American Pickers' Mike Wolfe Reveals The Antique Collection That Blew Him Away

It should come as no surprise to hear that there are many interesting people out there. A house may look unassuming when you drive past it on the street, but inside could be untold levels of hidden treasure. After all, everyone has their interests and eccentricities, so you never know what may be hiding beyond the walls. That's what makes a show like "American Pickers" so fascinating. Mike Wolfe and his compatriots actually get the opportunity to go inside these houses to see what kind of valuables they can find, and in many instances, they stumble upon something they least expected.

"American Pickers" has been on the air for over a decade at this point, so it goes without saying that Wolfe has seen his fair share of treasures over the years. However, back when the series was still in its infancy, Wolfe managed to find quite a good deal to write home about, including one collection that genuinely blew him away.

A lot of the time, when Mike Wolfe has gone picking on someone's property, their valuables are all related to a single given category. That was certainly the case in an early episode of "American Pickers" when Wolfe was blown away by the amount of petrol-related items a judge had obtained over the years. He related the story in a 2011 interview with Southeastern Antiquing and Collecting Magazine, "A judge I met in Florida has an incredible collection of petrobilia, signs and gas pumps. A lot of people have beautiful collections that are clean and on display. This guy, his stuff was piled on top of each other."

However, the items themselves were only part of the equation. Wolfe goes on to relate, "For me, I want to know why people go down this path, why they buy all high-quality stuff. For this guy, it was because he worked in a gas station when he was 13. Just that one experience changed his path. That's what interests me. I go in, and people have one hundred or one thousand of one thing, and it's the back story that is intriguing to me."

That's part of the reason why "American Pickers" likely resonates with so many people. It's not just about sorting through a bunch of old junk. It's about what these items mean to the people who collect them, which occasionally makes it difficult for them to sell them to Wolfe and his partners.