Not So Cheap Thrills (S5, E2) — American Pickers — Full Episode

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Wow, this keeps on going and going. This is exactly the kind of place that we love. Want me to hit you with a number? [00:00:05] Speaker 2: Yeah. [00:00:06] Speaker 1: 10 bucks. [00:00:07] Speaker 2: Oh, God, he hit me right in the heart. Oh, God. [00:00:10] Speaker 1: You all right? Terry comes from the Fred Sanford School of Negotiation. Oh, right in the heart. I got you. This guy is a trip. [00:00:18] Speaker 3: Let's start in the back here. I'm like a kid in a candy shop. Wow, check it out. Everywhere you look, cars, cars, cars. I've got a '76 Econoline van. Woo! We had a lot of parties in this thing. Right now, it doubles as my brother's bedroom. [00:00:33] Speaker 4: His twin pops out. This is your crib? This is my crib. [00:00:39] Speaker 5: Back in the day, these were huge money makers. And today, there's tons of collectors who'd love to get their hands on these machines. [00:00:45] Speaker 6: You got to put a penny in it. You got to look quick, otherwise you might miss it. I missed it. Dang. [00:00:50] Speaker 1: I'm Mike Wolfe. And I'm Frank Fretz. And we're pickers. [00:00:56] Speaker 5: We travel the back roads of America, looking to buy rusty gold. [00:01:01] Speaker 1: We make a living telling the history of America, one piece at a time. All right. What about this place right here? Don't look good. How about this place right here? Too new. Frank and I are freestyling in Minnesota. We're going to drive until we run out of highway, lose ourselves into the landscape, and do some down-home picking. We need to get on a road we've never been on before. [00:01:27] Speaker 5: We've been down here before. Me and Mike have learned over the years of freestyling, the rougher the road, the better the pick. [00:01:32] Speaker 1: This is what I'm talking about. This is where the pavement gives way to the gravel. [00:01:36] Speaker 5: We're looking for stuff laying outside, stuff we can see that might be worth the stop. [00:01:41] Speaker 1: Franky, look at this. School buses, if you know as well as I do. [00:01:45] Speaker 5: School buses mean storage. Yeah, this is worth a swing in. Oh, look at that barn right there. It's totally fell to the ground. All right, I'm whipping it. [00:01:52] Speaker 1: You can see iron through the weeds. And when you can see that much iron, you know it's going to be a good pick. All right, let me grab a fire. This place looks good. [00:02:05] Speaker 3: Oh. [00:02:06] Speaker 5: Hello. I love freestyling. I mean, it's like a blind date. You never know what you're going to get. [00:02:16] Speaker 1: Hey, how's it going? Whoa, whoa, hi. Hey, saw all your rust from the road, man, all your piles. So this guy introduces himself to us. Turns out his name is Terry, and he owns this scrap yard here. You do scrapping? [00:02:28] Speaker 7: We demolish buildings, so we scrap and that all, yes. [00:02:31] Speaker 1: Oh, you do some demolition? Oh, yeah. All right, well, you got our attention on that. We're pickers. We're from Iowa, but we buy and sell a lot of stuff. And we stopped here because we saw all your roadside relics. [00:02:41] Speaker 7: I do about anything that anybody wants done. I demolish buildings. We do building salvage. Well, we've cleaned out old gas stations and stuff like that. I started with my brother 47 years ago, and then I bought him out. And I've owned it ever since. [00:02:55] Speaker 1: That's cool, man. [00:02:56] Speaker 7: I consider myself a salvage operator. If I see something out there that is value to it, I bring it home. [00:03:04] Speaker 1: Well, we're looking for the rusty gold. If you got some time, we'd love to look around. [00:03:07] Speaker 7: Well, if you want to get dirty-- [00:03:10] Speaker 1: We want to get dirty. [00:03:11] Speaker 7: --and you'll get funky-- Yeah. --then let's go do this thing. [00:03:13] Speaker 5: All right, let's do it. [00:03:14] Speaker ?: All right. [00:03:16] Speaker 5: There's junk as far as the eye can see. I'm getting excited. [00:03:19] Speaker 1: So do you collect anything? I mean, is any of this stuff so near and dear to you that you can't live without it? [00:03:24] Speaker 7: No. There's nothing other than my lady and my kids. You don't touch them. All right. Anything that I have here is up for sale. The price is ripe. We move it. God, this keeps on going and going. [00:03:36] Speaker 1: The sheer volume of what this guy's got is staggering. That's overwhelming here. [00:03:40] Speaker 7: Yeah. All right, what have we got in here? Well, you just go ahead and take a look. See, and you find something that trips your trigger. Y'all let me know, and we'll work something out. [00:03:51] Speaker 1: So Frankie and I are going to the back barn. It's leaning to the side. This is the Leaning Tower of Junk. Uh-oh. It's like a Jenga situation. [00:04:00] Speaker 5: This looks like if one-- yeah. Whew. This whole building, it's like a house of cards. Ooh, this is-- that's like part of the-- That's jammed. That's part of the barn. I mean, you pull the wrong one out, you could be a picker pancake. Man. [00:04:15] Speaker 1: Ooh. Right away, I see this Polarine sign over in the corner. And right away, I'm bird dogging on it. Wow, what'd you find here, man? That's hot. It's porcelain. It's got bright colors. A few chips, but it's in really nice condition. I want it. Is this something you'd sell? [00:04:41] Speaker 7: Try me. [00:04:43] Speaker 1: What do you got to have for it? Couple hundred? Couple hundred? Couple hundred? I think that's what it's worth. I'd be into it for a hundred. [00:04:56] Speaker 5: I think that's a fair price, because it's only single-sided. If it was double-sided, maybe I'd go 200 on it then. But since it's only single, I think that's a fair price. Well, sometimes me and Mike help each other out a little bit when a seller's on the fence, like this one. [00:05:10] Speaker 1: If I'm able to buy this for a hundred, man, then we're like family. [00:05:15] Speaker 7: Well, if we're going to be family, you all got to get some face hair then, man, because, I mean, you know, you're not part of it. [00:05:21] Speaker 4: Frankie's got the face hair! Frankie's got it! [00:05:23] Speaker 7: You do a hundred and a quarter? [00:05:25] Speaker 1: I'd do a hundred and fifteen. All right, let me shake your hand before I fall through the floor. I love this sign. I feel like I just made a three-point shot and Frankie gets the assist. [00:05:38] Speaker 7: This farm was my great-uncle's farm. He never owned a tractor. They all had horses. Terry starts telling us the story of his family farm. I mean, if you had a bottle of pop, Mom opened that. You know it was split between your brother and your sister and yourself. [00:05:52] Speaker 5: Terry's family, I mean, they were very resourceful. They had to be. I mean, it just makes sense that he has a passion for scrapping. [00:05:59] Speaker 1: I'm glad we came across you. This is exactly the kind of place that we love, man. Getting waist-deep in this stuff. Whoa! Rusty double barrel. Yeah. I pull out this double-barrel shotgun, exposed hammer. [00:06:18] Speaker 2: Wall hanger? [00:06:19] Speaker 1: Yeah, wall hanger. It's in really rough condition, but a lot of guys want the rough guns for statement pieces. How much for the gun? [00:06:27] Speaker 7: Now, you know, all of us rednecks had to have one of them for a wedding, you know, every once in a while. Yeah, it's going to take some clean-up work, ain't it? But you know what? I like the rust. I like to rock the rust. Okay. How about 50 bucks? [00:06:40] Speaker 1: You got it. We'll do it. All right, Frank. Watch out. Don't be mouthing off the rest of the day. [00:06:46] Speaker 8: All right. [00:06:47] Speaker 1: What else you got? [00:06:55] Speaker 2: Ooh. What's this? [00:06:57] Speaker 1: Cast iron. Ooh. It's got an ornate cast iron base, faded paint. I mean, people are always looking for inexpensive vintage lighting to put in their home. This is one of those pieces. You want me to hit you with a number? Yeah. 10 bucks. Oh, God. [00:07:11] Speaker 2: He hit me right in the heart. Oh, God. You all right? Oh, my God. Are you okay? Oh. [00:07:17] Speaker 1: Terry comes from the Fred Sanford School of Negotiation. I can see I'm going to have to sweeten this deal. [00:07:22] Speaker 7: Actually, I was thinking 15, but. 15? You know. [00:07:26] Speaker 1: I would do 12. [00:07:27] Speaker 7: 13? 12 bucks. [00:07:29] Speaker 1: Did I hear 13? We're going at it over a dollar, man. All right, 13. That evens it out. No, I'll even do it with 12. [00:07:35] Speaker ?: All right. [00:07:36] Speaker 1: This guy is a trip. [00:07:41] Speaker 4: All right. Let me see here. [00:07:47] Speaker 5: Wow, look at that. Oh, those are killer. There's a stack of these three-dimensional signs from the AC company. These things are really cool. Terry, what do you want for these AC spark plug signs? They're made of plastic. They're, like, vacuum-filled. Back in the day, AC was one of the most well-known names for aftermarket parts. They merged with General Motors, and eventually they changed their name. I mean, you just can't get these signs anymore. [00:08:11] Speaker ?: How many are there? There's three of them together. All right. A couple of them are broken. One look in the back looks good. The other ones are cracked up in the corner here. How about 40 for the three? About 35. [00:08:19] Speaker 8: Mmm. Yeah, I think you can do that. All right. 35. It's done. All right. Frankie and I have got some beans. [00:08:26] Speaker 5: All right. [00:08:27] Speaker 7: Frankie and I have got some beans. I have a little bit of beans. [00:08:29] Speaker 5: I have a little bit of beans. I have a little bit of beans. [00:08:31] Speaker ?: I have a little bit of beans. [00:08:32] Speaker 7: I have a little bit of beans. I have a little bit of beans. [00:08:34] Speaker ?: I have a little bit of beans. [00:08:35] Speaker 7: I have a little bit of beans. I have a little bit of beans. [00:08:37] Speaker 1: All right. 35. It's done. All right. Frankie and I have got some great stuff out here. But it's time to get out of this old dusty barn and see what Terry's got outside. [00:08:49] Speaker 7: Back in here, you've got some of the bigger stuff. [00:08:52] Speaker 5: Oh. Ah. Terry's got a huge scrap yard here. I mean, he's got old cars. This place is a monument to rusty metal. Wow, look at that. [00:09:00] Speaker 4: Yeah. [00:09:01] Speaker 7: Sure, I like to have things who don't. But now I'd rather see people happy and have this stuff used again rather than stack it all up here and hoard it. Oh, yeah. Yeah. [00:09:11] Speaker 1: Hey, what about this? Woo! I found this giant industrial hook. It's metal. It's rusty. It's my style. [00:09:20] Speaker 7: Now, what are your plans for that pre-tell? [00:09:23] Speaker 1: Well, I just hang it up and then, you know, hang something from it. This had a practical application, but now I'm going to use it as a statement piece. [00:09:31] Speaker 5: The harder you pull, the more tighter it grips. [00:09:34] Speaker 8: Well, just what do you got? [00:09:35] Speaker 7: What? [00:09:36] Speaker 5: I don't think I get big enough for you to me. [00:09:38] Speaker 7: No, that's what I was thinking, you know. What do you want for something like that? Talk to me. Ten bucks. Right in the heart. [00:09:46] Speaker 2: I got you. I got you. [00:09:48] Speaker 5: Didn't seem like Terry took the mics off her too well. What do you want for that? [00:09:51] Speaker 1: Forty bucks? Forty bucks? When he said 40 bucks, I thought I was going to have a heart attack. That's too high. That's too high. All these dollars add up. If you're talking $5 here, $3 there, $10 there, at the end of the year, you're talking thousands of dollars. Ooh. I see this cast iron screen. I think if I can line up a bundle, I could cure Terry's chest pains. [00:10:12] Speaker 7: You know what that is? I'm at 15. It actually was in the front grill out of a race car. [00:10:17] Speaker ?: I like it even more. [00:10:18] Speaker 7: Oh, so the more wouldn't get in? [00:10:20] Speaker 1: It was up in the front grill for it. See, when I see that, I see a shelf. Oh, I never thought of it that way. It's got the tabs right here. You can put it on the wall. You could. Yep. Sometimes when you're looking at a pile of junk, you have to think out of the box. This shelf would look great in someone's home or office. Here's where I'm at. 15. I'm at 20. Done. Done? That's two great pieces for 20 bucks. I love them both. [00:10:44] Speaker 5: Let's take a look in here once and see what we got. Nothing. [00:10:48] Speaker 1: All right. [00:10:49] Speaker 5: Well, let's keep on trucking. [00:10:50] Speaker 1: I don't see anything there I can't live without. [00:10:53] Speaker 7: Okay. What's in here, Terry? Ah, old chainsaws. Lots of old chainsaws. Wow. Ooh, Frankie. [00:11:07] Speaker 1: Double trouble. Whoa. Right away, I see these Whistle Soda Pop signs. Thirsty, just whistle. Boy, I can see my retirement coming in now. This looks like it. Yeah. I don't know about Terry's retirement, but I love these whistle signs. Look at the nice, bright color on that puppy. The graphics are great. They've got little elves carrying a bottle of Whistle Soda. The paint is not the best, but the subject matter is awesome. How much do you want for this? You want one or you want two? I want two, but that one's way more toasty than this one. Anything soda pop related is very collectible. Someone is going to love to have these signs. That's $200. Mmm. I'll tell you what. I'd do $60 a piece. All right. Well, you know what? I mean, for somebody that doesn't collect signs, you got a lot of signs around here. [00:12:05] Speaker 7: You have to understand, for years I hung signs locally. Oh, you did? Yeah. I had scaffolding in that and I wasn't scared to go up in heights. So, Terry tells us about this mother load he has. [00:12:15] Speaker 5: We've put a lot of signs in this building. Terry has a whole bunch of signs left over from his sign hanging days. But these are indoors and they're in great condition. Come on up. Oh, wow. [00:12:26] Speaker 1: Ooh, fraggy. [00:12:28] Speaker 5: Man. Tons of signs and they're all up in the ceiling. Whoa. And there it is. Right away, I find this Evernrood sign. [00:12:37] Speaker 7: Remember if this one lit up, this Evernrood right here? I did not see it light up, but I do believe there's lights in it. [00:12:42] Speaker 5: Evernrood has been making boat motors for over a hundred years. I mean, they're a great name in the boating world and I'm in love with this sign. Gotcha. This sign is older, it lights up, it's in great condition, and it's hard to find. Boating enthusiasts, they'll lose their mind for this. I've got to have it. What would you have to have for something like that? [00:13:12] Speaker 7: If I see 75 bucks, it goes bye-bye. [00:13:15] Speaker 5: What would you charge me if I bought two of them? On the other side of the room, I spot this other Evernrood sign. This thing has got great graphics, it's huge, and it's made of metal. [00:13:23] Speaker 7: That one's a lot bigger. Uh, I'd like to see a hundred and a half out of the pair. [00:13:28] Speaker 5: That's 75 a piece? 75 a piece. I can do that. Mike was killing it today. He got a lot of great stuff. But at the end of the day, I think I'm the one that walked away with the gems. Ah. I got the two Evernrood signs for $150. I think I get at least $600 for both. [00:13:46] Speaker 1: Oh, I love that. I bought the double barrel shotgun for $50. I'm going to ask $100. I bought the whistle soda pop signs for $60 a piece. I'm going to ask $120 each. Hey. Hey, man. This has been awesome. I don't even think we scratched the surface, man. This freestyle was awesome. Terry's been amazing. We got some great stuff. What more could you ask for? Thanks for sharing those stories with us. Amazing. [00:14:13] Speaker 7: This is what it's about. I would invite Mike and Frank back in a heartbeat. They treated me fair. They treated me well. All right. We'll catch you on the flip side. We don't sign contracts here. We look a man in the eye. We shake his hand. Thanks, Terry. That's simple as that. That's the way we do business. Down the road, man. That guy was awesome. [00:14:34] Speaker 5: I mean, just for a cold call, stop by. When we got up in that loft, I was like, dang. We got some pretty decent stuff there. [00:14:41] Speaker 1: That's a great freestyle. That was a great stop. Couple Iowa guys rolling into Minnesota. That's what I'm talking about. Tearing it up. We love picking in Minnesota because it's so rural. People have big properties with lots of space for their collections. We need a big ticket item. I know. I mean, all these little stuff we got in the van here is just not cutting it. My eyes are peeled. You know what I'm saying? That's all I can do. Here she's calling. Hey, Danny D. What's up? What's up, homeboys? [00:15:07] Speaker 9: Hey, Danielle. [00:15:08] Speaker 1: We're keeping our eyes peeled. We're just wondering if you're keeping up with your end of the bargain and finding us some leads. [00:15:14] Speaker 9: All right. All right. So I'm sending you to see Gary. And he works with his brother, John. They've both been collecting since they were kids. Started doing coin-op concessions at carnivals, and now these guys are the coin-op kings. That's what I like to hear. There are some super old, really rare coin-op machines that even you guys are going to be impressed with. Wow. [00:15:33] Speaker 1: A lot of people collect coin-op, but the old stuff is really hard to find. I'm talking pre-video game, pre-pinball. That's the kind of stuff we love. All right. Thanks, honey. See ya. [00:15:43] Speaker ?: All right. Have fun. [00:15:45] Speaker 5: This guy's supposed to be off the beaten track. [00:15:48] Speaker 1: He's off the beaten track. Is this a road? [00:15:50] Speaker 5: Oh, yeah. Look how much stuff goes back there. Oh, yeah. I see it now. Oh, man. They got tons of stuff back here, dude. Yeah. First thing I notice when we pull in is they've got some big stuff here. I mean, I've seen a bunch of big rides. I see a lot of iron, a lot of old stuff. Hello. How you doing? [00:16:06] Speaker ?: You found the place. [00:16:07] Speaker 5: No problem. Yeah. A little hard off the beaten track there. Well, we try to keep in as much as possible. Hey, how you doing? John, what's your name? It's Gary. Gary. Nice to meet you. [00:16:16] Speaker 1: Yep. Over the years, these guys have bought entire coin-op collections and fixed them up. But now it's time for them to sell some stuff so they can buy some more. Danielle said you guys were the coin-op kings. Yep. [00:16:26] Speaker 6: Stuff accumulates. It starts with one pinball game and then it escalates. We collect arcade games, you know, carnival equipment, and we collect old coin-op equipment. [00:16:37] Speaker 1: Which one of you worked in the carnival? I did. Did you? [00:16:40] Speaker 6: What did you do? Well, I owned a whole show at one time. Oh, you had your own show? [00:16:43] Speaker 1: Oh, wow. Yeah. He said if you're interested in coin-op, if you're interested in carnival stuff, I'm your guy. Well, you know what? [00:16:50] Speaker 6: I got a pocket full of money. Well, I like that idea. We'll show you what you need. You can just start counting out bills and we'll tell you when to stop. [00:16:56] Speaker 1: These guys have been collecting stuff their entire lives, so I know we're in for some good picking. Yeah, see that's crispy, man. [00:17:07] Speaker 8: Got toasted. This thing's massive. Yeah, it is. Roller coaster. Toboggan. This is a roller coaster? [00:17:13] Speaker 5: Yep. Okay. Sometimes we buy smalls, sometimes we buy bigs, but we don't buy giganics. [00:17:19] Speaker 1: I'm more interested in, like, parts and pieces. We're looking for smaller items. I'm trying to steer Gary and John into stuff like that. What do you get for the early bumper cars? [00:17:29] Speaker 6: Depends on the condition. Pretty cool. Like that one there? [00:17:32] Speaker 1: We're looking at about 800. [00:17:33] Speaker 6: Okay. Would you sell these or no? [00:17:35] Speaker 1: Are you going to repurpose this ride? Well, it's an ideal one of these days I'm going to probably do something with this. [00:17:41] Speaker 6: Okay. [00:17:42] Speaker 1: Oh, I like these rocket ships, man. There you go. What year are these from? Uh... 60s, 70s? [00:17:48] Speaker 6: Something like that. [00:17:49] Speaker 1: They hang from chains. No way. I love these. These rocket ships look like they're straight out of a cartoon. They're kind of bluish ones, cool. [00:17:59] Speaker 2: All right. [00:18:02] Speaker 1: It's all about the subject matter for me. I mean, these guys have a great look to them. Anything space related is really red hot. It's always been and it always will be. How much are these? Uh, 350 a piece. 350 a piece. Well, how much would you do on two of them? 700? And that's because we like that. [00:18:21] Speaker 6: Just for you, yeah. [00:18:22] Speaker 1: Appreciate that. Usually I expect the price to go down, but I plan on winning this game. [00:18:27] Speaker 6: 800 then. [00:18:28] Speaker 1: All right, hit me. I mean, I'm serious. I'm interested in it. You are. 350 a piece. [00:18:33] Speaker 6: You're at 350. 350 a piece, that's seven. You give me 650 for a pair. [00:18:40] Speaker 1: How about 600 for a pair? I think you bought two. All right. There you go. All right. Somebody that digs sci-fi stuff would love this, or it could still be used as a kid's toy. [00:18:50] Speaker ?: What else you got to show us? [00:18:51] Speaker 5: We're at... Well, we can start with the coin-op. Okay. What I'm looking for today is old machines that are ready to play. That's the most desirable if they're in working condition. Well, we have people inside here, so... [00:19:03] Speaker 1: All right. Let's look in here. [00:19:05] Speaker ?: Oh, here we go. [00:19:07] Speaker 5: Good. I have a few little collections. Yeah, these are more of my speed. Yeah. Definitely. Yeah. This room is packed with all kinds of nice coin-operated machines from all areas. And the best thing about it, they all look fully functional. Let's look around here a little bit. All right. [00:19:22] Speaker 6: A little bit of everything. I specialize in repairing pinballs and arcade games. I just love old machines, you know? Oh, I remember this game. It's addictive. You get a machine you like, you want to play it. And you always think you can play it a little bit better. I would try this one. You want to try that one? [00:19:38] Speaker 5: What I really like are these games of skill. [00:19:43] Speaker ?: Did you get all those? [00:19:44] Speaker 5: Yeah. How'd you get all those in two shots? Dude, I'm a man. I'm not going to face him in a gunfight. What can I say? I'm a natural. What do we got here? [00:19:54] Speaker 6: You got a Genco Motorama. What year is it? [00:19:57] Speaker 5: Mid '50s. Some of the games he's got here are really cool. I mean, they're older than me. I've never seen them before. Steering wheel and throttle. [00:20:05] Speaker 1: Yep. Try reverse. Pull out. How many of these things you want me to run over, Frank? I got a handle on it. [00:20:20] Speaker 5: Now, what do you value something like this? Well, there's six of them known to exist. That's it? Yep. [00:20:26] Speaker 8: Mike, there's only six of these. Don't break it. [00:20:28] Speaker 6: You're probably looking at about 20,000. [00:20:31] Speaker 1: 20 grand this is? Yeah. Oh, man, I wouldn't even have played it. What are you talking about? [00:20:37] Speaker 5: Here you go. You got it. There you go. There you go. Yeah, baby. When you can go to a place and see something you've never seen before, or there might only be a dozen or half dozen of them left in the world, this is what really gets my blood flowing. Oh, my gosh. [00:20:50] Speaker 6: Nice. 1920s football game. [00:20:52] Speaker 1: Man, that is so cool. I mean, this thing was early, man. The wood cabinet had patina on it. I love this game. Oh, look at it. They got uniforms on even. Back in the roaring 20s, this game was state-of-the-art entertainment. It was either speakeasies, silent films, or this. Here, kick it. [00:21:09] Speaker 5: See if you can score. [00:21:11] Speaker 1: This game was like a predecessor to foosball. Oh, yeah. Where'd you find something like this at? [00:21:20] Speaker 6: That's part of that arcade I bought that sat on the truck since '51. [00:21:23] Speaker 1: Why would somebody put it on a truck in the '50s and not touch it? [00:21:26] Speaker 6: Well, the thing was, it was a portable arcade traveled to Carnival. [00:21:29] Speaker 1: Oh, okay. This is picking folklore. These guys got a call to buy an entire traveling arcade that's been in storage since 1951. That's unheard of. How many games were in it? [00:21:41] Speaker 8: 30, 40. Oh, wow. [00:21:43] Speaker 1: He says, "This was my lifetime honey hole." That was in there. That was in there, yeah. Oh, my God. [00:21:48] Speaker 8: This was the big piece that was in there. [00:21:50] Speaker 6: Oh, man. [00:21:51] Speaker 1: That's like somebody calling us that's got a barn full. Motorcycles. Harley's pre-1920. Yeah. Like a dream. That was like a dream, huh? Yeah. [00:21:59] Speaker 5: Wow. Now, what do you value something like this? About eight grand. Eight grand? That might be what the game's worth, but at that price, there's nothing in it for me. [00:22:12] Speaker 1: This one's probably got some of the best graphics. Peak show. Ooh, look at that. You cannot find this stuff anymore. It only exists in people's collections, and that's why I'm so excited to look through this stuff. Here, you ask him something, Frank. All right, what are you going to say? Am I a liar? I knew that. One thing I noticed when I first came in here is a strength tester. The face is faded out, and there's barely any nickel left on the machine, but this is exactly the way I love them. All right, can I try it? You got a penny? [00:22:47] Speaker ?: Sure. Here we can find you a penny. Is this a loan? Well, it might be a loan. All right, let me try this thing. Oh, there you go. There you go. [00:22:54] Speaker 1: A lot of people want to buy this stuff because it's perfect for the man room. [00:22:56] Speaker 6: Well, what are you thinking on this? Is this something you'd sell? [00:22:58] Speaker 1: $450 and it's yours. At $450, I knew we were in the ballpark, but I'm not jumping on this thing just yet. Let's look around a little bit. [00:23:01] Speaker ?: Yeah, I was going to say, let me think about that. [00:23:01] Speaker 1: Oh, wow. [00:23:02] Speaker ?: Look at that. [00:23:03] Speaker 2: I played this before the sky jump. Yep. [00:23:05] Speaker 1: Wow, look at this baseball game. It's a baseball game. It's a baseball game. It's a baseball game. It's a baseball game. It's a baseball game. It's a baseball game. It's a baseball game. It's a baseball game. It's a baseball game. It's a baseball game. It's a baseball game. It's a baseball game. It's a baseball game. It's a baseball game. [00:23:20] Speaker 5: All right, let me try this thing. Oh, there you go. [00:23:22] Speaker 1: There you go. [00:23:23] Speaker ?: There you go. Oh, wow. [00:23:25] Speaker 1: Look at that. I played this before the sky jump. [00:23:27] Speaker 5: Yep. Wow, look at this baseball game. [00:23:29] Speaker 1: It's big. It's a biggie. [00:23:31] Speaker 5: All this stuff's really cool, but I still haven't bought anything today. I need to change that. Ooh, what's the very naughty? Strip poker. [00:23:39] Speaker 1: What are these? Bubble dance. Naughty peak. Naughty peak. [00:23:43] Speaker 5: Back in the day when these peep shows were popular, even Betty Page was considered risque. So guys would pay a penny just to see a little bit more skin. Just look inside there. [00:23:52] Speaker 1: You got to put a penny in it. There's a penny on top right there. There's a penny right there. There's a penny right there. [00:23:56] Speaker 6: You push it in, you got to look quick, otherwise you might miss it. I missed it. [00:24:00] Speaker 5: Dang, it was like one second. I can just imagine sailors and kids spending their pennies just to see a little peak of something naughty. [00:24:12] Speaker 4: Oh, man, these are cool. [00:24:13] Speaker 5: Playing some strip poker in there. Turns out a penny only buys a funny little scene. Nothing dirty at all. [00:24:21] Speaker 4: Oh, this is so cool. That was really cool. [00:24:23] Speaker 5: I think I remember in the 1940s there wasn't really too much out there. Wow. Right. [00:24:29] Speaker 6: And it was more suggestive than anything. [00:24:31] Speaker 5: Back in the day, these were huge money makers. And today there's tons of collectors who'd love to get their hands on these machines. What do you value these at? [00:24:38] Speaker 6: Uh, right around about 900 apiece. [00:24:42] Speaker 5: 900 apiece? Yeah. [00:24:44] Speaker 6: Man, they're very cool. What's up there? [00:24:46] Speaker 5: He's got some great stuff here. But if I don't start getting some better prices, today's going to be a total bust. What's your bottom on that? Make me an offer. I was thinking about $5.50. [00:24:55] Speaker ?: It's a little low there. [00:24:55] Speaker 5: I might go down to $7.00. Seven? [00:24:57] Speaker 6: I really like this machine, but I've got to get the price down. I need to bulk these together and get the price I need. What would you do on two of them? Two of them? [00:25:01] Speaker ?: Mm-hmm. [00:25:02] Speaker 6: Mm-hmm. [00:25:03] Speaker 5: Well, I guess if you brought a pair of them, I guess I'd let them, you know, go for about $6.75 for a pair of a piece. That's not coming down too far. I was thinking about, I was thinking about $600 on this one, because this one, the graphics [00:25:14] Speaker 6: is a little bit better. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Okay. All right. Okay. Okay. Okay. [00:25:25] Speaker 5: Okay. Let's see. Okay. I'm going to do a big, big cuttle puddle. Here you go. I'm just trying to get some money rolling so Frankie can break the ice. 300 on a strength tester. Okay. I'm going to do a big, big cuttle puddle. Here you go. I'm just trying to get some money rolling so Frankie can break the ice. [00:25:36] Speaker 6: 300 on a strength tester. Okay. [00:25:38] Speaker ?: I'm going to do a big cuttle puddle. [00:25:39] Speaker 1: I'm going to do a big cuttle puddle. I'm going to do a big cuttle puddle. I'm going to do a big cuttle puddle. I'm going to do a big cuttle puddle. I'm going to do a big cuttle puddle. [00:25:44] Speaker ?: I'm going to do a big cuttle puddle. [00:25:45] Speaker 1: I'm going to do a big cuttle puddle. If he's interested in that one, I'm interested in a strength tester. [00:25:49] Speaker 6: Yeah. [00:25:50] Speaker 1: We'll do a big, big cuttle puddle. Here you go. I'm just trying to get some money rolling so Frankie can break the ice. 300 on a strength tester. Six on that. And Frankie's at five on that. [00:26:05] Speaker 8: I guess for three, you can have the strength tester. All right. [00:26:10] Speaker 4: I'd do that. [00:26:11] Speaker 8: Okay. So Mike got his deal done here. Where am I at? I'm still at 600 here. Where am I at this? What's your best on this? Well, my best would be $900. That's easy to figure out. Oh, that would be the best, yeah. My best. [00:26:22] Speaker 5: My best or your best. Gary's one of the toughest negotiators that I've came across in a long while. I'm going to have to stay on my ground. What's my best bundle them together? [00:26:30] Speaker 6: I guess I'd sell you the other one for six. I guess six is where I'm at. Let me look one more time. [00:26:38] Speaker 5: Yeah. Yeah. You know, I look inside, and the people that are playing strip poker are smiling at me. It's like they want a new home. I'll take them. You'll take them? 600 apiece. 600 apiece. All right. These peep show machines are a great piece of Americana. Any nostalgia coin op collector would love to get his hands on these. All right, cool. [00:27:00] Speaker 1: I bought the two rocket ships for $600. I'm going to ask 600 apiece. [00:27:05] Speaker 2: Yeah, there you go, baby. [00:27:08] Speaker 1: I got the strength tester for $300. I'm going to ask $575. There we go. Here's full service. [00:27:16] Speaker 8: Yeah. [00:27:17] Speaker 5: Thanks, John. [00:27:18] Speaker 6: No extra charge. Yeah. [00:27:20] Speaker 5: I bought the two peep machines for $600 each. I cannot wait to get them appraised to see how I did. All right. John, thanks for the education today. Gary and John, they were great guys. I appreciate it. Nice doing business with you. They had some very interesting things. I got to play some cool amusement games. And you know what? At the end of the day, I think I walked away with a couple gems. [00:27:43] Speaker 1: That was good. Oh, my gosh. [00:27:45] Speaker 2: That was awesome. [00:27:56] Speaker 1: I like you driving now because I can eat more. Every time I look over, you're eating. Frankie and I are on the road, and we eat a lot of junk food. We've got to get really creative in order to stay healthy. You should do the steering wheel crunches. No, a crunch is just the . Like, you're not even-- like, I shouldn't even be able to see you bobbing. Like, just kind of . Frankie is practicing the Mike Wolf Vansercise exercise plan. And then, while you're doing that, do the butt squeeze, butt crunch. Oh, he's squeezing. Yeah, man. Yeah, it's kind of cool. Today, we're going on a Danielle lead. This guy's name is Steve Morgan. He's been collecting automobile-related stuff since he was a little boy. This is like your whole pick. This is your universe. Oh, my gosh. Supposedly, this guy has 5,500 toy trucks and cars. Who knows what else this guy's going to have? Oh, look at this. Oh, yeah. That's it right there? Yeah. Big pool barn full of toys. Me and Frankie roll up to this huge Morton building, and when you roll up to a building that big, all you can think about in your mind is how much stuff's going to be in there. Get ready, baby. I'm ready. Let me see how many toys I can get you for a good deal. Let's work it. [00:28:59] Speaker 5: There's an address there, but there's no house. It's just a big, long pool building. I'm thinking this must be the place. Hello. Whoa. Hello. [00:29:08] Speaker 1: Hey, how you doing? Hello. Are you Steve? I'm Steve. [00:29:12] Speaker 5: Hey, I'm Mike. How you doing? [00:29:14] Speaker 1: My name's Frank. Talked to Danielle on the phone? Yep. She said you got 5,500 toys. Toys and old cars. Old cars? Toys and old cars. All right, killer. We're transportation guys too. So Steve tells us he's running out of room, and he wants to get rid of some stuff so we can make room for more. We'd love to look around. He immediately bites us in. [00:29:31] Speaker 3: Okay, let's start in the back here. [00:29:38] Speaker 1: And we go around the corner, and I'm like a kid in a candy shop. Wow, check it out. I start gazing around the room, man. I'm like, oh my God. This is going to be amazing. [00:29:46] Speaker 3: Woo! We're basically going to the back of the garage. I've got a 76 Econoline van. 338,000 miles on it. Woo! We had a lot of parties in this thing. Right now, it doubles as my brother's bedroom. [00:30:01] Speaker 1: Huh? He walks over to the van, knocks on the door, and his twin pops out. [00:30:10] Speaker 4: This your brother? How you doing? Very good. My name's Tom. Tom? How about you? I'm Frank. How bizarre is that? This is your crib? [00:30:19] Speaker 10: This is my crib. I've got the bathroom. I've got the microwave. I've got everything that a house would have. So, to me, there's no problem whatsoever. It's with the stuff I love. Oh, yeah. [00:30:33] Speaker 1: I see that. You surrounded yourself with everything. [00:30:35] Speaker 10: You guys are twins. Yep. [00:30:37] Speaker 1: So, which one's older? Me. I see that. He's got the beard. [00:30:41] Speaker 3: By three minutes. I was born in 930, and Tom was born in 933. [00:30:46] Speaker 10: Have you guys always lived here in this town? [00:30:48] Speaker 3: Yeah. Born and raised, and I spent 40 years as a programmer. [00:30:51] Speaker 10: I'm a retired school teacher. What'd you teach? Math and computers. [00:30:54] Speaker 1: Frank, he's a math guy, too. I like to work. Throw these numbers at this guy, boom. I'm a percentage and number guy. That's what I like, too. All right. You guys are weird. Enough chatter. It's time to pick. This is incredible. Japanese 10. [00:31:08] Speaker 5: Japanese 10/50s. These guys are into four wheels. Ah. [00:31:13] Speaker 1: That's cool, man. [00:31:14] Speaker 5: Look to the left, there's nothing but cases full of cars. Look to the right, there's cars. Everywhere you look, cars, cars, cars. 44 and convertible. I know, man. [00:31:23] Speaker 1: And then look at the gas pump, too. These guys love it to the core. [00:31:26] Speaker 5: We go out at Dyersville every year. You go to the toy show? I've been there almost 15 years. The more I got to know these gentlemen, I started to realize that we've got a lot in common. [00:31:35] Speaker 1: You guys all go to the Dyersville toy show. Right. Collect toys. And you all go to the Oktoberfest. It turns out that Frank goes to every single event every year that these guys do. Have you ever been near or in Sturgis, South Dakota? Yes. [00:31:50] Speaker 5: I go to Sturgis, South Dakota for a motorcycle classic. They've been there. I go to Clear Lake, Iowa to the surf ballroom for the Buddy Holly reunion. Have you ever been to the winter dance party up in Clear Lake, Iowa? Oh, yeah. They've been there. I think you guys are all family. These guys basically are Frank. What do you think about this little old style clock up here? I look up and here's an early old style clock. It's really small. It probably went in a bar. It's got a guy and a girl on each side. Oh, yeah. Immediately, I'm interested. [00:32:29] Speaker 10: That probably came promotion for Oktoberfest, I would guess. [00:32:33] Speaker 5: You know, it's like an Oktoberfest piece and I go every year. What would you have to have for something like that? [00:32:38] Speaker 10: I'd go maybe 25. [00:32:39] Speaker 5: Okay. I'm more at like 20. How's that sound? [00:32:42] Speaker 10: Well, I'd consider it. You'd consider it? [00:32:45] Speaker 5: He's a mathematician. I'm a math guy. What's my percentage on buying that? 50/50 or? I would go... 100%? 100% of 25 and... [00:32:54] Speaker 10: 100% of 20? And 80% of 20. [00:32:58] Speaker 5: 80% to me means I'm buying it. 80% of 20. 80%? I would say that's good odds for me. I'll take it for 20. [00:33:05] Speaker 1: All of a sudden, I realized that Frankie was picking himself. The monster was eating itself. Okay, I gotta ask. I'm reading the sign over here. It said, "Morgandome." [00:33:15] Speaker 10: We call them Barn the Morgan Dome based on the place where the Vikings and the Twins used to play, called the Metrodome. They built a dome, so so did we. Any of these albums for sale? [00:33:25] Speaker 1: Yeah. [00:33:26] Speaker 10: Yeah, baby. [00:33:27] Speaker 1: There's a lot of possibilities here. I hit one side of the building, Frankie hits the other. [00:33:31] Speaker 10: That's kind of cool. [00:33:32] Speaker 1: How much is Hank? [00:33:33] Speaker 10: I'd go $5. [00:33:34] Speaker 1: All right, I'll take it. [00:33:35] Speaker 10: What would you do on this card? I'd go $20. $20? I'll take it. [00:33:39] Speaker 1: How about that? [00:33:41] Speaker 10: I'd probably go about $10. [00:33:43] Speaker 1: All right, $10. All right, I'll take it. These guys are throwing decent prices at me. I'm setting the Morgan Dome on fire. You got two Volkswagen Vans. You got a salmon colored one and a white one. How much for the white one? $50. How about $35? Sold. All right, that was easy. All right, my friend, $35. Yeah, look at all this stuff here. [00:34:01] Speaker 5: It looks like nobody's been up here for a long time. I mean, it's two inches of dust on everything. I see what's going on up here. So, you know, I'm looking around, and all he's got is trucks and cars here. And I look over, I'm way up in the top. Here, I can see a three-wheel motorcycle. There's one that looks like it's complete, one that looks like it's parts. [00:34:20] Speaker ?: Here I go. [00:34:21] Speaker 5: Steve, what about these? Let me look a minute. Here's one right here. I didn't even know I had these. They were too high for him to see. This one right here, just missing the guy. Seems kind of not too bad a condition. [00:34:34] Speaker 3: I definitely need to get the dirt off. [00:34:36] Speaker 5: Yeah. They're battery-operated toys. They're made in Japan. They're in pretty rough condition. Look, these can be great collector pieces. What would you have to have for this one? $45. $45. How about this one here with the guy missing, just in case I need a part? $25. How about $60 for the pair? $60 for the pair. [00:34:53] Speaker 3: That sounds fair to me. All right, partner. [00:34:57] Speaker 1: So me and Frankie split off, and we start digging around, and I'm not finding anything on all the shelves. And I'm looking for anything I can connect to, anything that sparks the imagination. I start looking in the cars. Right away, in front of me, I see an original car club plaque. Tom. It was like I was in the Pharaoh's tomb. I found the ancient car club artifact. It's an original plaque, right? [00:35:25] Speaker ?: That's an original plaque from Nicklin, Minnesota. [00:35:27] Speaker 1: The reason I love these plaques is because they're part of the car culture, the car history, the car lifestyle. When you look at these plaques, they tell a story. Where'd you get this at? [00:35:40] Speaker 10: I bought it from one of the original pacemakers. Oh, you did? At a garage sale. [00:35:45] Speaker 1: No way. You bought this from the original guy? Yep. Oh, that's cool. These things remind me of American Graffiti. It's all about lifestyle, those guys cruising together, and car culture. Was it a big club? [00:35:56] Speaker 10: No, Nick was a small town. There were probably 20 members. [00:36:00] Speaker 1: A small town, a large town, it didn't matter. If you had a car, and you were riding with your buddies, you were in a car club. So the pacemakers, 500. Does this have sentimental value? [00:36:21] Speaker 10: It actually does have a lot of sentimental value to me. [00:36:23] Speaker 1: Well, um, how about 45 bucks? [00:36:28] Speaker 10: I'm gonna have to learn that. [00:36:30] Speaker 1: So Tom and I start going toe-to-toe on the price of this car club plaque. [00:36:35] Speaker 10: Every little town in southern Minnesota had their own car club store. [00:36:38] Speaker 1: Really? How about, um, how about 60 bucks? Coming up a little bit. Come up a little bit, yeah. [00:36:47] Speaker 10: You want me to come up a little bit? Yeah. [00:36:50] Speaker 1: Well, all right, uh, Tom's not giving me any numbers. He's not giving me any feeling, man, any emotion. He's got that poker face. You give me the number. I've already come, I've already come at you twice. 75? [00:37:02] Speaker 10: 70. [00:37:03] Speaker 1: Five. [00:37:04] Speaker 10: All right, 75. [00:37:05] Speaker ?: They're on. [00:37:06] Speaker 1: All right, that's cool. I love these things, man. This plaque is for me. It's going in my personal collection. Frankie, I bought something. What'd you buy? I bought a car club plaque, a real one. Oh, you'd love those. This was kind of an odd pick. They didn't have a lot of amazing things, but their passion was really contagious. I don't really care what you collect. [00:37:29] Speaker 5: If you collect Mickey Mouse watches, Apple peelers, cars, if you like to collect, you're in the same boat as me. I love you. I bought the clock for $20, to the right person's $70. I like these. They're pretty cool. I bought the tin battery motorcycle toy for $45. I think if I get it cleaned up, maybe $85. [00:37:47] Speaker 1: Oh, that's so cool. I bought the car club plaque for $75. To me, it's priceless. It was real. [00:37:54] Speaker 10: Very cool. [00:37:55] Speaker 1: It was fun, man. We'll have to come back. It was fun. Whoever in the area. [00:37:59] Speaker 10: We have a saying in the morgandome, you're a stranger here but once. Mike and Frank left with a smile. All right. Oh, yeah. I definitely enjoyed the entire game. All right, guys. See you later. [00:38:13] Speaker 1: So do you think me and you will end up like Tom and Steve someday? That's kind of a dream of mine. For me to live in the van? I mean, you basically do live in a van now. [00:38:20] Speaker 2: Yeah, you're right. [00:38:27] Speaker 9: So the guys are out on the road and they send me these awesome peep show machines, which look so cool. I call Marvin from Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum. He's going to tell me what these machines are worth. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hello. You must be Marvin. You must be Danielle. Oh, Danielle. Nice to meet you, Marvin. Nice to meet you, ma'am. [00:38:48] Speaker 11: I got some cool stuff for you to look at. Oh, good. I'm glad. What do we have here? Well. Naughty Peak. Aren't they nice? [00:38:55] Speaker 9: Yeah. Some little coin-op machines here. [00:38:57] Speaker 11: Yeah. That's what I love, coin-op. I really like coin-op because it's a combination of a lot of arts. You've got talented artists, inventors, woodworkers, and metal workers, and they put out some beautiful machines. [00:39:10] Speaker 9: I don't really know much about them other than the fact that they're super awesome. So, I really need as much information as I can possibly get from you. [00:39:18] Speaker 11: Okay. Well, these are like a series of what they call peek-a-boo machines. And they have many, many different scenes like this. [00:39:25] Speaker 9: I have never seen anything just like this in the shop. This is something new. [00:39:29] Speaker 11: The artwork is nice. This is very clean. They look to be, I'd say, in medium shape. It's got the original back glass. ESCO, that's Exhibit Supply Company. Okay. It's a company in Chicago that made a lot of arcade games. [00:39:52] Speaker 9: So, when would you say they're from? What would be the date on them? [00:39:55] Speaker 11: Well, looking at the wood and the plastic and the way these back glass were made, they're probably from the late '40s to the early '50s. Fantastic. There were never any pornographic type things. It was just suggestive and it went just so far and that was it. [00:40:12] Speaker 9: Frank paid $600 each for these machines, so I know he's eager to see how he made out. So, the burning question, how much is it worth? [00:40:21] Speaker 11: Well, these cost originally somewhere around $120, $130 a piece. In this condition, they're worth $500 each. [00:40:36] Speaker 9: Frank's not going to be happy about this. Frank bought the Naughty Peak machines for $600 each plus the price of shipping. They're valued at $500 a piece, so that's a loss of over $200. I love it. [00:40:50] Speaker 11: Well, goodbye. Thank you. Nice to meet you. [00:40:53] Speaker 9: Here, try another shot and we'll see you again. [00:40:54] Speaker 11: Okay. If you ever need me again, call me. [00:40:56] Speaker 9: I will. I will. Thank you so much. [00:40:59] Speaker 11: Bye. [00:41:00] Speaker 9: Take care. Bye-bye. I got to call the boys, let them know about the appraisal and really hope that they take it well. Wish me luck. [00:41:12] Speaker 8: I'm calling. I haven't seen anything good for a while to be honest with you. Danielle. Danny D. [00:41:16] Speaker 1: Hello. [00:41:17] Speaker 5: Hi. [00:41:18] Speaker 9: How are my boys? [00:41:19] Speaker 5: We're doing all right. How are you today? [00:41:21] Speaker 9: I'm doing pretty good. So, how's your day been? Doing a little freestyling, girl. Awesome. Freestyling. Sweet. Sweet. Well, I'm calling because I actually did get the peekaboo machines appraised. All right, killer. [00:41:34] Speaker 5: Hit us. This is the call we've been waiting for. I can't wait to see how good these peekaboo machines are doing. [00:41:40] Speaker 9: He says that they're worth $500 each. All right, well. It was, it was a little, it was a little bit of a gamble, so. I didn't do so hot on those. What'd you pay? I paid $600 apiece for them. Okay, check it out. We can always stick them in the shop and just make a crap ton of pennies. [00:42:01] Speaker 1: And a penny apiece. All we need is 200,000 people to come in. 100,000 per machine. That'd be, yeah. That'd be a thousand bucks, right, each? [00:42:09] Speaker 9: Yeah. [00:42:10] Speaker 5: They're penny machines, so. I hate to lose money on an item, but I still think I can come out on top on this one. Yeah, get them hooked up. Plug them in. I mean, if we can make a little bit of money on the pennies he's coming in. Maybe we can convert it to a dime. Oh, we can. [00:42:22] Speaker 1: Yeah, see if, hey, see if you can talk to somebody about converting it to a dime. [00:42:27] Speaker 5: Yeah, if we can convert it to a dime, that'll only take 10,000 people. Great minds think alike. Oh, I'm glad we're on the same page about it. They weren't the biggest money makers, but we're still making money. You're still making money, Fraggy. We're still making money as long as we're not going backwards. We're still swinging. That sounds all right. You got the touch of gold. Okay, well, you guys have a great day. All right, honey, you too. [00:42:44] Speaker 1: Keep the leads coming. Bye. [00:42:46] Speaker 5: Bye. Bye. [00:42:48] Speaker ?: Bye. Bye. Bye.