Most Surprising Antique Roadshow Finds

Joseph Kleitsch Oil Painting

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Although it may not be surprising to see a painting sold on the Antique Roadshow the surprise is in who the artist actually is. An iconic Joseph Kleitsch oil painting was brought to the shows attention in New York in 2014 and was dated as being produced in 1925. The owner of the painting originally bought the painting for $100 but the expert Debra Force evaluted the picture she priced it at around a staggering $500,000.

Original Honus Wagner Baseball Card

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The Honus Wagner baseball cards are amongst one of the most rare forms of baseball cards in the entirety of the US therefore making them a very expensive piece of memorabilia. These cards are so rare as they were only in production from 1909 until 1911 with their reason for stopping production remaining unknown so imagine how surprised the finder was. The card was valued in Baltimore, Maryland at around $1.3 million.

Patek Philippe Pocket Watch

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Coming in as one of the most expensive items ever found on the amazing day time show the Antique Roadshow the Patek Philippe pocket watch was valued by experts at a truly mind blowing amount of $3 million after previously being valued at $250,000. This watch was one of the most popular watches around and especially in 1914 when the watch was dated from. The watch was passed down through generations.

Mobile Lover - Banksy

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This was one of the greatest finds of all time on the Antique Roadshow is the discovery of the great piece, Mobile Lovers. This beautiful piece of art is so valuable due to its creator being the very elusive street artist Banksy. When this piece was discovered on the show in April 2014. The painting was valued at around $400,000 however the painting was taken into police custody.

Peanuts - Comic Strip

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Although this may look like a simple comic strip and you may be wondering why such an item appeared on Antique Roadshow let alone this list but this small comic is a one of a kind strip produced in the 1950's. The family came upon this historic comic strip while buying early comics fro their son and imagine their shock when they found out that this strip was worth almost $450,000.

Clyfford Still Oil Painting

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Although this may only look like a simple piece of artwork and you may be questioning why it is so surprising, well the surprising factor of this piece of art work is that is was created by one of the founders of expressionist art, Clyfford Still. The painting came into a play springs, Californian woman possession because her husband was an art student at Washington State University and it was valued at around $500,000/

$500,000 Worth Of Silver

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In 1993 Richard hobbs, who was a young man at the time, when he brought a mass collection of silver onto the show that he presented to silver specialist Ian Pickford with his collection and he told a young Richard that it was not worth much but it later turned out to be worth thousands. He came into this collection of silver after clearing out his father's home finding it under a bed in shoeboxes.

1907 Robert Henri Oil Painting

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The show sees many of different paintings and types of paintings but when you see one of the iconic artist Robert Henri's oil paintings come across their views it can cause quite a shock. One of Robert Henri's paintings was discovered in San Diego in 2010 and when the painting was brought to the experts it was valued at around $300,000 but when it was re-evaluated it was put in the range of $700,000.

1871-1872 Boston Red Stocking

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On a very memorable recording of of the Antique Roadshow in New York in 2014 a very lucky woman who had these baseball cards of the infamous Boston Red Stockings team of 1871-1872 was wonderfully surprised when she brought this family heirloom to the experts. She was blown away when a simple book in her possession turned out to be worth a truly staggering amount of $1 million.

Criminal Monopoly Board

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Imagine hunting through old belongings and discovering that you had an item that could be used as evidence for a very famous robbery! Well this was the case for a luck participant who entered in a monopoly board that was said to be connected to the Great Train Robbery in 1963. The monopoly board was said to occupy Ronnie Biggs and co during the robberies and was said to be worth around $200.

Lawrence Alma-Tadema Portrait

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Although this painting may look quite simple and you may be wondering why it is relevant and why it is surprising. Well this is because the painter is none other than Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema. He was known for his detail, shadow illusions and diffusions of light which made him of the Victorian era's most famous artists. The piece of fabulous artwork was valued at around $450,000.

Proof Fairies Exist

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We believe in many different ruses and hoaxes that are created in the world and can lead many people to spend a lot of money on the proof of such objects. During a show in 2008 the daughter and granddaughter of Frances Griffiths, who took the initial pictures in their garden, brought the pictures onto the show and was valued at over $30,000 due to the story being famously endorsed by the infamous writer Arthur Conan Doyle.

1896 Remington Portrait With A Letter

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Imagine taking one old painting you found in your house and a letter that was kept with it to an auction expecting it to bring in a maybe a couple hundred dollars and then it turns out to be worth around $800,000. I don't know about you but I would be in a state of shell shock. In 2014 one of Frederic Remington's was brought to the Antique Roadshow and the surprised owner walked away with around $800,000.

Crawley Silver

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The infamous Crawley silver was one of the most surpassing entries to auction when a young man arrived at the Antique Roadshow in Crawley, United Kingdom. Although it is not surprising to see expensive silver turn up on the show, it was highly surprising that he brought in such a big collection not expecting a lot of money but somehow walking away with a staggering $350,000.

Gold-Plated Leica Luxus II Camera

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Another surprising item came in during the Antique Roadshows recordings in Wales, UK. This seemingly odd and old fashioned looking camera is a Leica Luxus camera and is worth just over $600,00. It is a camera which had been in its owners possession since the end of World War Two and is a true relic of the time with gold plating and lizard skin wrap it truly was a great camera!

1904 Diego Rivera El Albania Oil Painting

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One of the most surprising items to appear on the Antique Roadshow is this painting by the greatly known artist Diego Rivera brought to Corpus Christi, Texas in 2012. This picture had just been hanging in the owners house and was discovered to be a painted entitled El Albanil dated back in 1904. When this brilliant piece of art was brought to the Antique Roadshow it was valued at $1 million.

The $1 Million Faberge Flower

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This quite peculiar and seemingly small and insignificant item may surprise you as it is the most expensive item ever to appear on the iconic Antiques Roadshow being valued at over $1 million by expert Geoffrey Munn. This truly record breaking and stunning item was discovered in Dudley, West Midlands in the United Kingdom and is the most significant find in Antique Roadshow history.

"The Magistrates At Brussels" - Van Dyck

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One of the most surprising and glorious finds Antique Roadshow has ever come across is a brilliant and infamous oil painting produced by Antony Van Dyck. Discovered on the show in 2013 the picture was valued at around $500,000. The painting was brought to the show as it had fallen off of the wall of Father Jamie Macleod's house bringing it to his attention and resulting in him putting it up for sale.

A Model Of Antony Gormley's "Angel Of The North"

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Many may not know what this sculpture is and that is what makes it so surprising that the original model for this large sculpture was discovered on the UK Antique Roadshow in 2008. The model is of the infamous "Angel of the North" which is erect in Newcastle, England and designed by Antony Gormley. The sculpture at auction was nearly 6 feet tall and was sold at auction for around $3 million.

Big Sea Coconuts

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Of all of the items on this list the big sea coconuts are truly the most surprising to ever appear on the Antique Roadshow. The sea coconut is renowned for its size and very suggestive shape on a bum as well as being the world's largest seed. This item was far from the usual classic antiques and treasures that you would find on the show and brought a great deal of amazement to the producers of the show.

Alexander Calder Mobile

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When you think of the different items that you expect to see on the Antique Roadshow you think of paintings, vases and sculptures which makes this Mobile created by the infamous Alexander Calder a great surprise. In 2010 in Miami Beach this strange masterpiece was brought to the show as a family heirloom and they were truly taken back when they eventually heard that the mobile would sell for $1 million at retail price.

Jardiniere By Christofle

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The Antique Roadshow is renowned across the world and has seen hundreds of different weird and wonderful discoveries that have brought the owners a small fortune at auction but there were fewer surprising as the Jardiniere by Christofle. This was revealed to be a 'Japonisme' urn. in September 2012 this 1874 masterpiece brought shock to its owner when it was valued at a price close to $800,000.

$200,000 Bear From The Titanic

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This is truly one of the most surprising and heart warming items to ever be presented on the Antique Roadshow. A stuffed teddy bear that was actually on the iconic Titanic and survived the horrors which occurred on that fateful night back in 1912. The bear was sold alongside pictures from the Titanic which proved its authenticity and was valued at around $300,000. A truly mind-blowing discovery!

FA Cup Trophy

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Throughout the history of English football there have been three different FA cup trophies just to wear and tear. However the last place you would expect one of these iconic lost trophies to turn up is on a TV show for selling rare items, Antique Roadshow. The experts were massively surprised at the discovery and even more so when they learned of its unbelievable high price of almost $1.3 million.

Navajo Ute First Phase Blanket

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Another truly surprising item to turn up on the Antique Roadshows doorstep is this native Navajo Ute first phase blanket. In Tucson, Arizona 2001 this blanket that was brought into the owners possession by Kit Carson giving it to the owners grandmothers foster father. When the blanket was valued by expert Donald Ellis was valued at around $500,000 which was then later re-evaluated to around $1 million.

Chinese Rhinoceros Horn Cup

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Imagine turning up to an auction room and finding something that has been renowned as very ancient and extremely valuable item which had been living in your house. This was a very big surprise for the owners of some very beautiful rhinoceros horn carvings as they turned out to be worth almost a mind blowing $1.5 million. This came as a wonderful surprise as they were originally worth a mere $5,000.

Portfolio Of The South Pole

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The Antique Roadshow is known for uncovering many different wonderful lost treasures from lost sculptures to long lost paintings that is why it is always very exciting and hugely surprising when an item turns up that is a little out of the ordinary. Well when a couple brought in a full portfolio of photos from an expedition to the South Pole dating back to 1912 it truly surprised a lot of people.

A Decade Old Slice Of Royal Wedding Cake

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The Antique Roadshow has a certain sense of class and you would expect to see luxurious items such as silverware and antiques but imagine the shock of peoples faces when they were brought a slice of wedding cake from Queen Elizabeth II's from 1947. The cake as you can imagine was in awful condition but despite this it was somehow still worth a healthy amount of $2,000. Truly amazing.

18th Century Qianlong Jade Collection From The Qing Dynasty

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When you think about the items that you may find on the renowned TV show Antique Roadshow you think of things that may be specific to the country or maybe even just part of a states history but imagine the surprise of the experts when they came upon items belonging to the Qianlong Jade Collection! In 2009 a woman was given an evaluation of around $1 million for her items by James Callahan.

Barbara Hepworth Sculpture

Image Source: RedditWhen the iconic TV show Antique Roadshow found its way to Cornwall, UK in 2012 a Barbara Hepworth sculpture was brought to the experts attention. The school Librarian to which this piece belonged to did not think much of it and was thoroughly surprised when she took it to action coming day with around $981,000. This piece was then moved to a museum for all to see.