A dozen years ago I wrote a Hampshire Life story about a visit to a taping of the venerable PBS series "Antiques Roadshow" - the show where people haul in all sorts of stuff, much of it weird, in hopes that the experts will tell them they've got a treasure on their hands.

I brought along a pair of sterling silver jiggers, oddities that my father had bought decades ago in England. While they looked full size, they had false bottoms, so a barkeep could get away with pouring less than a full measure. I thought they were funny.

But when I pulled the jiggers out of my pocketbook and presented them to the Antiques Roadshow's silver expert, he was neither amused nor impressed. They weren't worth anything, he told me, other than the silver they were made of.

Ah well. Those silver jiggers still hold a prized spot in my china cabinet.

But what's to say you don't have some real treasures in your china cabinet? (or attic, or basement, or garage...). You may be able to find out on June 9, when "Antiques Roadshow" again makes one of its rare stops in Boston.

You can't just show up, however; you have to apply for a ticket. They're free, but are awarded by random drawing. Applications and rules are at www.pbs.org/antiques; alternatively, call 888-762-3749. The deadline is April 16.

"Antiques Roadshow's" most recent success story involved carved rhinoceros horn cups from China worth more than $1 million. Start going through your cupboards now.