MILFORD – Mike Wolfe, Frank Fritz and their team on the uber-popular series “American Pickers” are in New Hampshire and New England looking for their next piece of rusty gold. The show’s production crew are accepting queries from folks who might have a private collection or accumulation of antiques that the ‘pickers’ can spend a day going through.

“American Pickers” is a documentary series that explores the often fascinating world of antique “picking,” airing on the History Channel. The show follows Wolfe and Fritz, two seasoned pros when it comes to picking. The duo are always excited to find sizeable, unique collections and learn the interesting stories behind them.

Show casting associate Sarah Perkins said her job is to accept calls from all over New Hampshire (which is happening right now) to ascertain who might have something worthy of Wolfe and Fritz’s doing a little digging.

“We reach out to people who call us and talk about their collection,” she said. “We ask for photos of their collection and determine if they might be a good fit for our show.”

Perkins said team wants to knows a bit about what people are inquiring about prior to them going out to a specific location.

“We have a general knowledge of what people are reaching out about,” she explained. “There might be a couple of things that I don’t specialize in, but we have a pretty good idea of what these people are talking about.”

Much of the “pickers” team have been involved in the show for a long period and Perkins said they’re always excited when they discover something that they don’t know much about.

The show will spend a day at any particular location filming Wolfe and Fritz as they look for another spectacular find.

With COVID-19, the team at “American Pickers” are following guidelines and protocols for safe filming as outlined by each state. The producers have stated that they will “continue to reschedule if conditions change for the worse.” But they’re “still excited to continue to reach the many collectors in the area to discuss their years of picking.”

Perkins said they’ve come across some weird finds in their picking, when even producers have to do more research to understand the item and what it is.

“Because we pick with so many people, there are countless examples,” she said. “There was one time when one of our guys purchased an elephant taxidermy piece. They ended up bartering and selling it singer-songwriter Jack White, (formerly of the White Stripes). That was definitely a fund but wild pick for our guys!”

Contrary to any conspiracy theorists that may suspect the pricing is predetermined before filming, Perkins assured that it is not.

“No, not at all,” she said. “We do not pre-negotiate prices at all.”

From the New England region of filming, they hope to find several locales but may find just a few. Perkins did state that production crew members go out on a fact-finding mission before filming begins to ensure that the site is worth the trip.

“That’s part of our process here,” she said. “We want to make sure the people have what they said they were going to have. Of course, sometimes it doesn’t happen. You may see episodes where it’s a no-pick episode and that does happen, where the proprietor may have sold something before we got there. There are episodes where our guys do go through everything and don’t find anything. That does happen.”

Perkins added that when the crew is out on location, they don’t have a specific list of items that they’re looking for, but rather just mining for gold.

“We’re just looking for places where the guys can come through and dig and pick around for the better part of a day,” she said. “They may see something in the photos that are sent in that might pique their interest, but there’s always something out there to be discovered. It’s the adventure of the picking that we love.”

The response thus far has been incredible, from all across New England, Perkins said.

“We’re getting a ton of responses,” she said. “Our team is working hard right now to find new spots for our show. People are encouraged to call or reach out to us. We’re still looking for our next greatest pick.”

As to what happens to a specific item once it’s been found, that depends on the find.

“It depends,” Perkins said. “It might go to Wolfe or Fritz’s private collection or they might sell it in one of their stores. We’ve had a couple of items in the past that have great historical value and personal value and those things might be returned to someone else or taken to a museum.”

Ultimately, “American Pickers” is never quite sure what they’re going to find.

“That’s the joy of the show,” Perkins said. “You never know what you’re going to get.”

If you or someone you know has a large, private collection or accumulation of antiques that the “pickers” can spend a day looking through, send your name, phone number, location and description of the collection with photos to americanpickers@cineflex.com or call 855-OLD-RUST.