‘History’s Greatest Picks’: Mike Wolfe Dishes on New Show After ‘American Pickers’

Mike Wolfe has traveled the back roads in search of unique items in various places for 16 years on American Pickers. Now he is taking the same spirit into History’s Greatest Picks. Premiering February 22, the new History Channel series sees the treasure hunter dig into the intriguing stories and astonishing values behind iconic pieces and artifacts over the decades. 

The first of eight episodes centers on some of the most recognizable vehicles in history from the original car from Bullet starring Steve McQueen bought from the classifieds and James Bond vehicle found in a storage unit sale. Over time these and many historical touchstones that were uncovered have fetched upwards of millions of dollars at auction. Future installments center on artifacts of the nefarious, tech and gaming, celeb souvenirs, and bizarre discoveries such as… Napoleon’s penis!

Here Wolfe tells us why his new series is different from American Pickers. 

History Channel

You’ve done American Pickers for 16 years. Did this show feel like a new chapter for you? 

Mike Wolfe: Absolutely. I’ve been asked over the years to do a lot of different projects with History. This has been the first one I really wanted to sink my teeth into because of its level of storytelling. I think that is why Pickers has survived for so long. There is the process of us digging and the travel aspect to it. In the end, we’re telling stories about pieces and relationships and even space. This show has all of that too. It’s just packaged in a different way. 

The first episode covers something you’re passionate about, vehicles, and motorcycles. Pretty perfect. 

I know! I leaned into production on this. I have an executive producer title on this show, and I don’t take that lightly. I was able to collaborate a lot with them in regards to what I felt was appealing, what I thought was interesting to me as well. There is a lot of stuff we’re covering and a lot of different types of collectibles. Transportation, obviously, has been near and dear to my heart for a long time. I’m glad we’re leading with this. 

It’s amazing how with some of these artifacts where one item can end up in different hands and maybe an owner doesn’t know what they have. Talk about the stories we’re going to see as each episode kind of has its own theme.  

You’re going to see paintings found in Europe years ago, and then they went to a small auction and then a larger auction. That’s what happens in real time with what I do for a living. A lot of times the only time something gets turned loose back into the industry or hobby is unfortunately when it’s the end of someone’s life or someone has passed. We’re all just coveting items as collectors and holding on to them because they bring us so much joy and inspire us in so many ways. So, when these pieces are turned loose, on this show we’re showing how all of that transpires over time. That is what is really cool, and what I think a lot of people will like about this show. One of the number one things we get questions about on American Pickers is where did something go or what did it go for. Well this show answers those questions in real time. 

History Channel

It’s also fascinating to look back at a time before technology. A time where people found things in classified ads or took these long trips. Did it bring back memories for you? 

It’s funny you say that. I used to run ads in little tiny papers like the Thrifty Nickel where it was like $50 to have it run for the month. Old Coke machines or old bicycles or motorcycles or old signs, I was running ads for stuff 30 to 35 years ago. Then if someone had something from far away, I would actually have to wait for a Polaroid photo to come in the mail and make a $20 phone call to them to talk about it. Business was done completely differently back then, but you know what changed the industry tremendously years ago was eBay. It was eBay that brought everything to the forefront right away where it was instantaneous. People could just push a button and look at things. That is what changed the industry hugely. 

The great thing about this show is there is a lot of storytelling, and we’re cutting to experts and cutting to a little bit of a reenactment. What I really like about this show, and we talked about this from the very beginning of making it, is the gamut of things. We could talk about Napoleon’s hat or Steve McQueen’s car or Muhammad Ali’s robe. People are like, “Is this stuff you found?” No, it’s nothing I have found. These are things that have been found, we’ll say, over the last 50 years. Some people who are professionals and others who aren’t. That is what is cool because you’ll notice in the show that somebody was at a yard sale and bought something just because they liked the way it looked. Then all of a sudden they are finding out the true value of it. This is a show who are just weekend junkers and also people who are well-seasoned professionals. 

You talk about Napoleon’s hat. How about Napoleon’s penis? 

[Laughs] I didn’t know you knew about that one! I’ll leave that one as a cliffhanger. 

That one got me. Was there one eye-opening piece you were excited to cover? 

To be honest with you, one was Muhammad Ali’s robe that was found in a storage locker that was unpaid by someone who worked with him ringside. That was a pretty incredible piece to talk about. Anything transportation related for me was pretty incredible. Here’s the deal. Politics aside this country is more divided than it has ever been. These shows about collectibles and our history and how they’re found, they bring us together in a way where we can all watch. We can watch generationally, older people and younger people, and whatever side of the aisle you are on. We are all brought together by this. I think that’s what we need right now. It calms us. It gets us excited about our history. It gets us excited about viewing that together. It’s a moment in time I love because the reality is, even though the show is about the value of things and how things are found, it has such a high level of storytelling. That is the oldest profession in the world. 

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Is there one new thing you have in your collection that you would think would be a good story for this show? 

I just recently bought a 1902 Merkel motorcycle, which was made in Milwaukee, Wisconsin just blocks from the Harley factory. It was one of the first motorcycles in the world. This is the first one ever found. If you Googled for a 1902 Merkel motorcycle prior to me finding this, all that would come up are schematic drawings. There was never one found. That kind of stuff interests me because it is really a connection to all of us from the biking industry to the motorcycle industry to the aviation industry, all of that was tied together in one tight package. That’s the stuff that keeps my heart racing. 

History’s Greatest Picks premiere, February 22, 9/8c, History Channel

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