'Antiques Roadshow' Appraisers Drop Bombshells on the Regular — Here's What to Know

Whether you're a fan of antiques or not, you almost certainly recognize the name of the show Antiques Roadshow. It's been a staple in American television since 1997, and its popularity has only grown throughout the years.

The premise is simple: people bring their family heirlooms, thrift store finds, and odds and ends to the show, hope to get picked, and let an appraiser tell them what their item is worth.

Sometimes, the answer is disappointing. But every now and then, the appraisers drop a bombshell about an item worth millions. Here's what we know about how appraisers are chosen for the show and whether they have a perfect record or not.

According to one Reddit thread, the appraisers appear on a volunteer basis, recruited by producers, and come from a wide variety of backgrounds. The thread alleges that appraisers are given the item to observe, and then take some time to research it before sitting down with the show attendee to drop their verdict.

While this is just speculation on Reddit, it fits with what one would expect of how appraisers arrive at their decisions. The appraisers are often auctioneers, dealers, or academics, with ample experience in helping customers or students find the value of the items they specialize in. From jewelry to paintings, furniture, old drug paraphernalia and so much more, the show has a little bit of something for everyone, and an expert to match.

If you know how the appraisers are chosen, the next logical question is probably going to be: Are they always right? And that answer, unfortunately, appears to be "no."

It's reasonable to expect that even the most ardent experts are occasionally going to flub up, of course, but you always hope that those faux pas don't come in a way that affects your pocketbook.

Yet, according to the Reddit thread, that's happened before.

In one comment, a Redditor muses, "There are notorious examples of respected appraisers being wrong. Sometimes they are too confident. Other times they miss stuff." Once, they added, "a silk tapestry was appraised as Chinese. Then at auction Korean bidders drove the price way up beyond the appraisal.

"Apparently the tapestry was not Chinese but Korean, done in a Chinese style ... it was much rarer and more valuable. But the appraiser didn't know that until the auction. So even the experts can learn things."

Another user wrote, "On one of the shows, they bought a figurine that resembled a famous artists work, but it didn't have the colours expected for the period or his style. They assumed it was a recreation, in actuality it was a very limited initial piece using non coloured material, and its initial estimate of £20-£50 ended up going for about £4,000."

These reports are joined by others. The Express reports that once, an expert on the show appraised what he claimed was a vase by Pablo Picasso worth $30,000 - $50,000. However, the outlet writes, "A viewer later told the show that it was actually art made by a friend of hers at school in the 1970s, and Fletcher later had to own up to his mistake."

Of course, we hope those mistakes are few and far between.