Eight, Arizona PBS premieres original production Arizona Collectibles, showcasing hidden gems from Valley homes – Sept. 4 at 7:30 p.m.

July 15, 2014

Viewers interested in American and local Arizona history will be treated to a Civil War canteen, a letter from General Robert E. Lee and a document signed by President George Washington, plus an original 1960s restaurant uniform from Legend City, AZ, among many other storied treasures.

Those whose tastes run more toward the exotic might be interested to see a bracelet hidden during internment in a Japanese POW camp, jewelry from the era of Alexander the Great, or an Afghani tribal chair. All in all, items collectively valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars will be featured during the inaugural season of the show. Viewers can see the items up close, hear professional appraisers describe them and estimate their current dollar value, and see the reactions of the items’ owners as they learn how much their possessions are worth and more about their history.

“We’re looking forward to unveiling our new series to Eight’s viewers!” says producer Scott Wallin. “Arizonans brought in an impressive number and variety of interesting items for our premiere season of Arizona Collectibles, and even the appraisers commented about the quality and remarkable diversity of what they saw during our evaluation events earlier this year. We had fun making the show, and we think people will have fun watching it!”

Other categories of items to be featured in season one of the show include:

Sculpture & Folk Art
Furniture & Decoratives
Firearms & Swords
Tools & Implements
Porcelain & Pottery
Jewelry & Watches
Native American Artifacts
Memorabilia & Ephemera
Toys & Amusements
Books & Manuscripts
Drawings & Paintings
Rugs & Textiles
Silver & Gold
Western Art
Asian Art

“I was thrilled to be part of this inaugural season of Arizona Collectibles!” says McDonald. “This show combines two passions of mine: fascinating objects and quality programming. I’ve always loved channel 8 and was flattered to be on board. It was a very pleasant experience and Eight was great to work with. I’ll be looking forward to hearing from viewers and from my radio listeners about how they enjoyed the show.”

A preview of Arizona Collectibles and other details about the show are available at http://www.azpbs.org/collectibles/.

Arizona Collectibles is an Eight original production made possible by Whitfill Nursery, MHK Law Firm, Biltmore Loan and Arizona Oncology.