Bid America! (2012) - Season 1 Episodes and Ratings

Bob Evans has a fantastic collection of immaculately restored cars: a '55 Chevy, a '33 Chevy 5 window coupe, a '56 Packard 400 Caribbean and a '51 Packard 400 that sold for nearly $100,000 at auction! The Evans collection also boasts several large-scale motorized airplanes, all in superb condition. It’s been a very difficult decision for Bob to sell … but he must due to the devastating effects of throat cancer.

Wayne "Woody" Woodrum is a classic collecting character – a throwback to the old "barter in barnyard" days of auctions. Woody has an amazing collection of neon clocks and nothing lights up a room like the aura of neon! From great American brands like General Electric and Coca Cola, Woody's clocks are rare and command top dollar at auction.

Paul Mikkelson collects anything that has to do with classic and antique boats, motors, and items from boating history. Several of his boats and motors are the last surviving examples known to exist, and all are rare. From the Boondoggle, reputed to be the only single cockpit inboard Larson Falls Flyer Speedster ever built, to more than 500 vintage toy boats, Paul has loved and collected it all. His lifetime love of boats, however, is now about to sink under the financial pressures of a wife who's been in a care center for 40 years and other business ventures in need of cash investment.

Desmond is the man with one leg and one name. He is also the man with the world's premier neon sign collection, which includes pieces from the 1940s right up to today's beer and soft drink signs. Pepsi Cola, Hires Root Beer, and 7Up are just a few of the great brands featured. Desmond's sign collection is so massive he rents a giant facility to house them, but it's time to downsize. Now, a large segment of Desmond's unique collection makes their way to Penn Auctions in anticipation of top dollar bids.

The late Arthur Nelson was a collector and businessman from Des Moines, Iowa. He had a voracious appetite for advertising paraphernalia, country store items, toys and anything unusual. Arthur's last wishes were for Penn to sell his most treasured items, including his early 20th century toys, civil war fire arms and an 18th century Samurai warrior armor set. His children were present to see their father's treasures take exceptional bids and then passed off to the next generation of collectors. But, they kept a few personal mementos from their father's collection too.

The Mikkleson collection of toy boats is second to none. Toy boat collectors are some of the most ravenous collectors and in this episode we found one collector who started early — at the ripe age of ten. From wonderfully restored Seacraft Classics to miniature Mercury Outboard Motors, this episode will turn any jaded collector into a child at heart.

Avid collector Bob Evans is back at it, selling his prized possession, a "Mosler Salesman Sample Safe" for more than $20,000. Bob has been collecting for many years and is known to bring home unusual items — even a gorilla! The first thing his wife Jackie asked … "is it alive?" In this episode we see a wide variety of pieces from Bob's collection, including amazing vintage barber shop items and a beautifully restored 1933 Chevrolet Coupe, which sold for more than $20,000.

Woody is not your average collector as he has a real passion for diversity. In a previous episode we saw Woody's amazing neon clock collection, but he also has an advertising sign collection with rare pieces from great American brands Chevrolet, Hires Root beer, AC Delco and Schwinn Bicycles to name a few. Woody also has amazing toy figurines such as 1930s model Chesterfield Cigarette Girls and Buddy Lee Dolls.

Desmond's 3,000-piece neon sign collection is second to none. In this episode we see the rare pieces and fantastic neon beer signs that made Milwaukee famous, such as Pabst Blue Ribbon, Miller, Blatz, Schlitz and Hamms. Other famous beers are also featured, including Budweiser, Coors, Michelob, Knickerbocker, Rolling Rock and Ballantine.

Paul Mikkelson boat motors are a sight to see. Impeccably restored, these motors made by Evinrude, Mercury and Johnson are the biggest names and most powerful engines in the boating industry. Add in the hundreds of rare boating advertising items and this collection motors to hundreds of thousands of high dollar bids.

Woody's barbershop collection is second to none. The old barbershops could be found all across America with their distinct barber poles, lush chairs, and sharp razors, which are all on full display in this episode. In the old days the barbershop was a social gathering spot to get a haircut, a shave and ramble on about current events, sports, local politics or whatever else passed the time.

As a young man Mervyn Criser spent his career as a Wichita Fireman. Now, some 45 years later, he's become a serious collector and historian on the firemen in Wichita's history. It all started with a simple gift. Mervyn's wife Marcia couldn't think of a good Christmas gift. She happened on a 1930s pressed steel toy fire engine. "Wouldn't that make a perfect gift for a retired fireman?" she told us. That gift was the catalyst that launched Mervyn's collecting passion, but now he needs to downsize.

Paul Mikkelson's boat auction is the way auctioneering used to be. This episode takes place in the Mikkelson restoration facility in Willmar Minnesota where so many of Paul's beautifully restored Falls Flyer Boats got their start. The auction takes the collectors from item to item around the facility and the bidders have to "bark out their bids" in the crowded spaces. A rare Falls Flyer "Boondoggle" sells for $8,000. Plus, rare speed boats, fantastic early-era Mercury & Evinrude Motors and vintage Chris Craft boats bring in amazing bids.