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‘American Pickers’ Stars Discovered a Coin-Operated Grandma That They Never Had

As the hosts of “American Pickers” stay busy touring America, they still find things that they haven’t even had in their collection.

For instance, there’s this coin-operated grandmother that Mike Wolfe and former co-host Frank Fritz discovered.

Check out this clip from a 2017 “American Pickers” episode. As Wolfe says in the clip, “There’s a lot going on here for $1,400 bucks.”

It’s so interesting to see these types of coin-operated machines that are still out there.

Outsiders may be taking their children to grocery stores and stop off at the prize machine. They can drop a quarter or two and watch their kids attempt to pick out a prize.

Sure, it’s not the same as what “American Pickers” spent time and money to pick up. Yet the intrigue and fun never fade away. Different decades, but still a lot to enjoy.

Now if you go and watch “American Pickers” right now, then you’ll find new episodes with a different co-host. Danielle Colby, who has worked in Wolfe’s Iowa office, is now a co-host, too. Fritz was fired in the summer of 2021.

Check out the show and visit its website, too, on The History Channel.

‘American Pickers’ Star Did Not Think The Show Would Gain Audience

Mike Wolfe loves his gig as a “picker” of antiques and collectibles.

When he started taking a camera with him on the road, Wolfe started filming his journey.

From that point, “American Pickers” grew an audience. Still, Wolfe wondered if such a show would gain interest from viewers.

“To have 10 years under us is pretty incredible,” Wolfe said in a 2019 interview with Vegas Film Critic. “I mean 10 years of anything that can really grab a hold of peoples’ attention and hold it for an hour is pretty outstanding. So it’s really not so much about us, as it is about the people we pick.”

Wolfe remained just as passionate as he’s ever been about the hobby – or career, rather.

“I think we’ve done a good job of helping tell their story,” he said.

Wolfe makes his biggest sales on clothing.

“Ninety percent of our sales are clothing, so all of a sudden I’m in the clothing business,” Wolfe said in a 2015 interview with Fast Company. “I’m looking at what we’re making for spring. I’m looking at hard goods, soft goods, how those goods are presented in my store; the function, the flow, the lighting, how it’s focused, where it’s at, how close is it to the cash register.

“I’m constantly having meetings with my team to know what’s selling and what’s not,” he said. “And I just learned recently that our No. 1-selling shirt doesn’t have our logo on it.”

Just another thing for his to-do list.