American Pickers’ Biggest Buys Over The Years

If you’re a collector in America, you’ve probably heard of Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz. The “American Pickers” have been the stars of the History and A&E series for over 20 seasons, and they specialize in finding and buying rare and vintage items that people are sitting on.

Whether they decide to resell them in their shops or keep the items for their own collections, Mike and Frank are willing to dig through anything in hopes of finding invaluable pieces that have been packed away. Read along to see the most expensive items the Pickers ever found.

In a garage in Illinois, they uncovered a 1967 Ford Fairlane 390 GT that almost had its original engine. After spending a total of $11,000 on it, they still made a profit of $3,000 after flipping it.

In an epic start to one of their seasons, Wolfe and Fritz came across a collection of worn-out sideshow banners. They were exploring an abandoned amusement park in Easton, Pennsylvania when their tour guide, “Balloons the Clown” (aka Neal Fehnel) led them to the collection. After paying $700 for all of them, they later discovered each one to be worth $5,000-$6,000. As a gesture of their good will, they gifted Fehnel $5,000 for the very productive tour.

On an episode titled, “Reverse the Curse,” Wolfe and Fritz went to New Jersey where they found a working 1960 Cadillac Fleetwood and spent a total of $10,000 on it, then had it appraised at $14,500.

When Wolfe and Fritz came across a 1950s BMW Isetta 300, they just couldn’t part ways without it. They spent $13,000 on the microcar only to discover it’s valued at $18,000.

Well worth the buy, this Ford Bronco U-13 Roadster was found in southern Indiana and bought for $31,000. Seeing how it’s worth $36,000, we’re pretty sure they’re happy about that purchase.

The Pickers were thrilled when they came across a motorcycle collection in Springfield, Massachusetts. It belonged to two brothers who owned a brewery and simply didn’t have the time to fix them up. Fritz and Wolfe spent a combined $62,000 on the bikes, giving the two brothers a nice chunk of money to invest in their brewery.

The 1939 Indian 4-cylinder motorcycle’s nickname of the “Aristocrat” is well-suited to it. The Pickers spent an impressive $30,000 on it in addition to purchasing a 1930s Indian Chief motorcycle for $10,000. After an additional $4,500 for repairs to the Indian Chief, their combined value came to $58,000.

After receiving a tip about a rare antique automobile collection, the Pickers went in search of it and found an extremely rare Ace four-cylinder motorcycle. They agreed to the whopping price of $90,000 dollars. Let’s hope they don’t lose money on that purchase!

Royal Pioneer was an elite motorcycle company from the early 1900s that specialized in luxury bikes. Unfortunately, a fire bankrupted the company a year after they started production, so only 500 bikes were made and there are only five known bikes currently in existence. We’re not surprised then that Wolfe paid $55,000 for this bike and added it to his personal collection.

Despite referring to it as having a “peanut motor” Fritz fell head over heels for this 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air. The total cost of $22,500 was worth every penny to him. Once it was valued at $26,500 we’re sure he was tempted to keep it for his own collection.