A panel of antique appraisers deal with guests in this recent Treasure Hunters Roadshow held in another city.

THOMASVILLE — Think you might be in possession of an antique treasure?

Grab that dusty toy off the attic shelf or the bag of coins a relative stashed in a closet years ago and head over to the Treasure Hunters Roadshow. The free traveling show is stopping in Thomasville, starting today, for five days of the appraising and purchasing of antiques.

“People have things in their homes and don’t know they are worth money,” Matthew Enright, director of operations, said in a phone interview Monday. “Junk sometimes turns into treasure.”

Treasure Hunters Roadshow, based in Illinois, has visited more than 600 cities in the U.S. and Canada since 1996. It hosts approximately 200 events each year.

“We’ve been around longer,” Enright said. “Our president started with antique toys, it grew to a larger scale and here we are today.”

This is the first time the show has come to Thomasville that Enright is aware of and the decision to bring it here was based on a variety of factors, including the number of calls to headquarters.

Tables will be set up at the event with associates seated there to examine brought in items, which will be separated into three groups:

• Items needed for its collectors — items that the roadshow wants to buy and will make an offer based on current market value;

• Collectible items that have value, but the roadshow does not have buyers for — items with value to someone, but are not ones the roadshow will offer to buy; however, associates can appraise them and suggest how the owner might be able to market the item to others;

• Used merchandise — items that do not have a significant collector demand and will be suggested to be sold at garage sales or flea markets.

Enright said the main items the roadshow is currently seeing are broken jewelry and coins.

“These are great ways for folks to cash in,” he said. “Gold and silver prices are going through the roof.”

One of the coolest things Enright knows of being discovered at a show was a Civil War bed.

“The lady brought in pictures because the bed was rather large,” he said. “I don’t remember the exact amount, but I think she thought it would be worth several thousand and it went in the ballpark of $40-$60,000. I was awestruck.”

Guests can learn a variety of information about their items, including its age, place of origin and what it is worth.

Once items have been appraised, associates will do research to see if there is a confirmed collector/buyer and find the current market value. Then, an offer to buy the item may be presented to the owner. If accepted, the owner will be paid on the spot via check.

The show utilizes direct communication and Internet links with specialized collectors/buyers, according to a news release, meaning prime offers for items result in more than 80 percent of those brought to the show turn into a sale.

“There was a woman who left one show crying because she got enough money to make her house payment for the rest of the year,” Enright said. “We also had a man bring in a Martin guitar he thought might be worth $1,600. We ended up finding a collector and the price was close to $6,000.”

Enright said $714,000 has been released to spend this week in Thomasville, though there is no guarantee that number will be reached.

There is no limit to the amount of items a guest can bring and people should expect to wait up to 45 minutes, depending on the crowd.

It is important for guests to be open-minded, Enright said.

“If they are not sure, bring it in. We have experts who can test the items. Also, do not clean anything as that can hurt the value of an item. We can look through the grim and grime and find the value if it is there.”