auctions hunters news update

Denver is chock-full of storage facilities, which in turn are stuffed to the brim with things for which Denverites just can't find room. Most of the time those things are as mundane as macaroni jewelry boxes and old recliners, but in a few of those storage units are hidden treasures waiting to be appreciated. Allen Haff and Clinton "Ton" Jones, Spike TV's Auction Hunters, were in town last week, trying to find those treasures and turn them into cash.

Read about tales of a full Coors beer bottle from the '70s and a petrified whale tooth below:
Buying abandoned storage lockers and selling off the items inside for profit has become a huge fad in recent years, but Haff and Jones were in the business long before it became the stuff of reality TV. Jones got into the business on a whim seven years ago, when he was looking for places to buy old cars to wreck for fun. He discovered he had a knack for finding gems in the junk and never looked back. Haff, on the other hand, is a second-generation antiques dealer who bought and sold items from garage and estate sales to pay his way through college. The two teamed up two years ago to start filming Auction Hunters, using their homegrown skills to find and sell antiques.
The show isn't all crazy hijinks and body parts (although Haff once bought a unit that housed a catalogued scab collection). The auctions the two attended in Denver during their two week visit yielded, among other things:

• A petrified whale tooth
• An iron cowboy boot jack shaped like a pistol
• A fraternity brand, used for hazing new brothers
• A military issue camouflage tarp from the '70s that, according to Haff, "still smells like Agent Orange."
• A Star Wars collectible figurine holder shaped like Darth Vader's head
• and last, but certainly not least: A bottle of Coors from the 1970s

The last item was the subject of much discussion between the two. Jones stated that he had a general dislike for Coors products, much to the horror of Haff.
"Crack it open, Ton. You need to soak up all the liquid history," Haff told his partner. Jones complied, and after taking a sip of the forty-year-old beer, seemed to reverse his position on the Colorado institution. "Holy crap, that's a good one," Jones exclaimed. "Forty-year-old Coors is better than four-month-old Budweiser."

'Ton' Jones drinking a Coors from 1970 while wearing a Phantom of the Opera mask, another auction find.

​"Every unit Ton and I buy, we learn something, we grow. We kind of step into that life for a minute, and we're better people, every single unit," Haff says.

"Sometimes it heals you, and other times it's just sort of a reminder to look more closely at the things you have at home," he continues. Haff keeps his own massive collection at his California home.
Jones, on the other hand, prefers to keep his collections small and manageable. "I only like to collect things that are very small, that can fit in a suitcase," explains. "That way, when the zombies come, I can pick the bag up and run. I don't want to turn into one of those hoarders."
"We've watched that hoarders show, and I gotta say, some of those hoarders have a pretty good eye. Underneath the dead cats, sometimes I see thousands of dollars worth of collectables," says Haff.
Still, it's not easy finding collectables. For those who enjoy the show and want to get in on the action, the pair encourage caution.

auction hunters the TV series the 101

The show follows Allen Haff, a second generation antiques dealer, and Clinton "Ton" Jones, who has experience in a variety of fields including guns and mystery safes, as they participate in storage unit auctions throughout Southern California and occasionally other locations around the United States. Each episode leads viewers through the pair's activities of bidding on and winning abandoned storage units, appraising the items found within, and selling the most lucrative and interesting pieces to experts or collectors.
Each episode begins with a text disclaimer stating that Haff and Jones purchase hundreds of units each year, and that only their rarest and most valuable finds are presented on the show. They claim that most of their units end up making little to no money, and that in fact they follow the 80%/20% rule in that they make 80% of their profit from 20% of the units they buy.

Episodes

 Season One

#	Title	Location	Original air date
1	"The Wild West"	San Bernardino	November 9, 2010
Ton and Allen head to auctions in the desert town of San Bernardino. Ton scores a deadly 19th century British Pepper-box handgun and tests it at the gun range. Allen wins a unit for $1 and finds a fully functional pre-WWI train set. Paid: $376 Value: $1,190 Profit: $814
2	"The Big Score"	Downtown Los Angeles	November 9, 2010
Ton and Allen bid on units in downtown LA and uncover a ‘70s German H&K P7 pistol and a rare copper cash register. Paid: $2,025 Value: $5,850 Profit: $3,825
3	"Ton's Got a Gun"	Mission Hills	November 16, 2010
Allen encounters some old rivals in the Valley. Ton and Allen uncover a Depression-era “Art Case” slot machine, a custom minibike and a Wild West 1880s Colt Peacemaker. Paid: $1,900 Value: $9,450 Profit: $7,550
4	"Strat'ed for Cash"	West Adams	November 23, 2010
Allen and Ton venture out to storage auctions in the heart of a mansion-lined Los Angeles neighborhood. Allen first discovers a vintage Maui Blue of ‘70s Fender Stratocaster. Later, the guys find a rare 1936 Schwinn Autocycle. Paid: $975 Value: $6,200 Profit: $5,225
5	"The Real Thing"	Oxnard	November 30, 2010
In a small beachtown’s storage unit auction, Ton and Allen run into an old rival. They win a vintage GMC truck and also uncover one of the first upright coin-operated Coke vending machines. Paid: $2,450 Value: $9,400 Profit: $6,950
6	"Weapons of Past Destruction"	Sunset Boulevard	December 7, 2010
Ton and Allen travel to Hollywood and uncover an arsenal of antique weapons: Civil War-era black powder muskets, ceremonial Masonic swords, a samurai sword, and a polygraph machine to boot. Paid: $295 Value: $1,635 Profit: $1,340
7	"Gangster Whiskey"	Moreno Valley	December 14, 2010
A rare baseball card, a classic jukebox and an early model CD player are among items found by Allen and Ton in their auction wins. Paid: $525 Value: $2,800 Profit: $2,275
8	"Home on the Gun Range"	Corona	December 21, 2010
A single unit auction yields a 1940s Kissometer arcade game, a 1901 Winchester 10 gauge shotgun and a seemingly antique crossbow. Paid: $875 Value: $3,400 Profit: $2,425