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Author
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Topic: Spike TV's Auction Hunters: Space memorabilia
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lunarlegacies
Member Posts: 123
From: Merritt Island, FL
Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 04-05-2011 10:01 PM
   
Donnis Willis of Lunar Legacies appeared on Spike TV's premiere episode of Auction Hunters tonight. The episode, "Miami Heat" reairs on Friday, April 8 at 8 and 11 p.m. EDT. |
fredtrav
Member Posts: 1673
From: Birmingham AL
Registered: Aug 2010
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posted 04-05-2011 10:03 PM
Hey Donnis, are we going to see the rocket at the auction? Or the countdown clock? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-05-2011 10:09 PM
Great to see the show got in touch with you Donnis... The producers called me a number of weeks ago in search of experienced space memorabilia collectors/dealers in Florida and I referred them to both you and Ken (Havekotte). I hadn't heard from them since, so I wondered if they had come across anything space related. Looks like they did! |
Fezman92
Member Posts: 1031
From: New Jersey, USA
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 04-05-2011 10:44 PM
Looks interesting. I'll have to tivo it. From what I have read, I don't think that the space suit is a ligit one because wouldn't it be NASA property? Or do I have to see the episode to figure it out? |
fredtrav
Member Posts: 1673
From: Birmingham AL
Registered: Aug 2010
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posted 04-05-2011 10:51 PM
If I had to sit through it you do too. I have seen the show several times and generally don't care for it, but when this was posted earlier today, I had to watch it. They did make a great find.Let me know when there is a storage auction around the cape area.. right. |
GACspaceguy
Member Posts: 2474
From: Guyton, GA
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 04-06-2011 04:49 AM
The rocket has been here on cS before. Check out the Feb 28 post here.The countdown clock is cleaned up and is still in our garage while we figure out where to display it. It is VERY heavy.  |
history in miniature
Member Posts: 600
From: Slatington, PA
Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 04-06-2011 06:59 AM
Fred, I thought I recognized that rocket last night on the show. |
LM1
Member Posts: 667
From: New York, NY
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 04-06-2011 01:32 PM
I have seen this show many times and this episode twice. I recorded the episode and paused it to look closely on HD. The stand says that it is for a Thor Agena. They mentioned Donnis' full name, but it was difficult to understand the last name and they did not mention Lunar Legacies. Are there storage auctions in the KSC area? I go to thrift shops and garage sales often and I grab anything related to space. |
LM1
Member Posts: 667
From: New York, NY
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 04-06-2011 01:44 PM
quote:
Originally posted by GACspaceguy:
The countdown clock is cleaned up and is still in our garage while we figure out where to display it.
What are they doing in a storage locker? Are these shows staged? If so, what about Storage Wars, Pawn Stars and Hardcore Pawn - are they all staged/created? |
fredtrav
Member Posts: 1673
From: Birmingham AL
Registered: Aug 2010
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posted 04-06-2011 02:20 PM
I don't know if they are staged but have often wondered why anyone would take items like a letter from George Washington to sell at a pawn shop. |
LM1
Member Posts: 667
From: New York, NY
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 04-06-2011 03:19 PM
quote:
Originally posted by fredtrav:
I don't know if they are staged but have often wondered why anyone would take items like a letter from George Washington to sell at a pawn shop.
I watch Pawn Stars too. Apparently, being located in Las Vegas, its customers often have a need for fast cash. Such items as you mentioned should be auctioned at Christie's or Sotheby's or Swann, etc. It could take many months to receive a payment and it could be subject to commissions and fees. Is Pawn Stars and Auction Hunters staged? Probably, because the sellers on Pawn Stars would see the cameras in the store. On Hardcore Pawn I saw the cameraman when a door was opened suddenly, also people in the background often turn away from the camera. The participants on all of these shows often talk directly to the camera. So, was this episode of Auction Hunters staged? Did they borrow the items from Lunar Legacies? American Pickers must be staged because the cameras are already in the houses BEFORE they knock on the door and they stay after Mike and Frank leave. Now the big question, is Antiques Roadshow staged - pre-arranged? |
Joel Katzowitz
Member Posts: 808
From: Marietta GA USA
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 04-06-2011 04:08 PM
Man, next you'll be saying that Santa Clause isn't real either. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-06-2011 04:18 PM
quote:
Originally posted by LM1:
Now the big question, is Antiques Roadshow staged - pre-arranged?
Having been on Antiques Roadshow (see here for a video clip) I can attest that it is not pre-arranged. The only type of items that the show has some advanced knowledge of coming is large furniture, as they need to arrange the logistics of moving the pieces through the venue. The roadshow appraisers do have some time before filming begins to research the item they'll be talking about, but that is after they've given an initial appraisal and chosen the item to be featured. |
mjanovec
Member Posts: 3811
From: Midwest, USA
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 04-06-2011 04:44 PM
The way some of these shows are taped, some amount of pre-arangement is necessary. For example, with Pawn Stars, they can't just leave the cameras running all day long, hoping someone with a unique item will show up that day. (The vast amount of items pawned are not all that interesting.) Meetings are scheduled in advance...and the experts who visit the shop to render an opinion on the item must also be arranged.To that degree, the show is staged. Also, some of the silly side stories are created to add an entertainment factor to the show. With the storage unit shows, I'm am curious if these units are "planted" in advance. The items may have been found at an actual storage unit auction, but perhaps what we're seeing is a recreation of the event. |
LM1
Member Posts: 667
From: New York, NY
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 04-06-2011 05:09 PM
Were the space items "planted" or borrowed from Lunar Legacies for the show? Perhaps a show on what buyers actually find in storage lockers would be too boring. I mean, come on, they found a hovercraft in a locker. Who would put a hovercraft in a small locker and how did they get it in there?All of these shows are very entertaining and I will continue to watch all of them for what I will learn about antiques and collectibles. On one episode of Pawn Stars they called Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke Christian Duke. They had a framed flag and autographed Apollo 16 crew photo and they did not know if it was real. All they had to do is check the letter of authentication that came with it. All of these shows, except for Antiques Roadshow, may be staged - pre-written - created, but I like them. The next question is, are the stars of the show really owners of the pawn shop or really storage locker buyers or really American Pickers? |
LM1
Member Posts: 667
From: New York, NY
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 04-06-2011 05:13 PM
I cannot open the link to the Antiques Roadshow episode. What date was it shown? Antiques Roadshow has an extensive archive to consult for previous shows.Has any collectSPACE member ever purchased an abandoned storage locker? Has any cS'er ever found any space item in a storage locker? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-06-2011 05:54 PM
quote:
Originally posted by LM1:
I cannot open the link to the Antiques Roadshow episode. What date was it shown?
Sorry, I should have said that the video requires Apple QuickTime (I need to get around to uploading it to YouTube at some point). The episode (part three filmed in New York) first aired on July 14, 2001, predating their online archive (which only goes back to 2003). quote:
Has any cS'er ever found any space item in a storage locker?
One of my personal favorite pieces from my collection can be traced back to a storage locker auction (it's not a piece I display online, so I'll just leave it at that). |
SpaceAholic
Member Posts: 4437
From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-06-2011 06:07 PM
Have a number of items in the collection recovered from storage lockers, within the last few weeks acquired several Saturn V Instrument Unit and Apollo CM artifacts from such a resource. |
benguttery
Member Posts: 547
From: Fort Worth, TX, USA
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted 04-06-2011 06:59 PM
I've seen some amazing things from storage units. I am afraid to buy one for fear of what kind of junk I'd drag home or to the nearest dumpster. |
Fezman92
Member Posts: 1031
From: New Jersey, USA
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 04-06-2011 07:43 PM
quote:
Originally posted by benguttery:
I've seen some amazing things from storage units. I am afraid to buy one for fear of what kind of junk I'd drag home or to the nearest dumpster.
Same here. |
LM1
Member Posts: 667
From: New York, NY
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 04-06-2011 11:29 PM
Has anyone found ANY space item in an old storage unit that they care to mention specifically?I do not understand either of the two previous posts in this thread. If you did not find anything in a storage unit, the answer should be NO, not I was afraid of what I would bring home? Both Auction Hunters and Storage Wars make it appear that you can find something useful most of the time. |
mjanovec
Member Posts: 3811
From: Midwest, USA
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 04-07-2011 11:49 AM
quote:
Originally posted by LM1:
Who would put a hovercraft in a small locker and how did they get it in there?
Anyone who wanted to put their hovercraft in storage, that's who. If it was taking up too much room in a person's garage and wasn't being used regularly, it makes perfect sense to put it in storage. (The smaller the locker, the cheaper the rental fee.) If you noticed, the storage facility had a number of watercraft in storage. How do you get a hovercraft in a storage locker? Turn on the engine that inflates the skirt in the hovercraft and push it into the locker. It would take about two minutes. |
LM1
Member Posts: 667
From: New York, NY
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 04-08-2011 09:00 AM
quote:
Originally posted by benguttery:
I've seen some amazing things from storage units. I am afraid to buy one for fear of what kind of junk I'd drag home or to the nearest dumpster.
As they say "One man's junk is another man's treasure." I would like to be able to visit thrift ships and garage sales in the Houston or KSC area. Who knows what you will find. I go to thrift shops every week. I only bring home what I need or can use at home or what I can sell on eBay. I do not bring home things I cannot use in some way. A friend buys designer clothes of all kinds at thrift shops for $25 or less and sells them for 2 or 3 times that. I always keep this number in mind: .0025 That is 1/4 of 1%, the rate that banks pay on regular savings accounts. That is my incentive to visit Thrift Shops. Sometimes, I do not buy anything there. It happens. |
ilbasso
Member Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 04-08-2011 12:40 PM
I was out of town earlier in the week and was finally just able to watch the DVR'd episode. We don't know when it was taped, so it could well have been last year some time. It was fun seeing Donnis on TV. However, I was not happy with the impression given that these guys somehow thought they were putting something over on Donnis or ripping him off. We all know he's too smart for that!Fred, I have one of those countdown clocks, too. They're REALLY heavy - must be about 50-60 pounds. Have you seen this site for some ideas on how to restore it? My goal is to someday hook it up to the same controllers that I'm using to run my S-IB control panels! |
GACspaceguy
Member Posts: 2474
From: Guyton, GA
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 04-08-2011 12:55 PM
Thanks Jonathan, this thread had taken a different twist so I did not want to ask if anyone had any info on this clock, specifically how to apply power. I want to have it work in some way.I have the show set to record tonight so we can see how it went, I believe it was taped earlier this year.
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lunarlegacies
Member Posts: 123
From: Merritt Island, FL
Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 04-08-2011 07:44 PM
I was taped in February of this year and I did not know that it was going to be the actual premier episode of their season. A producer of the show located me and had me come down to Ft. Lauderdale for the taping. It was a lot of fun and I was in front of the cameras for about two hours for that couple minutes in the show. I do want to clear one thing up though - I told the producers more than once that I operated the third or fourth largest space memorabilia auction in the country, which is true, and in the episode they mention me as running the largest. Oh well. And rest assured, I gave my honest opinion about the items and I didn't lose money. Thanks everyone for watching my first ever appearance on TV! |
fredtrav
Member Posts: 1673
From: Birmingham AL
Registered: Aug 2010
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posted 04-08-2011 09:38 PM
It is being rerun in about 1/2 hour on Spike. |
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