Here’s proof of how one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
Hosts of the History Channel television show American Pickers found this fascinating rock n roll memorabilia in one of the most unexpected places ever.
In an episode of the reality TV show aired this summer, hosts Frank Fritz and Mike Wolfe found themselves in a town 100 miles outside of Boston after receiving news that a famous band’s old tour van could be found there.
What would this pair of Americana collectors find this time?
A treasure deep in the woods
Initially believed to have been lost forever, they went in search of rock band Aerosmith’s first tour van in the woods of a small town, Chesterfield in Massachusetts.
And lo and behold, there was the abandoned van in all its faded glory.
The van, which is a 1964 International Harvester Metro, was found complete with the old painting of a cartoon version of vocalist Steven Tyler and the word Aerosmith still printed on the side.
Unfortunately, time and nature had not been kind to the vehicle. It was missing a door, and the tires had deflated with time.
Abandoned in the 1970s, the van found its way to the property of a Massachusetts native called Phil who said that it had come with the land when he bought it.
Unknown backstory
Although elated of their amazing find, host Mike Wolfe expressed wonder about how the van found its way there. He discussed his thoughts with CBS.
“This guy is deep in the woods. He’s off the grid, and I keep thinking to myself, ‘What the heck would this van be doing here?’”
There is no confirmed answer to the mystery yet.
According to CBS, it is still unknown why the band abandoned their first tour van which they used to travel the northeast in before they shot to rock n roll stardom.
Confirmed Authentic
To confirm if the van is indeed the same one that the band used in the 70s, the show brought in one of the band’s members to look at the vehicle, and indeed it was authentic.
@Aerosmith Saw @americanpickers Last night discovering this hidden treasure from the Greatest Rock Band ! Really Cool -AMERICAN HISTORY now in the right hands ! Excited to see what the do with it. Hope Aerosmith tell share some stories around it on the follow up. pic.twitter.com/RkTe1F1tUd
— KCONZ (@KConz20) July 31, 2018
Former Aerosmith guitarist and founding member, Ray Tabano, validated what the hosts were thinking. After inspecting the vehicle and reminiscing for a moment, he stated,
“It certainly looks like it. Oh, my goodness gracious. I’m afraid to say how long it is, but it’s been like 40 years since we were in this thing. It was like a touring hotel. This is definitely the van. You found it.”
A piece of rock n roll history brought back
Once its authenticity was confirmed, the American Pickers hosts did not let the opportunity to purchase a legitimate piece of rock n roll history pass.
They paid a whopping $25,000 for it.
If that sounds like too much to you for an old broken-down van, Mike Wolfe might have to disagree:
“If you had the opportunity to buy one of the biggest and most iconic pieces of rock and roll history for $25,000 — hell yes you would.
And maybe we would. Our only question is will we get to see the van restored to its former glory days?
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