This Was The Oldest Item Found On American Pickers

The United States is over 240 years old, and in that time, the country has accrued all manner of odds and ends. As such, the dynamic duo of the History Channel's "American Pickers" has spent the better part of ten years rummaging through America's junk to find and buy the diamonds in the rough. Searching the unexplored troves of countryside collectors across the nation, Frank and Mike have found all manner of knick-knacks reaching far back into the history of the U.S.

This begs the question: what is the oldest item that Frank and Mike have ever found? You'd be surprised by what some people have lying around in their dusty old garage. Items get traded around or passed down through family, and sometimes an item with a lot of history is found accumulating cobwebs in the corner of a closet. The oldest item ever found and bought by Frank and Mike, according to the History Channel's official site, actually came quite recently from a collector the pair visited in one Season 19 Episode.

It was a bright day in Greenville, South Carolina when Mike and Frank received a call from their store manager, Danielle. She tells them about Zip, a wizened veteran with an abundance of American war memorabilia stretching over a good hundred years. This type of thing is exactly up Mike and Frank's alley, so the pair dip over to Zip's in the hopes of finding something truly interesting.

Perusing Zip's horde doesn't take up a lot of time before Mike spots a potential target, an antique sword. Rounded off with a sharkskin handle, the engraved floral pattern on the blade suggests that it was an officer's blade. Whom the sword belonged to, however, is a mystery. Either way, Zip claims that the nicks and scratches were proof of its use in battle. According to History, the sword dates to approximately 1850. 

Zip's words convince Mike, and he's open to making a deal. The collector sets his price for the blade at $800, and Mike agrees, sealing the deal with a handshake.