American Pickers’ Mike Wolfe Says This Was His Most Successful Find

In an interview with Antiques and Hearts, Mike Wolfe was asked what his best find ever has been in his time as a picker. “You know, when people ask that, they usually want to know what I made the most money on. But for me, ‘best’ is something different. My best pick was in Rock Island, Illinois. I found paintings and original literature from the 1878-1880 Schwatka Expedition when Frederick Schwatka and his team made the longest trek in history through the Arctic in search of the remains of an ill-fated 1845 expedition. What I found were remnants of history that had been totally lost. To me, they were priceless. But I did sell them, for just $5,000, to the Alaska State Museum in Juneau, where they truly belong.”

The Schwatka Expedition was one of the longest journeys recorded by a European-North American expedition. It also took place in freezing arctic conditions (via Cambridge University Press). The artifacts that Wolfe uncovered in Illinois are genuine pieces of history that had been hiding away for decades, waiting to be unearthed and appreciated. His respect and fondness for the discovery also gives fans a glimpse into what “American Pickers” was really like before History picked up the show. Finding these items allowed Wolfe to provide more context to a historical event that may have been missing a few things.