PBS's Antiques Roadshow has captivated thousands of television viewers over the years. The Discovery Channel's Pawn Stars has continued that captivation. And locally, West Overton Museums in East Huntingdon for nearly five years has been giving residents the opportunity to see what their treasures are worth.
Beginning Tuesday, the museum will continue its "Antiques on Tuesday" program. The events are scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. the third Tuesday of every month from March to November.
Alisa Barnhart, with the museums, said the event provides a fun service to the community but also is intended to get people to come to the museum.
"Hopefully when they come to the event, it will spark their interest to come back for some of our other events," she said.
Barnhart added that they have gotten a lot of people over the years who have brought in some very unusual things.
"The one thing I'll always remember is this awesome Victorian fish aquarium that looked like a snare drum on its side," she said. "It was mounted on a brass pedestal, and it was just great."
Barnhart said she also remembers a gun that a gentleman brought in that could have possibly been used in the Civil War at Harper's Ferry.
"The appraiser said he had never seen a gun with that background that was in such good shape," she said.
Barnhart said not everyone gets good reports, though.
"The bad thing about those shows on television is that everyone thinks their treasures are worth a lot of money, but it doesn't always work out that way," she said. "I feel bad when people come expecting to have a great item and it turns out that it's not worth what they had hoped it would be worth."
John Mickinack of Greensburg is the appraiser for the events.
Individuals interested in bringing in their items should call the museum at 724-887-7910 to reserve a spot or to make sure their items can be appraised. Walk-ins are welcome, however.
Items to be considered include glass, ceramics, costume jewelry only, some coins, documents, decorative arts, furniture and clothing. The cost is $15 for the first three items brought in for appraisal and $6 for each additional item, up to a total of five items.
