What Happens to High-Value Items on 'Antiques Roadshow' After the Cameras Stop Rolling?

We all live for those jaw-dropping moments on Antiques Roadshow A guest stands with a beloved antique—often inherited from a family member—and listens as an appraiser unravels the story behind the item. The guest may suspect their object has some monetary value, but when the appraiser reveals it's worth $50,000, $100,000, or even—as happens on occasion—$500,000, they are left shocked and stunned, often speechless.

But what happens next, once the cameras stop rolling? Do guests head home and immediately sell their ultra-valuable heirlooms? Do these items end up in museums or perhaps find their way into antique stores ? To uncover the answers, I spoke with a Roadshow executive producer for the inside scoop.

When Marsha Bemko started working for Antiques Roadshow She assumed, like most people, that once guests learned their heirloom was worth six figures, they would promptly sell it.

"Except they don't," Bemko says. "Most of what you see on Antiques Roadshow Never parts with its owner.

What does However, what happens is that appraisers advise owners to obtain an insurance policy and a written appraisal for their piece. ( Roadshow appraisals are verbal only, and insurance companies require written ones.) If their item is valued over $50,000, guests are escorted to their car by law enforcement to ensure their safety. After the show, producers ask guests to inform them if they make plans to sell or otherwise part with their item, but most guests opt to hold onto their treasures.

And that makes sense. The pieces featured on Antiques Roadshow They are often imbued with family history and deep sentimental value, making it difficult to part with them. There's also something special about being able to show these items off to friends and family at home.

"Guests love learning about their item, bringing it home, and sharing its history with others," Bemko adds. This sentiment aligns with Roadshow 's ultimate mission: helping viewers learn history through material culture.

Of course, there are exceptions. Bemko recalls a guest who brought in a high-value chair. Unable to divide the chair between her two children, she sold it. Stories like this are featured in special Extraordinary Finds episodes of Antiques Roadshow , released every one to three years. So far, three episodes have aired during seasons 23, 25, and 28, and a fourth is currently in the works.

The most recent Extraordinary Finds The episode recounts the story of a painting by Jane Peterson, appraised on the show in 2014 for $300,000. The owner, Carole, cared deeply about the painting, but her children weren't interested in inheriting it. Ultimately, she decided to contact her Roadshow appraiser Debra Force, who helped sell it for $300,000. Carole used the proceeds to purchase three acres of land and build the house where she now lives.

"I loved the painting, but you know, you can't take it with you," Carole says on the show.

The episode also follows the stories of other significant items: a jewelry cuff sold at auction for $340,000, two signed baseballs that sold for $315,426 and $102,693 respectively, and an Art Deco tea and coffee service appraised at $54,000. The tea set is now on display at the de Young Fine Arts Museum in San Francisco, while a rusty metal drive-in theater sign signed by folk singer Pete Seeger is on loan at Boston's Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame.

To think the sign is here with other important artifacts—I can't help but smile," the owner shares on the show. "What good is it hanging in my office?

The episode ends with a particularly heartfelt story about a rustic stoneware jug. Appraised on the show in 2004, the jug was sold not long after for $110,000. The proceeds from the sale helped the owner and his family adopt a child from Guatemala. Twenty years later, the owner had passed away, but his wife and their adopted son—now a recent high school graduate—reunited with the jug along with appraiser Allan Katz.

"It's hard to comprehend what this money meant to them," Katz says. "It's a story of how Roadshow can truly change someone's life.