The Antiques Roadshow is just as the name describes—appraisers take their antiquing knowledge with them all over the country and locals have their items appraised(Arizona, Utah, Alabama, Wisconsin, Hawaii and Pennsylvania are the Roadshow’s destinations this summer). These shows are then aired on PBS (the U.S. version has been around for over 10 years now!), where people watching from home share in owners’ joy after being informed their oak table is worth tens of thousands of dollars. Viewers also share in owners’ disappointments, wherein a piece believed to be of great worth is, in fact, worth less than what he or she bought it for.

Yet while know antiques are old, what makes an antique, an antique? Well, that depends on what item you’re talking about.

If the item is a car, 25 years or more is considered to be an antique in the United States. For other things—like a table or vase—75 to 100 years worth of life is considered antique. Other characteristics of an antique include its rarity, its overall condition and how collectable it is, or was, considered to be.

For those who enjoy antiquing (i.e. going to various antique outlets to buy items that either adds to their collection or they sell to collectors) these are important things to consider. People who have unwittingly bought faux antiques can certainly attest to this. But by knowing what to look for and learning some of the tools of the trade that appraisers use when determining an antique’s value, antiquing can be a fun and profitable hobby, sometimes yielding thousands of dollars. For example, when the Antiques Roadshow traveled to Arizona in 2003, a resident’s Navajo blanket was appraised at between $350,000 and $500,000. It remains one of the most valuable items featured on the show since its debut.