Hi and welcome to the beautiful grounds of the Magnay Art Museum right here in San Antonio.

I'm Chuck Carroll.

When I say the words Antiques Roadshow you automatically think about that iconic television show that's been appearing right here on Kael or.

You think about the people and the family heirlooms the treasures the pitches and the appraisals but have you ever wondered what does it take to produce that show.

Well we're taking him behind the scenes look and we're going to show you everything.

Get ready you're really going to enjoy this.

It's time for Antiques Roadshow San Antonio.

Behind the scenes you know when you think of Antiques Roadshow.

Think of it as like a big puzzle with a lot of different pieces that have to fit together.

You've got the national crew that comes out of Boston you've got the local crew folks from right here from McKayla and you've got volunteers all these things need to be coordinated and logistically put together.

We talk to the person who does that.

That is the line producer Jill Giles.

Well we have a great preproduction team.

We have a staff of about 15 people in the office and we do a lot of free work before we come out.

I mean everything from Ken the trucks make the turn to you know bringing enough cable guards and sandbags and lights and everything.

So there's a lot of preproduction that goes into it.

When you watch Antiques Roadshow on a regular basis you'll notice a lot of familiar faces but one face that may not be familiar to you is Marcia Benko.

She's the show's executive producer.

Now in that role the buck stops with her.

Everything funnels through her and she is the final decision maker.

She's also known as a picker.

Now as the name implies she actually picks some of the items that are going to be showcased on the show.

She not only picks the items but she also picks things like the camera angle.

How is it going to be showcase is it gonna be an over the shoulder camera shot or is it going to be in a more formal appraisal setting.

Marcia is affectionately known as the king of the road road show that is we started calling people to say how about you let us in a few thousand friends and to come stay in your historic mansion museum whatever it is.

And not everybody would say yes to that nickname welcomed us with open arms.

And for us this is a little piece of heaven.

Look around us here.

This is an amazing environment for us to be in they actually came to us.

The Committee for Antiques Roadshow we were up against a venue in Dallas and they spent a few hours with us did a great site visit.

And because of our beauty because of our 23 acres because we're an outdoor and indoor museum experience they fell in love with us and through us they fell in love with San Antonio so we found this location and we just really loved everything about the indoor and outdoor space and the flow and how it's kind of isolated in its own like you know campus setting and we just thought the show would really look fabulous in this venue is a wealth of undiscovered material out there and we can find some of it tomorrow San Antonio is a great military center.

And so you have people also in the oil industry and in all types of Commerce all of those are international in scope.

But the fact that people were stationed in Asia who were from San Antonio is early.

I would say as know around nineteen hundred maybe even wrote and engaged in commerce in the Far East in Japan and Korea China Indonesia for oil.

Who knows what's going to come in coming through the door.

It's funny because you think that oh we're gonna be in Texas we're going to see guns.

We're going to see you know historical Texas documents which we do.

That being said we have seen so many guests who are cleaning out their parents and grandparents attic and they had shoved something in a box housing that turns out to be a pretty valuable library.

So who knows.

Who knows.

What are we looking at now.

Well.

Oh he's the guy.

Ok.

You know this goes on.

All right.

Thank you pole out fishing.

I know that your real goes on it.

Yes this is a road trip for me and my two girlfriends and one of their daughters.

Where are you coming from Oklahoma City.

Well you drove all the way a long way just for this.

Well you know it's hard to get tickets and when you get them you need to go.

You know we're here.

Ok.

So what do you what do you what did you bring.

Well I have a houseful of antiques but they're all big and then the prices are known.

So what I brought was some little cheesy plastic thing that's like diesels squirt guns.

I won't even tell you where the water comes out.

And then I have a little musical telephone here which is kind of funny winding up in it.

Music OK.

And I have also these are advertising salt shakers that you would get at the Phillips 66 filling station.

And where did you get those.

Well I mean I'm kind of a collector from way back.

So I go to every estate sale every garage sale I have friends who have antique store.

So like I also have a collection of pencil sharpener.

So who has that.

Yeah yeah.

So I just still find a little cheesy plastic things.

And the other thing about it is I don't have to carry heavy stuff.

And this is kind of fun.

It's a keychain and he moves his mouth hands mouth anyway that's my prices correct collections of tchotchkes right here.

Yeah.

So if you were to have to work for an appraiser.

No if you were to have a showing of all of your your collectibles what would this what would you call this exhibit.

I would call it Theresa's little cheesy plastic things so I wouldn't call it.

Yes.

And I have many more.

So this is just the beginning of a wonderful show.

So let's call guns.

Yes.

And you know where it's gotta love Europe again.

Thank you.

Always we see we see a variety of different guests.

There are guests that just want to be there because they want to come to the road show because it has become such a cultural phenomenon.

There are people who have valuable things they know they're valuable and often they want to understand how valuable they are so they maybe they need to adjust their insurance.

And then there are people who carry through are curious about something that they really want.

Well what is it.

And then there are people who want to know am I going to strike it rich.

So there are a variety of different people that come.

This is a Katrina doll and it was given to me by my mom and I don't know anything about it.

What it's valued at and I would just like to find out more history about it.

So of course it's from the Hopi Indians.

It gets to Hopi Indian creation.

So how old do you think this is this piece is probably 40 to 50 years.

And where do you mom get it.

I don't know.

You know nothing about this and that's why you're coming to Antiques Roadshow.

Exactly right.

It's a generally experts to us to show often.

Yes I do.

I watch it every week.

Actually I watch it with my brother in Ohio and we text back and forth.

So you text in real time.

We're going back to what he talked about when you when you text with your brother in Ohio to show how beautiful something is or can you believe the value of that.

What do you what do you think this is worth if you were to put a monetary value.

Of course it's from your mom.

So it's priceless priceless gift.

But if you were to put a monetary value what you think the prices are going to President I don't even have a clue.

I don't even know what it would cost to purchase it when it was purchased.

So let's just say they appraised it at thirteen hundred dollars would you would you find a place to sell it.

No.

It's priceless to you.

Yes.

That's my mom.

Good for you one big thing people think when they watch roadshow and we assess something a painting for half a million dollars people why are they going to sell that.

No they don't.

They don't sell that.

You know why.

It was their great great grandfathers and they insure it now maybe but they're not going to sell it.

It means too much to them.

And the day you sell something there's always a cost to sell.

You can't afford to buy it back even if you could find it Amanda.

We have a mirror here.

Tell us just a little bit about.

We don't know a whole lot except it belonged to my great grandfather.

And then came down to my grandfather and then to me we think it was bought in the east.

We think we think it might be 18th century but we're not sure what.

We have no idea what all the paint painted scenes are.

And we think the frame may be pictorial but we had to find out hi welcome to the McNeil Art Museum here in San Antonio what are your names.

Alice Carmelo and tell us what did you bring today to get a priest.

I brought some pre Colombian art artifacts and two paintings and a bronze sculpture.

Can we take a look at the at the painting.

Tell us where did you where did you get this.

I bought this one at a local flea market here in San Antonio and I don't know much about it.

I know that it sees San Antonio a whole tail I guess.

And I had it for a couple of years.

So it's interesting if you turn it around you'll see there's the number 32 on the back.

Yes.

What do you think that is.

That's in reference to Harley the painting number or the room.

I don't know.

I don't know.

Could be since it was from a hotel it could be the room medicine.

That's an interesting theory right there.

But I'm sure our our appraisers will be able to answer those questions right there.

Rusty what else did you bring this.

I believe it's a headstone.

It looks like look it looks like a pesto painting.

I don't think it's a watercolor but I don't know.

I can't see the signature on that.

So if you were to appraise this and give it a dollar value what would you what would you value that.

I know he does all the appraisals and I'm just gonna take the cash.

Well there you have it the chance of finding it anything worth a lot of money.

The key word to something worth a lot of money.

It's always rare.

That is the one thing they all have in common.

It's always a very rare thing to command that price so what's the chance.

Not so much.

Most of us don't own things like that.

You know the types of things we get is remarkably consistent because the United States was and is a country of all kinds of people from different social stations different countries who come here as America and when they came they brought things with them and they brought their interest.

We see objects from all over the world because the good stuff stays in families too easy and so exciting to see early suicide items anything Mother fear appraisers and it's like it's like I can't ask you this years what do you want to sell these autographs.

It's like hey with me if I would like.

See how he feels about antiques roadshow wouldn't be the show that it is without the stars of the show.

I'm talking about the appraisers and these are the people who have the knowledge they've got that keen eye.

They've got the passion and they know the history behind these items and a little known fact about the appraisers.

They do this show on their own dime.

The appraisers are the backbone of antiques roadshow.

Most of our experts have been with us for a long time.

We had a couple a few new every season as people retire or whatever else but most of them are Rochelle appraisers.

We research our appraisers.

We know that because they're on public television you trust public television you will trust our appraisers to make sure they're worthy of that trust.

And we do the research for that and we are so attuned to looking to have objects and making judgments.

So as soon as someone opens up that package we're instantly analyzing the material the shape form the purpose of why and how I find out so often before my hand touches.

I know everything about it and I say I am torn about all of my colleagues because we've done this professionally within our own businesses or as academics.

In some cases both like myself this this passion that we have to unravel these secrets and share our enthusiasm with other people.

That's what's so great about the workshop.

Long ago the appraisers stopped trying to you know doing the guessing game.

What do you think we'll see.

Because we really don't know.

And frankly so many of these antiques and heirlooms travel all over the country as families move and so we don't know everything you see here.

My favorite thing from I think it was two seasons ago we were in Harrisburg was Willie Sutton who is a famous bank robber an escape artist from jail escape from jail several times.

And we had his at the mall.

He made a papier mâché cast of his head so that he could use it to fool the prison guards.

And in one of his hands.

So the guest opens up the box and you know they go over to listen to the pitch and I open it and it's this head with real hair and it looks so much like him if you took a photograph of him and put it next to this head and the level of detail that he went into making this escape.

Ed was incredible and to me that was like one of the most unusual crazy finds I've ever seen.

That was the most unusual thing I've seen thus far was something so unusual and a little racy that it never made tape you can just imagine what it is.

I would say it's hard to pick any news when you go to unusual what my mind goes to the weird medical devices whether it's vampire kids or leeching kids or civil war blood letting kids you know for me in particular who prefers diamonds and jewelry and Bogart and those are the kinds of areas of collecting or what I like.

So for me that's the weird stuff the way we used to the things we used to do to our body that weren't really good for us.

And I also think that you know that's our collective history and that when you see something and you think oh I have something similar to that or I can relate to that because this is something we would have had in our family that it really resonates with people we've got a long life ahead of us.

I say all of us will retire from the show versus the other way around.

Why.

There is an endless amount of objects talk about hiding in houses and basements unique things that are appraisers site to discover and discover something in every city.

I think that all the appraisers would tell you that they enjoy going to various cities and seeing people's stuff and talking to you know great guests.

But they would also tell you that after twenty four years that many of us have come to know each other very very well and that camaraderie that has developed and really deep friendships are what keeps us coming back.

On behalf of the roadshow appraisers and crew we're happy to be in San Antonio we hope you've enjoyed that fascinating behind the scenes look at a fantastic program Antiques Roadshow.

We'd also like to thank our friends at the Magnay art museum for hosting us today.

I'm sure Caro.

And as always thank you for supporting your public television station.

Kayla.