Talk:Antiques Roadshow/Archive 1

US versus UK
From the article: PBS has created a similar show in the United States and the United Kingdom (a spinoff called Antiques Roadshow UK to differentiate from the BBC version). Why would they call the USA version Antiques Roadshow UK in order to distinquish it from the UK version. This doesn't make sense to me. Saul Taylor 22:48, 16 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * No, their US version is simply AR. Their UK version is ARUK, to set it apart from the BBC's AR, as well as its own.  Chris 06:38, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC)

My understanding was that the PBS' "Antiques Roadshow UK" WAS the BBC's Antique Road show, although there might have been additional American production(editing) I always thought that the episodes aired originally in Britain. 68.237.98.55 21:42, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

they did.Toyokuni3 (talk) 21:55, 1 May 2008 (UTC)


 * There were episodes of the UK show being aired on PBS, THEN they created their own and just called it Antiques Roadshow (altough I believe it was first called Chubb's Antiques Roadshow to highlight the sponsor) which then aired on US PBS stations along with ARUK...if they air in the UK its in syndication just like anything else.  LegoTech &middot;( t )&middot;( c ) 22:49, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

Navajo Blanket
The article lists "A Navajo blanket valued at between $350,000 and $500,000" as one of the most valuable items on the show, but the source talks about a blanket worth $35,000-45,000 with no mention of there only being 50 in the entire world. --144.160.98.31 (talk) 18:06, 13 February 2008 (UTC)


 * No, the article is correct. The item is a navajo 'chief's blanket'. Oddly enough, not woven by the navajo, but by the utes for the navajo. PBS has used this segment in their promos for AR. Also of interest, the native north american artifacts appraiser for AR is canadian. Toyokuni3 (talk) 22:04, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

No, it is a Navajo blanket. They were woven by the Navajo for the Utes and other tribes. They say so in the video from Antiques Roadshow. Navajos used these blankets as trade items as well as for themselves. But don't take my word for it, look it up. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.224.103.85 (talk) 13:36, 29 August 2008 (UTC)

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Presidential signatures
The comment on the signatures of the whole presidential cabinets from Washington to Franklin Roosevelt desperately needs a citation. If anyone would like to see how momentous of a list this would be (and thus inherently incredible/unbelieveable, unless cited), see List of United States Cabinets. The only mentions of it I can find anywhere other than on Wikipedia are on mirror sites. It has had a citation needed tag for over a year. I am pulling the statement, which will remain here, in case someone can reference it appropriately.

"Another item, which was appraised at one million dollars, was a collection of signatures of every presidential cabinet member from the Washington administration to Franklin Roosevelt. The owner of the collection declined to appear on the show."

66.183.69.201 (talk) 05:21, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

New High-Value Item?
A tea set stolen from the Louvre by a German soldier and recaptured by an Ally soldier was appraised on the American show. It was Henry VIII's. The show aired sometime in the week of Nov. 17-24, 2007. The set was said to be priceless (and French property!) Should that go under the American shows? 70.104.162.6 (talk) 22:26, 25 November 2007 (UTC)
 * You're going to have to come up with a citation for this. Tea was all but unknown in europe in Henry VIII's time. And, yes, the French gallery/museum is the Louvre.Toyokuni3 (talk) 22:22, 1 May 2008 (UTC)
 * A "priceless" tea set, aired on the American show in November of 2007? Umm.. I do not remember this at ALL. And I watch this thing religiously. Plus they rebroadcast old episodes constantly. Citation needed. NOW. --Ragemanchoo (talk) 05:04, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

FWIW, I saw an episode where a woman brought in a set of platinum and ruby jewelry that was valued at over $900,000. (I believe they said something about the rubies being some kind of rare variety only found in certain areas of South America.) Don't care enough to hunt down a citation, but if you're the kind of person who lives for that sort of thing, knock yourself out.

Also FWIW, when discussing highest-appraised items it might be worth mentioning whether these are insurance, retail, or auction appraisals, as I've noticed they switch between these three. --Lode Runner (talk) 20:25, 25 August 2008 (UTC)

$900K platinum and ruby jewelry? Was this the US version of the show? Because a $257,000 ruby and diamond bracelet ( http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/archive/199808A39.html ) Apparently it was taped/appraised in 1998 but didn't air till 2004? At any rate, Berj Zavian appraised. It is by far the most valuable ruby jewelry ever appraised on the US show to date. --98.232.181.201 (talk) 08:32, 17 January 2010 (UTC)

Lily Brazier, cabaret dancer
Is this a prank? I've been watching BBC TV pretty regularly since 1955 and have never heard of 'Lily Brazier'. I suggest if no acceptable citation is found soon that the reference be deleted. —Preceding unsigned comment added by John.Whythe (talk • contribs) 12:24, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Reality show?
I see that this show has been classified as a reality television series. It's certainly not what I think that term means, though I suppose others have looser definitions in mind. I'd like to know, however, if there's any reliable source that agrees with the terminology. (Note: I don't know whether a citation is necessary to justify inclusion in a category, but regardless, I'm interested in one.) Phiwum (talk) 01:49, 15 May 2010 (UTC)

Is it really necessary?
..to explain the rules of the board game in this article? I don't think so. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.145.140.2 (talk) 16:33, 11 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Not at all. Removing. Rubiscous (talk) 01:06, 12 July 2010 (UTC)

American Version Controversy
In the American version of the series, appraisers could bargain and deal with the item's owner(s) on the spot (after the videotaped "interview" and appraisal was given.) This, IIRC, led to a few incidents of fraud and "unethical" profiteering. The practiced stopped a few years into the show. If anyone has any more information about this (and RS) please add it to the section about the American Version--I think it is important to the article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.196.114.55 (talk) 06:43, 3 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Didn't the article used to mention this? I remember hearing about the scandal. --98.232.181.201 (talk) 08:34, 17 January 2010 (UTC)

The American version of the series never allowed appraisers to conduct business with the items' owners. Judy Matthews (talk) 15:55, 25 January 2011 (UTC)

Division into several articles
At present it would probably be best to make all the international versions into a separate article and connect the two by links at the top of each article.--Felix Folio Secundus (talk) 10:35, 18 April 2010 (UTC)

The existing article only has a paragraph or two about each international version. I feel it should stay as is. If someone adds more information about them, then it might be needed. Ckeavy (talk) 21:09, 12 August 2010 (UTC)

I agree with Ckeavy. None of the sections are well-developed enough to stand on their own. Crisco 1492 (talk) 11:17, 27 December 2010 (UTC)

If there's anything we agree with, it's that Antiques Roadshow PBS' section is not as detailed as the BBC section. We'll be working on that in the near future. More importantly, although the two shows share some genetics, they have very different content. Antiques Roadshow PBS's audience of 9 million viewers deserve a page of their own. Judy Matthews (talk) 16:05, 25 January 2011 (UTC)


 * This was already done, Judy Matthews, well before you wrote the above. See Antiques Roadshow (U.S.).  And Judy Matthews, you keep using the term "we" as though you have a connection to the show.  Please read Conflict of interest and be mindful of Wikipedia policies regarding the editing of articles by people who have a vested interest.  -- Jayron  32  16:14, 25 January 2011 (UTC)

Scholarly contribution
FWIW, I would be interested if one of you experts could add a section to the article on "Scholarly contribution", or "Re-writing history" or something similar. There have been several items that have caused the presenter to exclaim that this is the first one ever seen, or that its an item that any museum would love to own, or that its an item that was known about but considered lost since many decades. Today's featured article is on the Cottingley Fairies, and has a section on how the Antiques Roadshow was able to add something to the subject. Just my thoughts. TheAMmollusc (talk) 09:38, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 1 one external link on Antiques Roadshow. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20120125043137/http://www.pbs.org:80/wgbh/antiquesuk/faq.html to http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/antiquesuk/faq.html

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.

Cheers.—cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 22:53, 6 January 2016 (UTC)

Earlier ideas
Just watched a (recorded) version of the UK programme, celebrating its 40th anniversary. As a regular viewer, I was under the impression that it had to be much older, because I remembered episodes of a similar TV show broadcast in Belgium in the 60s. Thus I wonder if the idea of the Antiques Road show did not form slowly from similar ones used on foreign TV stations. The Belgian show was "Schatten op zolder" (Treasures in the Attic) running 1961-1963 en 1971-1972, hence more than a decade earlier. See http://www.ethesis.net/brt/brt_deel_4.htm for more details. Maybe it would be interesting to add a section about the history of the Antiques Road Show, similar programs predating it, and how the UK program came into being. —Preceding unsigned comment added by RobertCailliau (talk • contribs) 22:02, 25 September 2017 (UTC)
 * How fascinating, Robert. I would be interested to hear more on that. What struck me, watching last night, was the incredibly amateurish low-budget opening sequence when compared to the current version. Martinevans123 (talk) 21:33, 25 September 2017 (UTC)
 * I saw it yesterday (so "live", as it were), and I knew about shows like "Cash in the Attic" broadcast on the BBC just a few years ago and "Schatten op zolder" on the Flemish television channel "Vier" also not that long ago, but not that the BRT already had such a programme before the BBC!!! Extremely sexy (talk) 21:36, 25 September 2017 (UTC)