Episode 28 Antiques Road Trip

It's the nation's favourite antiques experts with £200 each...

-I love that!

-..a classic car and a goal to scour Britain for antiques.

-Yippee!

-Sometimes a man is in need.

The aim? To make the biggest profit at auction, but it's no mean feat.

There'll be worthy winners and valiant losers.

Knobbly knick-knacks.

So, will it be the high road to glory or the slow road to disaster?

It landed on the rug!

This is the Antiques Road Trip!

Yeah!

On this road trip,

two cheeky Charlies are vying to build their fortunes.

Fortune favours the brave.

Indeed it does.

Charles Hanson is a fresh-faced, fit, Derbyshire auctioneer

and valuer who hopes his youthful vim

and vigour will be enough to scoot ahead

of the competition.

While Charlie Ross, a freelance auctioneer,

is a venerable sage who's wily wit and easy charm

mark him out as a formidable rival.

Oh, listen to it! Did you hear that squeal then?

Would you like a seat, madam?

We're now two legs into this road trip and thus far,

age and wisdom have carried the day.

From his original £200,

Charlie Ross has now traded up to hold a cash pot of £211.78.

While Charles Hansen has faired less well,

diminishing his original £200 to a paltry £164.

But anything can happen in this game.

Today, our pair are hitting the road in England's glory,

the stunning 1971 Triumph TR6.

And it's a good thing they're taking care of it.

-It's dirty!

-No.

-It's dirty.

-Not as dirty as your car.

-Give it a wipe.

-Oh, for goodness' sake! Charles, stop it!

-Give it a wipe!

-I can't see what's going on.

-Sorry.

-What you need is this.

-Aah!

It's the start of a beautiful day,

but rivalry has already reared its ugly head.

-You know what they say, don't you?

-What?

The sun shines on the righteous.

Why it's shining on you, I don't know.

Oh, do behave!

Oh this road trip, Charles

and Charlie will travel around 500 miles,

through England's green and pleasant lands,

from Tarporley, in Cheshire,

to Itchen Stoke,

near Winchester, in Hampshire.

Today, they are beginning their shopping in Cannock,

in Staffordshire,

aiming for their auction in Stroud, Gloucestershire.

They are just approaching Cannock,

where Charlie is dropping Charles off at his first shop.

But it seems like Charlie might be trying to nobble the opposition.

Oh, you are such a girl!

-That's my ankle!

-I don't care if it's your ankle,

I hope it really hurts!

-That's graceful.

-Ow!

-I hope it hurts.

-Sorry.

Don't make me come down there, boys.

Near here in 2009, a magnificent hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold

and silver was unearthed.

Let's hope Charles discovers similar treasures as he starts his day shop

at Peppermill Antiques.

Lovely name!

-Enjoy Lichfield, OK? See you later.

-Bye.

Wow. This really is antiques on an industrial scale.

He's meeting owner Scott.

-Mr Scott Humphries.

-Charles Hanson.

Now, I am on the hunt, you know, maybe for the Hanson hoard.

I think you are going to have to have a look round.

Look at that interior. Beautiful.

Feel like I'm in a bedroom here.

Something hidden in the corner has caught Charles's eagle eye.

Not very well displayed is what we call a decoupage screen.

Decoupage is the craft of decorating objects with scraps of glued

and varnished paper.

This screen, dating from the late 1800s,

is a nice example of a style then popular,

but it bears some serious damage.

Charles is off to ask Scott about it.

Ticket price is a whopping £595.

Four-fold screen, what is the best price on that?

I can do that for 100.

Crikey, Moses!

I know it has got a bit of damage, that's why

it's priced quite reasonable.

It's... I mean, £100 is very reasonable,

but having lost this money so far,

I just think maybe the condition almost outweighs its potential.

Is 100 your best price?

I could do it at 85.

-That is your very best?

-£80.

-£80.

I might leave here and regret it

if I don't find anything else really to come up to that quality.

So, I think I might call you later.

Your best price, Scott, is?

70 to take it away today.

-Can I hold it?

-You can.

-Lovely.

Charles is at his most indecisive today.

He is not buying it now, but the scrap screen is held in reserve,

and Charles is off to his next shop.

Thanks, Scott. Bye, see you.

Charlie Ross, meanwhile,

has headed toward the cathedral city of Lichfield, Staffordshire.

Lichfield's heyday was in the 18th century,

when it was home to many great thinkers, including Samuel Johnson,

the learned author of the first authoritative English dictionary.

Let's hope Charlie can summon up some of that nous

as he heads into James A Jordan Antiques,

where he is meeting up with the eponymous James,

who, it turns out, is a friend of a friend...of a friend.

-Charlie Ross.

-Lovely to meet you, Charlie.

-I've heard a lot about you.

-Thank you very much.

From my opposition.

That Mr Charles Hanson. You know him well, I believe.

Intriguing.

-Charles passed on a little tip to me.

-Yeah.

He said, "When you go to see my good friend,"

he said, "just ask him if he has got anything in the back."

Mm.

Mm. Are you sure Charles said that, Charlie?

Have you got anything in the back?

I'll have a look, see if there is anything there.

-What have you got there?

-Victorian silver pocket watch.

-Lovely.

-Swiss.

Swiss movement, English case.

Oddly enough, when Charles Hanson visited the shop on a previous

road trip, he came away with a couple of watches, too.

-Continental silver?

-It is.

-We haven't met, hello.

-Hello, Yvette.

-Lovely to meet you.

-And you.

Key wind. Is it in working order or is that pushing it?

It is working, actually, yes.

Oh, look, it is ticking away beautifully.

-So the date of that would be?

-That is about 1890 to 1900.

-Yeah.

-Lovely. How much is that, sir?

-I can do that for £30.

Can you really?

-Someone hasn't brought that in for cleaning, have they?

-No.

-Can you squeak it a bit then?

-Yes.

Oh, because I was going to make you a pathetic offer of 15.

SHE SQUEALS

Did you hear that squeal? Would you like a seat, madam?

Hang on. Oh, dear.

Tell me what your best is and I'll see if I can match it.

20.

Marvellous.

Despite Yvette's shock at his cheeky offer,

Charles gets a great deal on the watch.

He is going to have a deeper browse.

Love your grape scissors.

-They're lovely, aren't they?

-Aren't they fabulous?

But it is not long before something else attracts his attention.

Here we have a taste of the Orient.

And how! A very large Imari charger.

Imari porcelain hails from the Japanese town of Arita.

A charger is a large decorative plate that can be used for display

or just to brighten up table settings.

James, may I borrow you, sir?

-I am quite liking your enormous Imari charger.

-Yes.

I really like the colours.

Did it come right, as they say,

or did you have to get into a war to by it?

-It came reasonable.

-Reasonable?

HE LAUGHS

-Hedging your bets there, are you?

-Yes.

The very best on that I could do is 50.

Oh, that is pretty competitive.

-Mm-hm.

-Oh, crumbs!

It would be insulting to offer 40, would it?

-Would you show me the door?

-Would you meet me halfway, 45?

Shake me by the hand, sir. That is really, really kind of you.

Splendid. You wait till I tell Charles where that came from.

His first two buys, served up on a plate.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-A pleasure.

With any luck, we'll sink that old Hanson.

Charlie is still in a buying mood,

so he's heading just down the road to the Lichfield Antiques Centre.

It looks like he has uncovered an interesting

if controversial item - a smoking gun, if you will.

A-ha!

Richard Nixon advertising cigarettes.

So, these were done to promote

Richard Nixon's presidential campaign in 1972.

And Nixon, one of the most famous presidents of all time,

because it all ended in tears and Watergate and what have you.

Richard Nixon was a two-term president of the USA.

The Watergate political scandal of the early 1970s resulted

in his resignation from the White House.

And to think that they actually produced king-sized filter

cigarettes to advertise his campaign.

Can you imagine anything worse today?

And they are...

£10. I think that is a great statement of history!

We don't like smoking, but we love historical statements.

This item might appeal to a collector of political ephemera.

It certainly wouldn't be bought for the 40-year-old tobacco.

Charlie is going to ask dealer Madeleine about them.

-Madeleine!

-Madeleine!

I'm over here, Madeleine, come and help me.

Ah, Madeleine! Madeleine, I'm here!

-I'm here.

-There you are.

-Could you show me something?

-Mm-hm.

Horrible habit, but a great, great statement of history.

They are priced up at £10.

I wouldn't be able to tell you whether they were expensive or cheap.

I think they are a bargain price, myself.

HE LAUGHS

Do you think whoever owns those would take a fiver for them or not?

What do you think?

-Cash?

-Go on.

I have never bought a second-hand pair of cigarettes before.

Well, I should think not. But with this piece of historical ephemera

in hand, Charlie is off for another browse.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking for Charles.

He has just arrived at the same shop

and seems he is meeting another old friend.

He has got so many friends, that boy.

Good morning. How are you? Nice seeing you again.

Hello, Madeleine. I know this lady.

You seem to know everyone, Charles.

Look sharp, though, Carlos,

there is one more of your old acquaintances around.

-What are you doing here?

-How are you? Get on with it. And good luck.

Good luck to you, too. Go on, get out of here.

Get out of here.

This shop seems to have put Charles in an oddly esoteric mood.

I want to go mystical. I have a desire to go magical.

I want to go to auction and believe.

As that would have it, Madeleine might have found just the thing.

What about the dwarf?

OK. Oh, I never saw him behind there.

That is quite novel. That is quite sweet.

It is a small novelty inkwell including a gnome at a forge.

Ticket price, £68.

That is quite good. He hasn't been repainted. Can you see on his nose?

-He's... You can see the real wear, can't you?

-Yeah.

I'd have thought the material... Is it a pewter?

Or some sort of base metal pewter? What is the best on that?

For you, Charles, since I've known you a while...

So, if I said 20, would that help?

Maddie, you know what? Cometh the man, cometh the hour.

Sometimes a man is in need, OK?

And when the man is in need, you meet a Madeleine.

Thanks, Madeleine. Thank you very, very much.

A magical first buy for Charles.

Charlie Ross is feeling very confident about his morning's

purchases, so he is travelling 22 miles to Nuneaton in Warwickshire.

Where he is keen to visit the Nuneaton and Bedworth Museum,

which houses a collection relating to one of the area's most

celebrated daughters,

Mary Ann Evans, the female novelist of the 19th century

who published under the pen name George Eliot.

Charlie is meeting senior museum officer Catherine.

-Hello. Charlie.

-Nice to meet you.

-Very nice to see you.

Wonderful to be here.

Born in 1819, Mary Ann Evans became one of the most acclaimed

novelists in the history of English literature.

Her classics like The Mill On The Floss, Middlemarch

and Daniel Deronda have been lauded by critics

and loved by generations of readers.

-Did she live here?

-She was actually born just outside of Nuneaton.

-Yeah.

-And her childhood was spent at Griff House,

which is just on the outskirts.

There's a couple of schoolteachers along the way that really

inspire her.

And I think she just has this thirst for knowledge.

And her father was wealthy enough to buy her an education.

Yes, certainly.

His aim may have been that she would be educated enough

to become a governess or something like that,

but her intellect goes way beyond perhaps what any of them expect.

And in fact, the man that she does it do up living

with for over 20 years is someone who is very educated,

very intelligent, writes a lot of books

and is interested in the same things as her.

This relationship with philosopher

and critic George Henry Lewes was the most important of her life,

but highly unconventional by the social standards

of the Victorian period.

He was married to somebody else.

1855, I think, is the year they set up home together in London.

And George suggests she might like to try and write fiction,

which she finally does when she is 37.

So this is not someone who wrote her books young, this is someone

who's bringing a lot of experience to her writing by the time

she undertakes it.

So, she goes and she becomes tremendously

successful as a novelist.

-Yeah.

-And she makes an awful lot of money at the time.

-Does she?

For example, Mill On The Floss,

-they think she made about 270,000 in today's money...

-What?!

-..from one year's sales of Mill On The Floss.

-From one year's sales?

When her first novels were published,

Evans's true identity was hidden behind her writing pseudonym.

Taking a male pen name might have widened her readership,

but it also left her open to the wiles of an imposter.

The average person buying her book would have thought it was a man?

Yes, indeed. And actually, that caused a bit of a problem for her.

Just about the time she published her second book in 1858,

there are rumours starting in Nuneaton.

And the rumours are that a local gentleman called

Joseph Liggins has actually written the books.

This escalates to a point where Joseph Henry Liggins actually

gets to the point where he tries to sell the rights to one of the books

-in America. And at this point, George Eliot steps in.

-"Hang on."

"Hang on a minute, I've done all the work

"and the money should be mine."

And it was actually Charles Dickens who first identified

that he thought it was her that was writing the books.

He said, "Definitely this is a woman's hand in this work."

This museum holds a number of Eliot's own possessions -

including a dress, table, secretaire and shoes.

Gosh! They were the shoes of a wealthy person.

Aren't they beautifully made?

-They are beautiful and entirely unpractical.

-Crikey!

And again, along with her dress, you know, diminutive.

Absolutely glorious!

I think because she is remembered for her novels and, you know,

possibly the greatest English novelist ever, it is very easy...

A lot of people have described Middlemarch as the greatest

-English book ever written.

-Yeah.

It is very easy to lose sight of the fact that she was flesh

-and blood like the rest of us.

-Yeah.

Thank you very much indeed. It has been really, really interesting.

-A pleasure to meet you.

-Super.

Charles, meanwhile, is still back in Lichfield.

Time is running out and he is getting himself into a bit of tizz.

Running as usual.

I'm not sure where. Hello.

Oh, no, look, the market is closed, as well.

So, today isn't quite going to plan.

As he can't find any open antique shops,

Charles is concocting a rather unlikely plan.

There's actually a firm of lawyers I know down here.

And who knew, Ansons, who are full of good lawyers,

they may have something in their offices for sale.

Like what, Charles? A writ?

Planning application for a double garage perhaps?

You never know.

Mm.

They may have something that is antique,

they have been here a long time.

You really have gone off book today, haven't you?

Luckily, Associate Solicitor Shelly

agrees to humour this crackpot inquiry.

-Ah, Shelly.

-Hello.

-Nice to see you again. How is life?

-Good, thank you.

-Keeping well?

-Yes, thank you.

-It's a very quirky inquiry, I'm sure your colleagues told you.

-Yes.

Have you, by any chance, in your store room or old cellars

or stock rooms, have any type of antique

-that viably you might wish to sort of sell?

-OK.

We have got something that has been lying around the office for a while.

-Have you really?

-It is a bit quirky.

-Like me, eh?

-Yeah. A bit old.

Oh, really? That is a good sign. Antique?

-Think so, yeah.

-Fantastic.

So, I think that's going to be worth you having a look at.

-Could it be for sale, though?

-It might be.

-Really?

-We'll see what you say.

-At the right price?

-Yeah, of course.

-Shall we?

-Yeah, sure.

-Thanks ever so much.

-We've got something in here.

-Not the bookcase?

Not the bookcase, no, don't get excited.

-This box here?

-Yeah.

-May I take it out?

-Yeah. It is a bit heavy.

Oh, my goodness me!

What is it?

It is a company seal.

A company seal was used to mark official documents.

Crikey me!

Oh, that is wonderful, Shelly, that is really nice.

That is really nice. Wow!

It is a Cannock Colliery business seal.

-Wow, OK.

-But I don't know much more about it than that.

-I suppose date to 1890, 1900?

-Right.

-So it would work almost by placing a piece of paper into here?

-Yeah.

-Can we try it?

-That's fine, yeah.

OK, so you would obviously spin...

Oh, wonderful.

And there you've got, on the seal...

It's a seal, it's a stamped seal

inscribed, "Cannock Colliery Company Limited."

It's a nice item and it is in good condition, as well.

Shelly, if I said to you I'd probably like to...

uh...

make an offer of £30?

-40.

-Look at me, I'm a man in need!

-I'm a man in need.

-OK, I will meet you in the middle then.

-I am going to say yes.

-35?

-£35, you've got a deal.

-Deal.

-Thanks, Shelly.

Well, with a strikingly strange strategy,

Charles has managed to secure himself another buy.

Do you need a hand there, Carlos? That looks a bit lumpy.

And with that, it's the end of an absolutely hectic day shopping.

Nighty-night, chaps.

But there's no rest for our gents.

The morning sun greets them back in the car

and cheruping with excitement for the day ahead.

How sweet.

# Blackbird has spoken

# Like the first...

# Morn Praise for the morning... #

So far, Charlie has spent £70 on three lots -

the silver pocket watch, the Imari charger

and the Nixon campaign cigarettes.

He has £141.78 in cash left.

Charles, meanwhile, has spent just £55 on two lots -

a novelty inkwell and the colliery company seal from the solicitors.

He has £109 in his pocket.

Let's borrow the presents, let's borrow the pedigree.

Are you going to buy me a present?

There is no time for presents, lads.

The boys are heading to Walsall in the West Midlands.

This town grew up during the Industrial Revolution

and became famous for its leather trade.

After the chaos of yesterday, Charles still needs more buys.

After wandering the streets for some time,

he spots a sign that looks promising.

Hello, sir. How are you?

I'm on a hunt, OK? I'm on a hunt.

Purely by chance, I've come down this street

and I can see on the wall there it says LP Antiques.

-Tell me, have you got antiques?

-We have got antiques, yeah.

Have you really? Can I come and have a look?

-Yes.

-Is that all right? Can I have a quick peek upstairs now?

This unit sells mainly reproduction furniture,

but Charles seems determined to gamble on this road trip,

so he has talked his way in for a look anyway.

Something might jump out at me.

Young upholsterer Rob has been dragooned into showing him around.

There is very little antique stock in the building, as they no

longer trade in it, but Charles is determined to spy something.

They are quite nice, aren't they?

A pair of Parisian field glasses, which are quite neat.

They are quite good. They're probably First World War.

Maybe 1910, 1920.

These... Look, these belonged to a man from Lincolnshire.

Rob will need to ask his boss what they can be sold for.

Find out how much they are for the two together.

Yeah, for the two together.

And Charles has spotted a pair of wooden bowls, as you do.

£15 each. Or two for 25.

Two for 25?

I wonder, do you reckon she might throw me a couple of bowls in?

Just say, "For poor, old Hans..."

Just tell her poor Hanson wonders,

could you throw in two wooden bowls as well?

Give her a call. Thanks, mate.

Young Rob might come back and I might get lucky.

But then again, if you don't ask, you don't get. Hold on, hold on.

-Yeah.

-Rob, this is a biggie.

-Hit me.

-Yep, the two.

-Yes! She said yes?

-Yeah.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-That's awesome. All the best.

Thanks, Rob. Thanks again, I really appreciate it.

Awesome, he gets the lot for £25.

Once again, in the most unlikely of fashions,

Charles has managed to secure a bargain.

Well done, that man.

Charles now has three lots, but he wants one more.

He has decided to take the interesting

but damaged decoupage screen

he saw back in Cannock yesterday.

Time for a call to dealer Scott.

What's the best price?

£70? Thanks ever so much. And I'll take it.

Deal done and Charles has got his lots for auction...just.

Charlie Ross, meanwhile,

has driven on to the West Midlands town of Halesowen.

He is strolling off into the shop Yesterday's World,

where dealers Jean and Ivan are in control.

-Hello.

-Good morning.

-You must be Jean.

-I am.

-I'm Charlie.

-Nice to meet you.

-Lovely to meet you, too.

Charlie has spotted a group of items that hint at the brave

and eventful life of their owner.

May I look at your First World War medals?

-Thanks, Jean, lovely.

-Thank you.

-And that is named to T Warner.

-That is the one.

The Royal Artillery. Gunner T Warner.

Now, that is interesting.

We have got a First World War to T Warner.

-And a Second.

-And two Second World Wars to T Warner.

-Yes.

-Crikey!

-Royal Artillery, it has got to be the same man.

-Same man.

-Blimey!

-You wouldn't think he'd have to go through it all again, would you?

-No.

The World War II medals are for service and defence.

Ivan is the military man, what could he let them go for?

50 for the three. Best deal.

If I bought them, for example, for £40...

I think if I could buy the three for £40,

I think I might make a tenner or something.

-I couldn't do better than 40.

-No. Could you do 40?

-Yeah.

I'm happy with that.

-Are you?

-Are you sure?

-Yes, we will go with that.

-I suspect that the lady takes the money.

-I do indeed.

You do the negotiating and you take the money.

-How is that?

-That's lovely.

And a gold star to Charlie, who has got another buy.

Charles Hanson, meanwhile, has travelled into central Birmingham.

He has finished his shopping,

so he is headed for the Museum Of The Jewellery Quarter,

where he is going to learn about the history of one of Birmingham's

most important traditional industries.

He's meeting the head of the community museum, Christopher.

-Hello.

-Hi, Charles.

-I'm Charles Hanson.

Welcome to the Museum Of The Jewellery Quarter.

Birmingham has a centuries-long history of producing jewellery,

and this area was the powerhouse of the bauble business.

This museum tells the story of the industry and preserved

the factory of one manufacturer, Smith and Pepper, as it then was,

for most of the 20th century.

The Smith and Pepper factory opened in 1899 and closed in 1981.

It was a family business run by only two generations of the Smith family

and manufactured gold and silver jewellery.

When the factory closed,

it was left entirely as it had been on the last day of operation.

The museum was built around it.

First, Christopher is taking Charles into the office space.

-Come on in.

-It's amazing, isn't it?

Well, I mean, you know, if you look at this space,

-it could be a 1930s office.

-Absolutely.

-That's what it was.

This was the sort of nerve centre of the firm.

It was Miss Olive's territory

because the partners were Olive, Tom and Eric.

-Yes.

-A family business. And she ran the office.

-Yes.

And you can see the boxes on the wall there where the stuff would be

sent around the world, the various things made at Smith and Pepper.

-Yes.

-And then as you look around the office,

you can see the dumbwaiter over there,

where orders were sent down to the factory floor

and the finished goods came back up.

Miss Olive also ran a tight ship.

There were various standards that had to be kept here.

And one of the key once was that the workers stayed downstairs

and office staff stayed upstairs.

And there's a great story that when it first opened as a museum,

in 1992,

there was a grand opening and the men from the workshop

came up to the office and it was the first time

they'd ever been upstairs in the factory.

Christopher is going to take Charles downstairs to the manufacturing

floor, which has also been preserved in working order.

We are now stepping into the 1899 factory.

It is just incredible.

It almost looks as though nothing has happened.

The various different machines created the components of jewellery

from gold or silver bullion, which were then soldered together.

Clive there is working at the jeweller's bench.

And the job of the jeweller in this particular factory

was mainly soldering.

It was literally connecting the various components

that had been produced through the other machinery.

It is skilled work. You would have been a man to do this.

And you would've had lots of training.

So, at the moment, it's Clive.

Clive looks as though he is smoking a pipe.

Yeah. He is using a blow pipe.

This is the traditional method of controlling

the temperature of the flame.

Don't burn yourself, Clive. That's a big flame.

It wouldn't be the first time.

THEY LAUGH

Careful!

I'll take you over now to look at another piece of technilogical

-wonderment.

-Yes.

-Which is our drop stamp pit.

-Wonderful.

It sounds very interesting.

The drop stamp literally stamps a decorative design

into a piece of metal.

-Can we see it in action?

-Yeah, we'll ask Clive to demonstrate.

-A basic piece of metal.

-Yes.

And the stamp will actually create the design on it through

sheer force.

-Is it going to just drop?

-Yep.

Crikey!

Oh, I say! Then, obviously, by that stamp,

you create this wonderful, what I was suppose you would call

-repousse work or imposter relief.

-Yeah, yeah.

Well, that certainly made an impression on Charles.

With that, it is time for him to hit the road.

It has been invigorating, so thanks, Chris, really good.

-Is it this way out?

-Yes.

-Thank you.

Elsewhere, Charlie Ross has travelled on to Ironbridge

in Shropshire.

Completed in 1779, the bridge which gives the town its name

was the first arched bridge in the world to be made from cast iron.

Today, it is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Charlie is heading into the Curio Centre.

-Hello.

-Mr Ross.

-How very formal.

-Charlie.

-How are you?

-Hello.

What a super thing!

Oh, now, there is something that takes my eye.

See that little whisky noggin?

It's a small jug for an individual measure of whisky.

In a smart Scottish country house, if you had a dinner party,

20 people round, every single person would have one of those.

That's right, yeah.

Charlie does seem smitten with the noggin, but the ticket price

is £175, well over his current budget

of £101.78.

What can Simon do for trade?

You're probably looking at around 140.

-Oh! I'm getting closer.

-I know you are.

These aren't mine, unfortunately, these are somebody else's.

-Bother! I love that...

-It's a shame.

-...with a passion.

-It comes with the little silver label, as well.

-Yes, it does.

Now look at that. That is for putting your whisky in.

Charlie loves the whisky noggin so much that he might be willing to

sell one of his other items to Simon to make the cash he needs to buy it.

He is thinking of sacrificing the pocket watch he bought yesterday.

Well, I never did!

I am willing to trade with you.

If the price is right.

I'm loving this! I'm loving the way this is going.

-I can show it to you.

-I'd like to see it, yeah, definitely.

-Look at this exceptional object, sir.

-OK, blow me away.

It is all nicely hallmarked around the top.

I mean, obviously, it is a bit of a basic sort of model.

That is 39.22 you need?

-38.22 to you, sir.

-OK, yes, we'll buy this off you for that.

That's fine. I'm happy with that.

Charlie's clever trading means he has only paid £121.78

for the whisky noggin.

That is £101.78 in cash and the £20 he got the watch for.

Job done.

With all their buying finished,

the chaps to have met up in sunny Brum to unveil their buys.

Open your eyes!

Is that it?

HE LAUGHS

Is that it?

Oh, it's called a noggin, is it? A nog...? What do you call that?

-Yep.

-A little noggin. Whisky, isn't it? I love it, Charlie.

I bet it was made by Hogan and Heath.

-Hogan and Heath!

-Oh, it wasn't!

-It was!

-Marvellous!

-Silver label, 1910.

-That is a really nice object, Charlie.

A modest toast to the whisky noggin.

Now, what about the vintage smokes?

-What is that?

-Look, look at the name on it.

He was the USA president, wasn't he?

This is a box of original cigarettes that were given to people

in the presidential campaign of 1972.

Can you imagine today giving away cigarettes as part

of your election campaign?

-That cost a fiver.

-Really?

-Yeah.

They could make a fiver or they could make 50.

And the Imari charger?

And of course, I bought this because it is large and you eat...

-Well, we know all about that.

-Wonderful.

Japanese, 1910.

You always test the ring.

Nice ring.

OK, Charlie, I reckon you paid probably about £45.

-Do you actually walk into the shop behind me? Do you?

-No.

Is that what it cost you?

-£45.

-No, it didn't! Really? You and I have a chemistry.

Put it there. Really?

Time for the young pretender to reveal his own buys.

-My really fine four-fold screen.

-Four screen?

There is some damage, which doesn't really...

That's part of the history of it.

-I would be very surprised if it doesn't make more than £100.

-Really?

And the rest of it.

-Look.

-In the immortal words of Charles Hanson, "Is that it?"

This probably continental inkwell, but it's novelty.

-It's good fun and it is worth 20 quid.

-Yeah, exactly.

It cost me £20.

Mm.

These are quite nice.

I really dug deep for these, and they are quite good quality.

A pair of field glasses. They're probably First World War.

I bought them together with the bowls, OK?

-Yeah, a tenner.

-I paid £25.

Did you? Let me just stop you.

This looks absolutely wonderful, wonderful!

This is looking like the crown jewels.

Do you know what? Out of these two, these are the crown jewels.

I'm being serious.

For once in your life,

your articles are exceeded in quality by your trousers.

And that is saying something.

Now, now, no need to get personal.

Well, our pair are frank enough to each other's faces,

but what do they say behind closed doors, eh?

Charles, I can tell from the table, had a very hard time of it,

but he saved himself with this.

Charlie, goodness me, you bought a basic slap-up plate for £45?

Overly priced. You bought an amusing noggin with a label.

Being a gambling man, I would go for Hanson. Who is he? That's me.

Well, well, the gloves are off.

This promises to be a heavyweight showdown.

Today, our princely pair have wandered over 200 miles

through the dreaming byways of England

from Cannock in Staffordshire to end up at their auction in Stroud,

Gloucestershire.

Stroud is a terribly well appointed Cotswolds town

with a proud tradition

of textile manufacture stretching back through the centuries.

Let's hope Charles and Charlie

have cut their cloth to fit today's sale room.

They are heading for Stroud Auction Rooms,

which holds monthly antiques and specialists sales.

You know, they are hungry for antiques, Charlie, hungry.

Shame we didn't buy any.

Cheeky.

No manners.

With his gavel poised, is today's auctioneer, James Taylor.

But before he takes to the floor,

what does he make of our chaps' buys?

Some interesting items have been put forward.

We particularly like the whisky noggin, they always sell well.

There are a couple of items that do seem like they are a bit

of a desperate buy. The Imari charger isn't great.

The screen is really nice,

but the damage that has been done to it is really going to hold it back.

They are restorable, but people like them

when they are perfect and original.

Charlie Ross started today with £211.78.

He spent up to the hilt on four lots.

Charles Hanson, meanwhile, started today with £164.

He spent £150 of that and also has four lots to show for it.

Gentleman, take your seats.

Let this showdown begin.

First up, we have Charlie's lovely little glass whisky noggin.

Will the punters be tempted to take a nip?

Lot of commission interest means I'm straight in at £130,

looking for 140.

At £130 with me now. Looking for 140.

140. 150. Still with me. Is there 160?

-At £150 on commission now.

-Thank you, Stroud!

-At £150.

I am selling to the book now at 150...

I'm thrilled!

What a start! Chin-chin, old chap.

Another for Charlie Ross now.

It's his war medals going under the hammer.

Bids straight in with me at £38.

-Brilliant.

-They are geniuses here!

With me, 50. I'm out at 50. Now is there five?

At £50, they are off the book, in the room, looking for five.

-These auctioneers are geniuses.

-In the room now at 50...

Well, Charlie has won that battle, but will he win the war?

Well battled.

Now, Charles Hanson's colliery company stamp,

acquired from some local legal eagles.

A fair amount of commission interest means I'm straight in at £50.

At £50, the bid is with me, now looking for five.

-55. 60, still with me. Is there five?

-Slowed down.

-At £60, it is still with me now.

-It could still go higher. Oh, God.

At £70, still on commission now,

looking for five. At £70, it is on the book now, looking for five.

-75.

-Oh, stop, no higher, please.

At £75, it's off the book, in the room. Looking for 80.

At £75, I'm selling to the room now at 75...

I have to say, if I was the lawyer, I'd be hot on your heels.

But he bought it fair and square, Charlie.

That ruling is in Charles's favour.

And with that, the young pretender steals the lead.

Next up is Charlie's Imari charger.

It wasn't the auctioneer's favourite,

but might it find favour with the crowd?

And the bid is straight in the me at £50 now. Is there five?

-Well done!

-At £50. The bid's on commission now. Looking for five.

At £50, selling now, maiden bid on the book.

55. 60 is with me. And five, sir?

65 takes me out. In the room now, it's at 70.

At £65, it is off the book and in the room, looking for 70.

At £65, I'm selling to the room now at 65...

-Well done.

-It doesn't quite charge away, but a success nevertheless.

But not quite enough to catch up with Charles.

The gnomish inkwell is up next. Can it magic up a profit?

-And the bid is straight in with me at £55.

-Got it!

At £55 it's on commission now, looking for 60. At 55. 60.

Five, still with me. Is there 70?

At £65, it is still with me now, looking for 70.

70 and five. Still with me. Is there 80? At £75.

That's good, Charlie.

At £75, selling on the book at 75...

-80 takes me out on the internet.

-£80! Oh, yes! Good man.

There, there, Charlie.

At £80, I'm selling it away to the net now at 80.

-Premier place to come for a sale.

-Marvellous result.

Oh, you are a good sport, Charlie.

And an almost supernatural result on the inkwell.

The young buck solidifies his lead.

Bids from everywhere.

Next, Charlie's naughty Nixon campaign cigarettes.

There it is, bid straight in with me at £30.

At £30 on commission now, looking for two.

At £30. It's on the book now, looking for two. 32. 35 is me.

38, sir? At £35, it is still on commission, now looking for eight.

At £35. I'm selling on the book now for 35...

A fabulous profit. No whitewash needed here.

But Charles still has the upper hand with two lots to go.

The job lot of field glasses and bowls next.

-And I have commission straight in at £40.

-Get out of here!

-It's on commission now, looking for two.

-Come on!

-At £40, I'm selling it away. On the book at 40...

-Sensational!

-That's good.

-That is a sensational result. I take my hat off to you.

Charles was all over flat when he bought them, but the lot has flown.

And lastly, Charles's great hope, the decoupage screen.

There it is.

And I have commission interest straight in at £65.

-Come on!

-At £65, the bid is with me now, looking for 70.

-70. 75 is me. 80. I'm out at 80. In the room now.

-Come on, one more.

At £80, it's in the room now, looking for five.

-At £80, off the book and in the room now, looking for five.

-Told you.

At £80, I'm selling to the room now at 80...

It is a topsy-turvy day.

The screen they both rated highly barely scrapes by,

but Charles is in such fine fettle that it scarcely matters.

I'm happy, Charlie.

-Come on, old man, let's go.

-Bye.

-Are you coming?

-No.

-Put your hand up then. Give me your hand.

Ready? Three, two, one.

Charles stole the show with some striking profits, even though

he didn't expect them.

Charlie Ross started this leg with £211.78.

After auction costs, he made a profit of £34.22,

giving him £246 to carry forward.

Well done, old bean.

But Charles Hanson, meanwhile,

started wit h a diminished £164.

He won this leg, though, with a handsome profit of £75.50,

meaning that he is now nipping at Charlie's heels with £239.50

to carry forwards.

Smashing.

Oh, dear! Sounds like we've got a shotgun on board.

MOTOR REVS

-Goodbye, Stroud.

-Goodbye, Stroud.

And hello next leg.

On the next Antiques Road Trip, Charles and Charlie do some

fancy footwork to bag items that are going for a song.

# Onward, Christian soldiers! #

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd