for about twenty years and have sold him a few things in his collection, and he has sold me a few things in mine. You will never meet a more stand up guy, always willing to give info and help you find something. Since he started selling, he has become a tough negotiator. But the fun is in the chase and if he made it too easy, well, wheres the fun in that.

Watched the episode last night and all I have to say is, "I'm glad I didn't respond to the email they sent me back in Oct."

Greetings,

My name is Jack Wilkinson and I’m a producer on “American Pickers” for History Channel.

The Pickers will be coming to North Carolina next month and we are looking for people with collectibles that are ready to sell multiple items. We would also love to explore the history of the locations and the items. And of course we are always looking for great characters. We would greatly appreciate if you could help us in our search for great "picks" in North Carolina.

Attached is a list of the items we are looking for. Of course the items we feature on the show are not limited to this list. If you know of anyone who has an an abundance of these items please contact me by replying to this email or you can reach me at...

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you,

Jack

Jack Wilkinson
Producer
American Pickers Season III

...that's an hour you'll never get back...

I know this topic has been "beat" to death, but I met Mike Wolfe this past summer by accident. He was in my area and I actually took him to an appointment he had with someone right down the road from me. I saw the picker van in my town and Mike was talking with a friend of mine so I stopped to say hello. He was looking for a place and my friend wasn't sure where it was, so I had Mike follow me. I work with the guys wife he was going to see.

He was a great guy and we talked for awhile. He used to pick the area along time ago and bought a very old Harley from a guy here locally.

The shows entertainment and we talked about that. He pitched the show for years and no one would listen. He told me how he had the idea and what he did. I admire/respect him for it. He had no reason to BS me. He didn't know me from Adam, and I am pretty good at picking up on BS.

The businesses are actaully Mike's I believe. Frank and him have been friends since 8th grade or something. He did the picking thing on his own for a long time by himself and he was so taken with the people he was meeting. He did alot of video taping on his own and decided to bring Frank along.

He was gracious and we shook hands. He was on the prowl for old motorcycles, he made that clear.

Just my two sense. It's just entertainment, pure and simple. But I think it's fun to watch. Too me, I thought he was a nice guy. It is what it is.

I have been to Thortons and his bank building is unbelievable. All of his stuff was original. I,personally,wouldn't see Thorton having this sign in his place. I'm sure we will find out all about it in Columbia next month.

T-Bird Kid, that's a interesting post from worth point. What did it sell for? I imagine this was a "set up" piece for the shows entertainment side, or maybe Thorton bought it and resold it to them!! Who knows.

Not sure what it sold for but its tv shows like this that make people believe what they see on tv. There firestone expert should stick to motorcycles.

My thoughts exactly. My first thought when I watched that was, if it is real and that rare send it to Barrett Jackson Scottsdale and watch what happens....

What I heard, the Picker guys set up and sell all the good stuff they get in Hershey show. Is that true?

Bud

I very seldom cover the whole show when I go on Wednesday, but I have never seen them there. Brady

There are 100,000 pickers at hershey, but ive never heard or seen the american pickers at hershey.....buying or selling

They were there the year before their show came out. Had a good size tent and a bunch of signs. They were giving out the hand outs. I tried to buy a United Motors sign from them but they wouldn't give me a price,had to check with my partner was the line. I went back a couple of times but got the same story. I figure they were just promoting the show.

Yeah I think that is all they are doing in Nashville shop also. They sell Tshirts pens etc all promoting the show. No good anything old for sale. I wonder what happens to everything they buy.

Frank from American pickers is selling all his goodies on Collectors Quest.

I think someone posted on another thread last year that they had visited and bought some items at the Nashville store.

I'm guessing it's there because of town name recognition. If it was on the Eastern end of the state, say in Gatlinburg, I'd visit the store just to see what it's got.