That huge vase has been in your family for generations and now, as a gift, sits in a prominent corner of your dining room. It's a bit ornate — not in keeping with the rest of the décor — but your aunt insists it's very important, one-of-a-kind and very, very, very valuable ... and from somewhere in France.

You ask her how she knows this, and all she says is: "That's what my mother told me, and she never lied."

And there the vase will sit — or will it?

On the Canadian Antiques Roadshow Wednesdays at 8 p.m., CBC appraisers get to the bottom of what's what, where it's from and — most importantly, for some — how much it's worth. Experts let the owners of jewellery, furniture, art, porcelain (and almost anything else) know if they have a real treasure, an interesting collectible or just an old knick-knack that can finally be removed from a place of honour.

The one-hour programs, hosted by Valerie Pringle were shot across Canada last May.

And right now, it's Toronto's turn — the second of two shows filmed here airs next week. The show will also visit other Canadian cities this spring, with no itinerary set yet.

The series is based on the long-running and popular BBC and PBS programs.

"I'm the first to say I don't know a lot about antiques, but the people I met were fascinating and every piece had a story to tell," Pringle says. "It was very, very educational. A lot of fun and, at times, quite emotional."

There were huge lineups with people clutching old paintings, toys and tools that most believed were worth more than they really were, Pringle says.

But she stresses that many were there just to find out the history of their artifacts.

"People were trying to find out a bit about their past," she says. "They wanted to discover a bit about their family and how that certain piece fit in."

That's not to say there weren't incredible finds.

A family from Vancouver brought in an oil painting by 19th-century painter Henry Nelson O'Neill and was flabbergasted when it was appraised at $500,000.

"They were in shock," Pringle says. "They had absolutely no idea. They just didn't see it coming."

A woman at the Gatineau appraisal brought in a micro mosaic made of thousands of tiny pieces of glass in a pattern. She bought it and several other pieces at an estate sale for $180.

The appraiser informed her the works were popular in Italy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and often depicted the Vatican or Rome. It was valued at about $30,000.

"She said she had no emotional bond to it and that she was going to sell it and pay off her mortgage," Pringle says.

On next week's show, an entire British officer's uniform from the War of 1812 — discovered between the walls of a local home — was brought in for appraisal at the Toronto taping.

"It was in perfect condition and figured to be between $10,000 and $15,000," Pringle says. "But I'm sure the historical value is worth more than that."

She said there were a lot of unusual items and a lot of Canadiana, including Loyalist clocks.

But not all of the items were antiques.

One woman at the Toronto taping had the autographs of all The Beatles on a single sheet of paper and was told the complete set of signatures is fetching up to $10,000.

"Some of the people had tears in their eyes as they told me the story of their piece of art or furniture," Pringle says.

"A lot of the pieces were handed down by families over the years and you can tell they were all cherished. Not everything was a treasure, but it was easy to see they had an incredible amount of sentimental value to their owners."