Interesting Facts About ‘American Pickers’

It shouldn’t really come as a shock to anyone that people on television often make themselves out to be something they’re not. Unfortunately, some still fall for these on-screen personas pretty when it comes to TV shows.

Mike and Frank get their hands on some pretty expensive stuff during their endeavors. They’ve even found some priceless artifacts on more than one occasion. And of course, they pay fair prices for everything that they find, don’t they? Maybe not so much.

It might appear that Mike and Frank are the ones who are negotiating the prices with all of the people that they’re dealing with, but it's not the case at all. The producers have pretty much everything worked out ahead of time, from the location and seller, to the exact amount of money that will be exchanged. Of course they don’t really want you to know about that since it doesn’t make for very good TV if the stars just have everything handed to them.

A team of researchers and producers all ensure it runs smoothly but handling the deal prior to the exchange. Those two aren't exactly  left to their own devices. Once Mike and Frank are on the scene, all of the picking has pretty much already been done for them! Apparently, producers tell the sellers to ask for more than what they’ve already negotiated for so that they can capture the scene once cameras start rolling. Well, that’s pretty disappointing.

Frank found himself in some hot water a few years ago when a viewer of the show launched a lawsuit over one of his finds in 2010. Jerry Bruce of South Carolina was awarded a settlement in court over a device that the picker found, called a polarimeter. But what exactly did this man have to do with the show or that piece of equipment?

Bruce watched that episode of American Pickers from his home in Greer, SC, when the polarimeter caught his attention. He was thinking of opening up a museum for farming equipment and wanted the piece to finish off his collection. Frank initially agreed to sell it to him but didn’t follow through with the sale. When Bruce didn’t receive his delivery, he sued and was awarded $1,000 in court. .

Fans of the show know just how important Danielle is to the entire operation. Thousands of viewers tune in for every episode just to see her. But even though she’s great at helping the boys find buried treasures, it still doesn’t pay all of her bills. So, to make ends meet (and just to have a good time,) she took on an additional gig as a burlesque dancer. So, when she isn’t on TV, she tours the country to give sultry dance shows in different clubs and other venues.

Danielle recently took her burlesque show on a cross country extravaganza with her very own band, The Gin Rummy Show. When she performs with them, she goes by her stage name, Dannie Diesel, and there are a lot of tassels and shimmying and such going on. She entertains crowds at such places as Radio Radio in Indianapolis, Indiana. Okay, so maybe she isn’t performing at the classiest of venues, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good show…

Like with any popular television show, almost everything is staged to have the most effective impact on the audience. How many people would tune in to the show if they never found anything interesting or expensive will picking? Probably not too many, so it’s understandable why the do this.

People who have worked with the show before revealed that producers plant some of the items that end up with the most screen time. If you think about it, it makes a lot more sense that they would go to those locations specifically for the pricey items they’ve planted, and not just get lucky digging through some random person’s garage. Of course, they actually have found some cool stuff by chance, but a lot of it was put in just for the show. We know, we know. Sorry to burst your bubble.

Good old Hobo Jack is a fan favorite on the show and has appeared countless times over the seasons. However, Jack Sophir, as he was born, is definitely not a homeless person. The persona that everyone sees on the show was invented for entertainment purposes. Well, that’s certainly good news for Jack.

In real life, Sophir actually owns quite a bit of property, on which he’s got a nice and comfortable home, and he is seen regularly bidding on big-ticket items in auctions. He has also dabbled in music, and written quite a few accomplished books, including a “philosophic fantasy” novel dubbed Amazing Adventures of the Tramp Prince, which is rated 5 stars on Amazon. He continues to use the name Hobo Jack on all of his work and is reportedly writing yet another one of his novels.

Between Danielle’s day job working on American Pickers, and her night gig moonlighting as a sultry burlesque dancer, she’s got a pretty comfortable salary. Not to mention the little shop she owns called, 4 Miles 2 Memphis. Unfortunately, she didn’t exactly pay any out to the IRS, which got her in a little bit of trouble.

After a few years of unpaid taxes stacking up, the IRS finally caught on and started sending her notices. But apparently, she let those stack up for a while, too. So much so, in fact, that she acquired even more debt in excess of about $5,000. Tsk-tsk, Danielle. Hopefully she got all that taken care of by now!

March 24, 2010 is a day that would go down in American Pickers history, and maybe just history in general. Why? Because it was the day that the world was introduced to Mole Man, AKA Ron, an interesting character who has a serious thing for digging underground tunnels. Yeah, it’s totally creepy. He may have only appeared on 1 episode, but that was enough for Ron to amass an almost cult-like following among some viewers.

He’s reported unwanted people stopping by his house after the taping, and someone even tried to use his name on some items they were selling, when it didn’t have anything to do with him. Apparently, he is still very active in picking, himself.

Mike has basically lived his entire life as a picker. He’s been doing it since he was a kid, and it’s not hard to see that he’s extremely passionate about what he does. Even without taking his demeanor on the show into consideration, the fact that he’s owned his own antique shops for several years is enough to convince anyone that Mike is doing what he loves. But Frank isn’t necessarily so excited about the whole thing.

Let’s just say this – while Mike may be in the industry because he followed his passion, Frank is only around because of the potential for some serious money to be made with each pick. Sorry to disappoint you if you were under the impression that Frank was in it with his heart, but hey – he is basically an actor on the show, so it shouldn’t come as that much of a shock. Plus, as long as he looks like he’s enjoying it while the cameras are rolling, who cares?

On the show, Mike and Frank are always together, acting as if they’re good friends. But according to those that have met the pair in person, things aren’t so buddy/buddy when the cameras aren’t turned on. They also live in entirely different parts of the country – sorry to shatter your dream of them being around one another 24/7!

Mike is married and lives with his family in Tennessee, while Frank stays in Illinois and lives a sort of bachelor-style life. And, if them having their own lives wasn’t disappointing enough – they really don’t even like each other. In fact, things are so shaky between them that there are rumors the show will be coming to an end in the near future. Noooo! Come on guys, you can work it out for the sake of your insanely awesome salaries!

Several speculations exist as to how close the relationship between Frank and Mike actually was. After all, when 2 grown men spend (seemingly) every waking moment of their days together, it’s understandable that fans may come to the conclusion that they were a little more than just coworkers.

Of course, anyone who takes even a second out of their day to look in to the rumors can dispel them pretty much instantaneously. Mike is happily married to the woman that he has been with for several decades, and Frank has a girlfriend of his own. Plus, as multiple fans noted, “just look at the way they act…and dress.” So, it’s pretty safe to say that these guys are as straight as they come. Mike’s wife will be relieved to hear the good news, no doubt.

Unlike a lot of television stars, you wouldn’t exactly pick neither Mike nor Frank out of a crowd and use them as a shining example of someone who made a ton of money – but they do. For starters, each of them receives an impressive annual salary of $500,000, and that doesn’t include any of the artifacts that they sell.

Mike has the highest net worth of anyone on the show, coming in at an estimated $5 million. Although Frank isn’t far behind, as he’s got one of his own that’s only about $1 million less than his co-stars. Both of the pickers have some serious side hustles going on alongside of their time on the show, as well.

The show may be somewhat based on reality, but it’s far from being completely real. In fact, a large portion of the show is planned out in advance to make it flow, and to make everything more interesting. For instance, a lot of the scenes of the men in the van are taken on different days than the actual picking.

Of course, American Pickers isn’t exactly a scripted reality show, but it’s not completely candid, either. Producers often set everything up ahead of time, so that Mike and Frank don’t have to deal with a lot of the actual work behind-the-scenes. They’ll film for several hours at a time and put together enough B-roll footage that they don’t have to stick around for too long after

If you’re wondering how it is exactly that Mike Wolfe has created a $5 million net worth for himself based off of picking, it’s probably got something to do with the fact that he’s been doing it since childhood. Before he was even a teenager, he came upon his first lesson in sales when he found a bike and decided to flip it for $5. From that point on, he knew what his mission in life was and he was determined to make his dream a reality.

After the $5 bike, he started working his way up to the bigger and better sales. The first time he made any real money was when he bought another bike for $50 and turned around and sold it for 100 times more than what he paid for it. If he was making that kind of money when he was a kid, it’s no wonder he’s made such a successful career out of picking!

Say what you will about Mike Wolfe, but one thing is for sure: the guy has a good heart, which he’s proven through his charitable contributions and his work with organizations like Operation Smile. But his work with this particular group hits a little close to home for him.

Mike’s daughter, Charlie, was born with a condition known as “cleft lip/palate.” Those born with this condition often require surgery, due to the fact that it prohibits eating and other regular functions required of the mouth. Luckily for Charlie, her father was able to afford the surgery and all of the best care imaginable, but not all children who suffer from the birth defect are so lucky – and that’s where Organization Smile comes in. The non-profit helps to cover the surgery for children who need it.

Some fans probably pay a bit more attention to the theme song than others, but it may interest them all to know that it actually comes with quite a story. Jared Gutstadt, creator of Jingle Punks, a music agency, is the one who put it together for them.

Gutstadt is known for his catchy tunes for hit shows like The Voice, Pawn Stars and The Real Housewives. To date, he’s produced music for more than 500 shows and is currently working in the hip-hop industry.

Aside from his successful, decade long career in reality television, Mike’s got some other things going on that contribute to his impressive net worth. He had his store, Antique Archaeology when he got started on the show, but since his increase in popularity (and income) he’s been able to open another location. Antique Archaeology may sound like someplace you’d buy some furniture he found while picking, but it’s actually a clothing store that sells Mike’s very own line of casual fashion. And who does he have running things in the front end of his stores? Danielle Colby, of course! Who else would he trust with his businesses?

One of Mike’s more recent endeavors has been adding a blog to his website, www.antiquearchaeology.com. The blog pulls his store and adventures on the show together for his fans and gives them a place to go where they can see everything that he’s up to these days. The store also has a Facebook page with over 15,000 likes where he (or, his social media manager) regularly posts updates about his whereabouts and happenings.

Picking is by no means a solely American thing to do. People have been sifting through other’s stuff for ages. Hence the old saying. “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” But ever since the show’s rise in popularity, pickers in other countries have been eager to get their piece of the prize on TV. Canada and Australia have both had their own renditions of the show, while others simply air the original to fans overseas.

Aussie Pickers first premiered in 2013 and was hosted by Adam McDonald and Lucas Callaghan. Unfortunately, it only lasted for a brief 2 seasons before it ultimately bit the dust. The Canadian version was on the air from 2 years from 2011-2013. Hey, what can we say? Apparently we Americans just love our dumpster diving more than our neighbors to the North and South.

Mike and Frank sure make it seem like they’re some tough negotiators when the cameras are rolling. But as disappointing as it may be to hear, they actually don’t negotiate the deals at all, they only make it look as If they do. The truth is that the producers handle all of that before the stars even appear at the location.

Of course, producers also tell everyone to ask for more money so they can haggle them down, which makes for better TV. After all, it would be a lot less interesting if that part was missing from each episode. However, all of this isn’t to say that neither of the stars can actually get themselves a good deal, because Mike has been picking since long before he did it on film, so he’s pretty much an expert negotiator, too.

Several speculations have existed over the years as to how real the “reality” show actually is. Is it scripted TV? Is it raw footage? The short answer to both of those questions is – no. It’s somewhere in between a scripted show and a full-on documentary about picking. It’s far from being entirely real, though, that’s for sure.

But hey, does it even matter exactly how candid everything about the series is? It’s an entertaining show and everyday people who want to sell their stuff get to make a little (or a lot of) money here and there, so what’s not to like? Plus, you have to admit they find some pretty amazing stuff, and whether or not the items are planted, they’re new to us, the viewers, so who cares?

Mike Wolfe has been picking since his own childhood, so you can imagine how important it is to him. He wanted to ensure that kids of the modern world could know all about his career path and make the choice to be pickers themselves if they wanted. But with all of the digital distractions today, he didn’t know how he was going to bring it to their attention – until the idea struck him.

He authored his very own children’s book that he called Kid Pickers: How to Turn Junk into Treasure.

Danielle and Mike actually had a sort of warped “meet cute” experience back in the day, long before they started working together. The pickers met at an auction, where they were both interested in the same artifact. But in Danielle’s words, “he had the money,” – and she didn’t. Apparently, he snubbed her the first time he ever walked past her, saying, “Danielle who?”

Before Danielle started her rise on television, she was knocking elbows (and everything else) with her team on the roller derby track. Then, when she first started on the show, it was strictly on a behind-the-scenes research type deal. But once everyone around the set saw how well she interacted with the stars; they knew they had to put her in the show. Now, she’s pretty much a crucial part of the entire American Pickers experience. On a show that’s mostly geared towards men, it does make sense to have Danielle actually on screen. Especially given that she’s not only attractive, but she’s also pretty great when it comes to picking.

One running theme on the show is how frugal Mike and Frank seem to be, hence why they’re always trying to haggle a seller down to the lowest possible price point as far as their collectibles are concerned. And that’s not something that’s made up for TV – they really don’t like spending very much money. In fact, the majority of everything they’ve got has only come at a price of around $25-50, at least, up until recently it has.

Now that they’re making a lot more money than when they first started out, they’re able to spend a bit more when it comes to the artifacts they choose to flip. Take for instance the antique motorcycle they bought for close to $100,000. Of course, the more they spend, the more they can make.

American Pickers has amassed quite a following over the past several years that it’s been on the air. People of all ages love tuning in to see what kind of crazy stuff the men will dig up on each episode. But in the midst of one season, they accidentally reached out to an entirely new fan base when they got their hands on a certain set of artifacts that drew in thousands of additional viewers.

During season 13, Mike and Frank happened upon a one-of a-kind series of prototyped Yoda sculptures made by Mario Chiodo, who worked at Lucasfilms. Star Wars fans everywhere were on high alert, tuning into the show to see how much they dropped on the items. The verdict? Nearly $6,500 for a single one. The sculptures were life-sized prototypes built to look like the real Yoda. It’s no wonder fans could barely contain themselves!

You know how we said that people of all ages everywhere loved to watch American Pickers? Well, that includes celebrities, too. But some stars are not just fans of the show, they’ve also gotten in on the deals by offering up some of their own items for auction. And as you can imagine, the stars get pretty excited when a high-roller calls the show. Because that typically means they’re in for a good sale!

Dolly Parton herself called up the staff of the show at one point, wanting to sell some of her stuff, and she ended up on the phone haggling it out with Danielle. As it turns out, the two women really hit it off and became fast friends. That’s pretty awesome. We imagine that a girl’s night out with those 2 would probably be really fun!

Danielle Colby is a busy, busy woman. Between working on the show, performing in her burlesque shows and running her stores, she’s got a lot on her plate. But there’s something else that she’s got going on that’s pretty cool – she collects vintage clothes – like, really, really vintage.

The term vintage can be pretty broad and can mean anything from a pair of bell-bottoms worn in the 1970s to one of these dancer’s costumes from the 1800s that Danielle has stashed away in her closet. But these aren’t just any old costumes. One of the pieces that she has in her collection is an original Mata Hari from the early 1900s and a skirt that was owned by the one and only Josephine Baker. If you didn’t know how serious she was about her burlesque – now you do.

Frank found himself wrapped up in some more legal drama in 2017 when he was arrested for drunk driving. The police officer found him driving his truck the wrong way down an interstate, and he failed his breathalyzer and field sobriety tests. He told the officer that he’d taken some Xanax and drank a beer. Well, apparently, he isn’t going to be driving the van anytime soon!

Fritz went to court for the OWI charge in 2018 and pled guilty to the offense. Since it was his first arrest, he was able to enter into a deferment program, in which he must complete a year of probation along with a drug and alcohol evaluation. He was also ordered to pay a fine of just over $600.

In 2015, music fans everywhere watched with excitement as a guitar that belonged to Chet Atkins turned up at the shop. The country music star was so skilled in the instrument that he came to be known as Mr. Guitar by people who heard him play. But another talented musician had his eyes on the relic and appeared in a heartbeat to claim it. Dan Auerbach, of the Black Keys, walked away with the guitar and an amp for around $10,000.

The expensive find was a 1958 Gretsch 6120, and Auerbach knew that he had to have it. After all, it was used to strum for hits like Ave Maria, The Entertainer, Windy and Warm and his rendition of the Beatle’s song, Michelle. It’s no wonder the guitar would wind up in the pickers’ Nashville location since the city is known as the ultimate country music destination. As they initially paid $9,500 for the piece themselves, they didn’t really make too much of a profit, but since they like Dan Auerbach, they didn’t mind letting it go.

Toney Thomas is basically a legend in the world of picking. His barn outside of Detroit, Michigan is home to some of the rarest and most interesting stuff that the pickers have ever seen. He’s got quite the collection of everything from antique signs to guns, and of course – car parts.

Aside from working on his 1942 Ford Coupe, he also has different bits and pieces of antique automobiles, like the pioneer license plate circa 1908. Mike and Frank probably spent more money than anyone has on a license plate when they handed Thomas $1,000 for it. Then, they turned around and sold it to the R. E Olds Museum for $1,200. The cool part is, it’s the same museum that has the car that the plate was on in the early 1900s. Up next: a cool and creepy discovery from an abandoned amusement park.

In an age where people are literally dressing like clowns and jumping out of the woods to try and seemingly lure unsuspecting victims to their deaths, not too many individuals would jump at the chance to walk through said woods with anyone in a red foam nose and giant shoes. But that’s exactly what the pickers did when Neal Fehnel, a clown from New England, called them to come look around his abandoned amusement park in Pennsylvania.

Bushkill Park in Easton is over 100 years old and is known for its antique aesthetic, rides and games. Fehnel bought the park in 1989 from Thomas Long, who had owned and operated it since 1933. Although the clown has since sold his shares in the property, it wasn’t before he took the pickers on a VIP tour of the desolate grounds. Along the way, they picked up some old slideshow banners that they paid nearly $1,000 for. However, they later found out they were worth about 4 times that and returned to pay the rest of their fair share.

They definitely don’t make toys like these bad boys anymore, that’s for sure. And they probably never should have, considering how dangerous they actually were. Tether model race cars were popular back in the 1920s and 1930s, when automobiles were still a hot, new thing. The cars were powered by a model airplane engine and tethered to a pole to race around a track. Ultimately, the “toys” could reach speeds of over 150 mph.

Mike paid over $1,000 for his tether car, which is actually quite a steal for as desirable as they really are. Tether car racing is still a thing today, and there are tracks all over the world, including in places like Australia, New Zealand, Russia and Switzerland. Jan-Erik Falk holds the world record for fastest speed with an impressive 166+ miles per hour.

Vespa is the biggest name in scooters in the world, and they pretty much have a cult-like following of collectors all over the place. The brand was born in Italy in the mid 1940s, and was created by Piaggio & Co. In their first year, they sold 10,000 scooters, and by a couple of years later they were selling 5 times that amount until it grew to be what it’s known as today. Just like youth today, people in those years were big fans of scooters due to the fact they were more affordable than cars.

Mike happens to be a part of the Vespa fan base, so he jumped at the opportunity to own this vintage dealer’s sign. The sign was manufactured in the 1980s, and Mike paid nearly $500 for it. He most likely decided to keep this one in his personal collection! He certainly does have quite the stash of awesome, original signage.

Motorcycles have come a very long way over the years. Just check out what this Royal Pioneer bike from 1910 looks like compared to a modern Harley Davidson or something like it. It looks a lot more like a dirt bike than a full-on motorcycle, but that’s exactly what it is, and Mike was super excited to get his hands on it. Why was he so thrilled to find this particular bike? Due to a fire at the manufacturer’s warehouse, there are only a handful of them in existence.

With this being one of the more expensive things that Mike’s bought on the show, he dropped over $50,000 on it. But it is 1 of only 500 on the face of the Earth, so there was no way he wasn’t going to take the sale. And now, if he decides to let it go, he can flip it for close to $100,000. Up next: treasure hunting with William Shatner

When Captain Kirk asks you to do something, you do it, no questions asked! This was the mentality that Mike and Frank adopted when William Shatner called them up and asked them to help him out with a somewhat peculiar request – to help him find a millstone. But of course, the actor didn’t just want any millstone. It was a specific, old millstone that had a long history of grinding grain on a farm.

But if anyone can hunt down a historic millstone, it’s the pickers. They did eventually end up finding what he wanted, but it wasn’t going to come easily – or cheap. They ended up paying nearly $3,000 for this giant rock, and that was apparently a steal! But hey – what William Shatner wants, William Shatner gets, okay?

Jell-O is a staple in American society. We love our jiggly, brightly colored, overly-sugared goop – always have, always will. It’s super easy to make, convenient, yummy, and kids will eat it. What more could you possibly ask for in a dessert? The brand has been around since the 1880s, but gained most of its popularity between the 1930s and ’50s.

Danielle was pumped when she discovered an original Jell-O wagon that was used for deliveries back in the day. The cart was just sitting in a barn in Louisiana, waiting for a happy collector to come to scoop it up, and that they did. The pickers paid a cool $6,500 for it and turned it around and sold it to the Jell-O Museum in New York, where it belongs. Up next: one of the biggest-ticket items the pickers have ever purchased.

It was only a couple of years ago, in 2017, when the pickers lucked out and stumbled into their most exciting (and expensive) purchase throughout their entire careers. Mike and Frank were out in the Pacific Northwest scoping out cars and had no idea they would actually come upon an Ace motorcycle.

The bikes stem from the Ace Motor Corporation, a company that got its start in Philly, back in 1919, and only manufactured them until 24’. So today, finding an Ace motorcycle is basically like finding a unicorn, hence why the guys were willing to drop nearly $100,000 on it. The seller was pretty heartbroken to let it go, but at the same time – he was happy to make the incredible sale! Up next: a priceless artifact.

The pickers didn’t know what to do with themselves when they ended up coming face-to-face with a wooden Model T. Now, if you know anything about these babies, you know that Model T’s are hard enough to come by on their own, much less custom-made, hand-whittled wood ones. But just as excited as they were about the find, the owner wasn’t happy about parting ways with the relic that had been passed down to him from his late father, who decorated the wood himself.

They initially thought that they were going to have a little bit of trouble convincing the owner to let go of his prized possession. Luckily, everyone involved agreed that the piece was a work of art that belonged in a museum, rather than sitting there unappreciated and gathering dust in his garage. Unlike the majority of findings made on the show, the pickers didn’t even spend any money on this one. Instead, they simply helped the man to get the car into its new home at the museum.

Truly unique vintage autos are a rare find for the pickers. So, you can imagine their excitement when they happened to find not 1, but 2 Nash-Healey’s from 1954 when they were touring the grounds of an old AMC dealership in the Carolinas. A Nash-Healey is a gorgeous 2-seater sports car that was only manufactured in America for a few years in the early 1950s.

George W. Mason, C.E.O of Nash-Kelvinator, teamed up with Donald Healey to create the cars, which came equipped with drum brakes, and they ended up being a huge hit in the United States. But the company only ended up making around 500 models before they shut down production of the Nash-Healey. Luckily, the pickers got their hands on 2 of them for less than $50,000 total. Not a bad deal!

Cyclecars were a form of transportation that existed in the United States and Europe between the 1900s and ’20s. The little vehicles were highly desired due to the fact they operated using a single motorcycle engine, which made them very affordable. Unfortunately, they were also very cheaply made and weren’t very comfortable. Plus, you did not want to be caught in one of those things in a storm.

So, cyclecars went out of style by the mid-1920’s, when automotive manufacturers like Ford began to put out sturdier and more efficient vehicles that didn’t break the bank. The pickers were able to find this gem that was made in London by St. Marks for just $12,000. It sure doesn’t look like anyone would be taking any family road trips in one of those things. It’s no wonder they didn’t last for a very long time. But hey, everything has to start somewhere, right? It’s kind of cool to see what automotive transportation looked like pre-sedan.