Season 12 of “Chesapeake Collectibles” is heating up in July with four new episodes featuring stories with deep connections to Maryland history with world-wide fame and global interest.
Maryland Public Television’s (MPT) original series is the Free State’s very own version of the national hit PBS series, “Antiques Roadshow,” which itself filmed at the Maryland Zoo just last summer. That day of filming yielded three episodes of “Antiques Roadshow” which aired last April.
“Chesapeake Collectibles” is one of MPT’s most successful flagship series, showcasing treasures from around the world brought to the show by people from across the Chesapeake region. Each episode highlights some of the most passionate collectors and their most unique possessions evaluated by expert appraisers, who provide fascinating insight and history for each piece, including its monetary value.
In the four July episodes, viewers can see a letter from a commander serving at Fort McHenry requesting the flag that eventually inspired The Star-Spangled Banner; items from the Crystal Caverns jazz club in Washington, D.C.; documents from a Jewish family’s desperate fight to flee Nazi Germany, and a set of manuscripts by bestselling author and Maryland native Tom Clancy — and the guest’s fascinating personal and professional connection to him.
Episode 6 premieres on Monday, July 7, with the memorabilia from the Crystal Caverns jazz club. This episode also features an exotic armored breastplate made from buffalo bone, a painting of a school in Baltimore that sparks a lively conversation, a vintage stereo camera, and more.
Episode 7 premieres on Monday, July 14, detailing the story of the commander from Fort McHenry requesting the flag that would go down in history as inspiring Francis Scott Key to write what became the nation’s anthem. This episode also includes an incredible artistic thrift store find, intricately carved walking canes, a towering candelabra that has crossed continents, and more.
Episode 8 premieres on Monday, July 21, where viewers can glimpse a set of documents from a Jewish family’s fight to flee Nazi Germany. This episode also features a guest with a fashion connection to astronaut John Glenn, a cigarette case that reveals the story of a theater of World War II, and the history stitched into a family quilt.
Episode 9 premieres on Monday, July 28, with a Tom Clancy mystery that thankfully does not involve murder or espionage, but a fascinating tale of professional and personal connection here in Maryland. There is also a trio of original sketches bringing Peanuts comic strip favorites Woodstock, Snoopy, and Charlie Brown to life, and a young collector gaining new appreciation for a cherished family heirloom.
All Monday premiere episodes air at 7:30 p.m. ET on MPT-HD and are available on the MPT livestream here at the same time. Viewers can also find full episodes of the series anytime on MPT’s online video player and the free PBS app.
Season 13 of “Chesapeake Collectibles” will be taped on the weekend of October 4-5, 2025, at the Irene and Edward H. Kaplan Production Studio on MPT’s Owings Mills campus. For more information about how to register for the show’s taping, click this link.
Watch a preview of Season 12 below.
