American Pickers called Leighton Sheldon from Just Collect when they needed expert advice and appraisals with sports memorabilia! When the stars of the History Channel show needed information, they knew who to phone right away.
American Pickers is a show on the History Channel with antique hunters, Mike Wolfe, Robbie Wolfe, Danielle Colby, and Jersey Jon. For 26 seasons and counting, the Pickers travel the Country in search of antiques, or "rusty gold" as Mike Wolfe would say, to buy. While each of the Pickers has a great deal of knowledge in the antique world, they weren't sure about the value of a sports collection they discovered while on the road in Chicago. The first person they called for information on the collection - our very own Leighton Sheldon!
Leighton has over 25 years of experience of buying and selling over 50 million dollars of collections as the owner of Just Collect. Similar to American Pickers, Leighton thrives on the treasure hunt of cardboard gold! Recently, Leighton purchased a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie card discovered on a family farm in Oregon where it had been since it was pulled from a wax pack of baseball cards all those years ago. We're still going through a $77,000 collection from Nebraska that Leighton unearthed last Summer! A flight to Seattle, WA. resulted in one of the biggest vintage basketball collection purchases known including complete set 1948 Bowman, 1957 Topps, and 1961 Fleer basketball cards in the Silver Cloud Collection.
When American Pickers needed to know the value of a sports collection, they knew Just Collect was THE place, and Leighton was an easy call away.
One of the unique items Leighton enjoyed appraising was a photo signed from Shaquille O'Neill TO Dwayne Wade. The photo was never meant for the public so the value could go from 3, 5 to 10 times the average value of a Shaq autograph. The picture originally belonged to a family member of Wade's, kept in storage, and then relinquished.
What was it like being on the show with Frank and Mike, two antiques legends?
I was on the show in the virtual sense (calling in), but it was a blast. It’s always really fun to speak with individuals in similar, yet different, antique/memorabilia related businesses that share as much passion about what they do as I do.
That was some pretty unusual basketball memorabilia you appraised --- the Wade draft-day pin, the signed photo from Shaq, and the Olympic gear. Was it fun to see that kind of stuff given that your personal collection is focused on basketball memorabilia?
Absolutely. I specifically loved seeing the Shaq signed photo to D. Wade. It was an obvious dig at Kobe and it’s really fun just from a basketball history perspective. Part of the reason why it’s so cool and why I placed that value on it is because that’s the kind of thing that could go for crazy money (3, 5, even 10 times the estimate) at an auction. It wasn’t meant for the public and that’s what makes it so unique.
Do you know how this guy acquired all of that stuff?
Some of it originally belonged to a family member of Dwayne Wade. The stuff was in storage and it was eventually relinquished one way or another, and wound up in this gentleman’s hands.
Do you hope that you’ll make future appearances on American Pickers and other TV shows?
Absolutely, it was a lot of fun. I consider myself to be a Sports Treasure Detective. That’s what I am. So I love that kind of stuff.
Sadly, we lost Frank in 2024. The show continues with Mike and the other co-stars each Wednesday at 9:00 PM. Now in the 27th season, Leighton is always keeping his phone on in case American Pickers needs more expert advice!
The episode, Slam Dunk Junk, is from Season 18, Episode 13, and aired March 12th, 2018 on the History channel. To view the full episode, you can log into your History account and watch HERE or you can use always purchase the episode from YouTube:
If you've discovered card or collection in an unexpected place like American Pickers did, or if you've had your cards for a while and choosing now to sell, you came to the right place! The retail stores are focused on selling modern products and simply don't have the time or the knowledge to carefully evaluate vintage collections. This is where we are happy to help you! Here is how you can reach out for a FREE APPRAISAL today:
WE ARE ALWAYS BUYING
Just Collect is always buying vintage sports and non-sports cards from 1879 to 1979 as well as select modern cards. If you have a collection that you are considering selling, contact us today to discuss or get our industry-leading purchase offer. If you have a collection that you want appraised, please contact us and we would be happy to discuss your collection and help you understand the real cash value of your collection in the current marketplace. Check out the Just Collect Buy List.
We always offer a FREE APPRAISAL for your collection here at the Just Collect site. Just click here:
We offer may ways to evaluate your cards other than or using our website, too.
If you can make the trip here like the son from my hometown did for this collection- we can make a deal at the office. We once met a father-son duo that drove eight hours from Virginia to meet us to sell a Michael Jordan rookie card stored in Tupperware since 1986 - great read here.
We keep a LIST of card shows we'll be attending. Come stop by the Just Collect table and chat.
If you have a valuable collection and want us to come to you, we'll hop on the next plane out.
We have another location in New York you can meet us at; read all the information here.
If you choose to mail your cards for an appraisal, we will evaluate your cards for FREE still. If you choose not to sell the cards, we'll ship them back shipping fees paid by us! We can offer our FedEx account with 2-day shipping, fully insured, all covered by us. Simply contact the office to set up this option.
OUR BUYING PHILOSOPHY
We've run into a wide range of people and collections over the last 25 years. Although Just Collect is known for buying vintage sports cards and especially vintage baseball cards, we are also extremely interested in buying non-sports cards, too!
Every collection and every collector is different and we treat EVERY collection with the respect and attention that we show for our own collections. We understand that many have put their heart and souls into building their collections. So when you're ready to sell, we understand the feelings that you're going through and will work with you to help you reach a decision that is a WIN/WIN, because if you're not happy, we're not happy.
CONTACT US ANY TIME
Whether you have vintage cards or modern wax you want to sell, you can reach out to us any time!