Gallery 63's 'Auction Kings' debuts Oct. 26 on Discovery

By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com, filed October 26, 2010

In just a few hours, Discovery Channel's "Auction Kings" debuts featuring Atlanta's Gallery 63.

"We're all kinds of whipped up," Brown said today, just a few hours before the 10 p.m. debut. "It's been a roller coaster but mostly downhill and fast."

I wrote about this show six months ago when Discovery was beginning to shoot it. Brown said he's gotten a ton of calls and emails already just from the promos.

I sampled the first episode and it's a breezy 30 minutes featuring some unusual finds: a four-billion-year-old asteroid found in Russia in 1947, a Nazi handbook circa 1936, a possible "Gone With the Wind" first edition signed by Margaret Mitchell and a vampire killing kit from the late 1800s.

The sellers provide descriptions of the items. Brown finds experts to confirm or debunk a particular item's value and/or authenticity. We then jump to auction day to see if the items sell for the amount the sellers hope. From a storytelling perspective, it's a clean beginning, middle and end for each item.

Brown comes across as pleasantly hyperactive while his manager Cindy Schook plays the tough curmudgeon with a heart of gold. Newbie assistant office manager Jon Hammond is also put through the ropes.