Commemorations Flog It: Trade Secrets

For well over ten years, you have brought along thousands of objects

to our Flog It! valuation days

to put our experts through their paces.

And during that time, we've helped you sell

over a million pounds' worth of antiques and collectables.

In this series, I want to share with you some of the things we've learnt

about looking at those items.

Welcome to Trade Secrets.

It's human nature to want to mark the big occasions in our lives.

The wedding day,

the arrival of the baby, the loss of a loved one.

National events, too, especially those associated with royalty,

are always of interest.

In today's programme, we'll be exploring commemorative pieces.

What to look out for and what's best to avoid.

Coming up, we see items that commemorate weddings.

It's the nicest thing I've ever seen on a Flog It! valuation day.

Our experts reveal their personal favourites.

They're as decrepit as I am

but that only makes them more lovable, I think.

And offer some useful tips.

The more cheerful the subject,

the better the buyer will be.

And we find out what happens to our gold jewellery

when we decide to scrap it.

Oh, no, I just think, I want to save it!

Over the centuries, there's been an abundance of items

to mark one occasion or another.

We've seen a great deal of them turn up at our valuation days.

Commemorative china, silverware and medals.

Your houses are full of them,

and our experts are always delighted to see them.

In particular, we love learning about the stories behind them.

But can something so personal become a collector's item?

Let's see what tips our experts can offer.

There's a lot of commemorative items out there,

particularly royal family items,

which aren't as popular as they used to be.

So I would say if you're into commemoratives,

why not look out for space-related things,

moon landings or even Concorde-related items?

I think, in time to come, they could be a good investment.

If you're going to collect commemorative wares,

try and think of an era you're interested in.

That way, you'll build up a collection

that you'll be passionate about.

The more cheerful the subject that's being commemorated,

the better the buyer will be.

First up, a wedding gift from Holland

that made Michael Baggott's day.

It's probably the nicest thing

I've ever seen on a Flog It! valuation day.

It's a very fine, very early Dutch wedding medal.

In Holland, you've got a tradition of manufacturing medals,

striking medals and engraving them.

And so there is a peculiar little pocket

where these wedding medals are made.

It's very difficult to pin an exact date on it.

-But I would say anywhere from 1650 up to 1700.

-Really?

Weddings, particularly in the 17th and 18th century,

between two wealthy families,

would often be a very important event.

And they would be commemorated

probably by a gift of silver engraved with the family arms.

-This is superbly engraved with the wedding couple.

-Oh, right.

So you've got them here in this classical hallway.

You've got a chequerboard floor

and these little cherubs parting the clouds with a wreath.

And the rays of sunlight coming down on their union.

Sort of a blessing from heaven.

I could see as I was talking to Carol

that she really didn't have any inclination

of how much it was worth.

So before I told her the valuation,

I did say, it's only a small piece of silver.

I think I'd be remiss in putting it into the auction

with a reserve less than £500.

And you could see as soon as I said £500 as a reserve,

a look of surprise break all over her face, which was wonderful.

I wasn't going to bring it in.

Don't say that, Carol. Don't say that.

Michael was clearly impressed by the medal,

but did the auction attract bidders who shared his enthusiasm?

£300? Yes, £300 I'm bid for it.

At £300 I'm bid for it, at £320.

At £350, at £380.

I'm sure, on the day,

I saw at least three London dealers that had driven up for the sale.

-This is good.

-Perhaps even 80?

At 650. You're travelling well. 680.

At 680. 700, now. 700 is bid.

Going to be sold, I sell at £700.

£700 is much more than Carol expected.

But commemorative silver

that's not only rare but also pre-19th century

can expect to fetch a good price, so keep your eyes peeled.

All kinds of objects have been made

to celebrate weddings over the centuries

from silver, pieces of china and even material.

Next up, another unusual wedding gift,

this time from Britain - a patchwork quilt.

This is fantastic. What a wonderful bit of patchwork.

Would you mind just giving me a little bit of a hand

and stretch it out slightly?

Let's see how big it actually is.

See, now...

-Now that...we've lost you!

-You have to come to the side.

-Where are you?

-Round here!

But look at the work that's gone into that.

'Quilts of that quality are really rare.'

I have sold very few of them in my past.

The vibrancy of the patterns are amazing,

lovely geometric patterns all over it.

The fact that it's stayed in such wonderful condition -

it looked like the day it was made.

Something that we don't see a lot of today,

in the auction houses, I have to say,

because it doesn't normally survive.

And one of the things we always say is, "I wonder how early it is?"

Because the same fashions went all the way

from the early 18th century

right through until the 20th century.

And they're quite difficult to date.

But of course, they become a little bit easier to date...

..when you've got that.

1845.

The one real thing that caught my eye

was the fact it was dated -

1845 sewn into it.

Notoriously difficult to date these patchwork quilts,

but to have that on there, to a collector, is pure bliss.

We've got two initials - "M" and "T".

Maybe Mary, Mary and Tom, in 1845,

and this has been a gift of maybe the village

to a newly married couple, something like that.

I would put an auction estimate of...£200 to £300?

-That's a pound a year, isn't it?

-Yeah, it is.

-200 years old.

Yeah, absolutely.

Let's take it to the sale room, see how we do with it,

but...it'll sell, certainly.

Very interesting little lot,

a large and impressive 19th-century stitch patchwork quilt.

Great little thing, this.

I can start bidding on commission at 200.

-Straight in. No problem there.

-I am pleased. I am pleased.

220. 240. 240, now.

It's just so unusual. And the condition is so good.

I have 320, here. 400.

Four..still in? I've got 400 against you.

-460. I'm going to jump to 500.

-Gosh!

At £520, the bid's on the phone at 520.

I sell...

The hammer's gone down. That's a nice figure, £520.

In terms of value for money,

I think, "Well, somebody's sold an old quilt for £520,

"and somebody hasn't had to make it."

They've both had a good deal, I reckon.

Patchwork quilts have been made in Britain for the past 300 years,

often as gifts to mark major events in our lives.

If you do find one, keep it in good condition

and check the date -

rare ones have been known to fetch up to £20,000.

Next up, another textile antique,

this time commemorating a more sombre occasion -

a Victorian mourning cape.

Tell me all about this one.

I bought it at auction,

I just thought it was a wonderful item

and really interesting,

because you don't see such things nowadays.

You don't, very often.

'I was drawn to the mourning cape, partly because we don't see'

so much costume on valuation days.

It was lovely to hone in on something which was so beautiful.

The Victorians would dress up when in mourning

and when they were actually attending a funeral.

Victorians were fastidious dressers.

The costumes they wore reflected not only their aspirations

in their dress, but also the needlewoman's ability

to translate that into something amazing to wear.

And so, it's a super time of costume history.

It's a lovely combination of techniques

of the use of fabrics as well.

The high, ruched neck here, which was, as I say, quite common,

and this wonderful applied zigzag design

which goes all the way round the back.

It extends right down to the tiered, frilled hem at the bottom,

which is really quite lavish, it's lovely.

It is quite a responsibility to collect textiles of any nature.

They need to be in the right climate -

not too hot, not too cold.

Keep them away from damp. Keep them out of direct sunlight.

Do not let moth get to them, and other pests,

which can soon eat away at the artefact.

I think at auction it will probably fetch £25 to £40, I'd have thought.

And if you're happy, we'll place a reserve of £20 on it -

then you've got peace of mind. You'd be happy with that?

Yes - somebody can enjoy it.

-I think they will.

-And look after it.

Lot number 400 - a Victorian mourning cape.

A very nice item, this, and a very rare opportunity

to get a mourning cape in the afternoon!

Who's going to start me at £20?

20, 10 to go. 10 bid, 12 bid.

At 12 bid - 15, 18, 20.

Two now, at £20 a bid. This is cheap.

At 30, 32, 35 - now, they're coming back into fashion, sir.

£38 bid - 40 now. Selling at £38.

Lady's bid at £38.

It's not a lot of money, but it shows what you can get

in quality and interest value for not a great deal, these days,

which you've still got out there for collectors to buy.

Victorian clothing of any nature

doesn't come into auction so very often,

and certainly, to see a mourning cape -

which would have been an expensive and important garment in its day -

is certainly a rarity,

so it was lovely to be able to see one pass through the auction

on that day.

Since Vanessa's mourning cape was valued,

the market for Victorian clothing has gone up,

so it might have fetched a better price today.

It's worth considering that commemorative items

with death associated to it, like Elizabeth's mourning cape,

do have a limited appeal,

so when you put them up for sale in an auction room,

they will achieve a lot less

than an item commemorating a joyous occasion.

And what could be more joyous than a celebration of a new life?

So did a silver mug to celebrate a christening

fare better than the cape?

We've got a silver jug in there.

A lovely silver tankard, a christening tankard.

-Can I take it out?

-Sure.

-Let's take a look at it.

This belonged to my step-grandfather, so my father's stepfather.

It's an interesting piece -

it's been in your family for a long time, has it?

Well, we assume it's a couple of generations, at least.

The tankard in question was a lovely little thing,

nicely presented in a fitted case.

I think it had initials on it as well, didn't it?

We see these initials and monograms on lots of pieces of silver,

and you always think, "I wonder who owned that?"

But you can actually tell us. What are the initials on here?

Four initials -

my step-grandfather's name was Edward Graham Fraser Thomson.

Some people want their antiques

to look pristine and perfect and like the day they were made.

To get things like that,

you need to go to the big, flashy antiques fairs

where everything is hugely restored,

and it looks wonderful, like the day it was made.

But in my opinion, I quite like the ones

that have had a bit of a life and have initials on.

It just feels more...more real, I think.

What can you tell us about him? Did you know much about him?

I suppose his major contribution

was that he was a pilot during World War I,

a reconnaissance pilot,

and he even went on to write a book about his experiences as a pilot.

That's more personal to me, whereas this is not necessarily

of sentimental or important family history.

You've helped answer my question, really -

isn't it a shame you're selling? But now you've explained that.

I have so many other memories I'm able to keep of him.

I felt a slight shame that he was selling it

but he had his reasons and it was nicely presented object.

So it's a lovely object,

but I think the story really makes it, because commercially,

it's not hugely valuable - any ideas yourself?

I was thinking anywhere between £40 and £80?

Bang on, Richard, well done. Absolutely.

Let's hope they're both right.

Lovely christening mug, in its leather case.

Mappin and Webb. £100 to start me.

Come on, Philip.

Bid me 50 to go, someone.

50, high bid at 50, 60, 70, 80...

Good. Gone - quickly, as well. How about that? They like it.

120, is it? 110 with me.

At 110.

-At £110...

-More than double!

At £110, the bid's with me. Any more?

At £120, and I sell, then at £120 -

done.

Superb. That's real quality and well worth £120.

All sorts of objects are used to commemorate special occasions.

If you've got something made of material,

make sure you keep the moths away. Condition is everything.

If it's silver you're after, look for a date,

and don't worry too much about initials -

they may tell a good story.

And whatever you do, don't get the initials removed -

it will devalue your piece.

On Flog It!, we often hear our experts and auctioneers

refer to items made in gold or silver as its "scrap value".

But the very idea of sending off a family heirloom to be melted down

does go against the grain for many of us

who think antiques should be treasured.

So what happens when items of jewellery, coins and silver

go off to the scrap yard?

Expert Claire Rawle took the bull by the horns

and went to find out, with some surprising results.

Gold and silver has been a treasured metal since prehistoric times,

first as jewellery in ancient civilisations

and coins from around 700 BC.

In 2003, for the first time in history,

gold topped 1,000 an ounce.

Unwanted pieces turn up time and time again

at Flog It! valuation days.

It's worth far more than its melt value.

This will not be melted. This won't go for scrap.

£760 - good result.

The rise in the value of gold

has meant more people are selling off their old trinkets

to be melted down -

something that deeply troubles auctioneer Claire Rawle.

My real worry is that

there are some intrinsically beautiful things

disappearing for ever.

There are certain collectable items

that you can never remake. Part of history has gone.

Yes, there's an awful lot of very ordinary stuff,

you could argue the best thing you could do with it is melt it down.

But I still feel there's a lot out there that's disappearing,

and it's gone forever.

Claire has come to Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter

to find out what happens to your silver and gold

if you decide to scrap it.

She's here to meet Nigel Blackburn, the owner of Lois Jewellery,

who's been trading in precious metals for 35 years.

OK, Nigel, when I came in here,

I came past a load of big signs that say "melt your gold".

It all seems a bit,

"bring it in, weigh in, melt it, money handed over, job done."

Is everything that comes in just going to be melted?

Certainly not - as you can see in front of you,

there's a lovely selection of second-hand jewellery.

-Everything will be sorted.

-It's quite refreshing to hear that.

My worry's been, since the hike in the gold and silver prices,

that so much stuff has been lost.

Yes, that's right, but when you look at a small bar brooch like this,

when gold was £3 a gram, trade, they were £30.

Now they scrap at more than £30.

-Yeah.

-This is the problem.

-The intrinsic value is outweighing the individual piece value.

-Yeah.

We do occasionally find a little gem.

If there is any Victorian jewellery, even if it's got stones missing,

we'll try to retrieve it and pass it on,

back into the trade.

A little piece like that, £20, £30, rather than the £5 scrap value.

Yes - so it's definitely worth selling.

A collector of small spoons, you give it a couple of weeks -

obviously, if it doesn't sell, we scrap.

The majority of material that comes through the door

is post-1960 run-of-the-mill chains, bracelets, odd earrings.

Those are melted.

Gold and silver that's selected for scrap is poured into a furnace

at a temperature of 1,100 degrees centigrade.

It's a hot process, and a noisy one.

It only takes five minutes to melt 10kgs of gold

and eight minutes for the same amount of silver.

This is the bit I find quite difficult,

because looking at all these spoons and bits of jewellery,

and they're all going into that big pot

and disappearing for ever.

And I just think, "Oh, no! I want to save it!"

It's just going to turn into a blob.

-You cannot save everything.

-I know.

That was probably silverware

that had been melted down 100, 200 years ago

and it's going to be remade into other jewellery, other items,

and it's still going to be melted down in the future.

I guess. It's the sort of thing you forget about.

You think once it's made, that's it, it's there for ever.

But it isn't, is it?

As long as you save the good bits.

We always save the good bits.

9,532. It lost about 120g, which is normal.

Oh, so that's the waste-y stuff that comes out...

-That's right, yeah.

-Yeah.

20...on today's price,

a touch over £100,000.

-What, that?

-Yeah.

That's amazing.

In two weeks, it could be jewellery again.

It's quite an amazing process.

I still find it quite emotional,

watching the stuff going into the furnace.

Um...yeah, it's an interesting business.

However you feel about your old jewellery being melted down,

it's worth considering that it takes a tonne of gold ore

to produce just an ounce of new gold, so sentiment aside,

recycling is certainly the best for the environment.

Every single wedding ring that's scrapped in

will save at least two tonnes of gold excavation.

But do be careful where you trade your goods -

not all dealers are as reputable as Nigel.

I do have a real concern, still,

with people not achieving the true value of something.

Check out some prices, get some advice.

You can only sell something once,

so make sure you sell it for its true value. Just be careful.

Most objects that commemorate people's lives and events

are ones we can easily handle - silver, china and the like.

But sometimes, our treasured items are far too large for auction rooms.

Over the years on Flog It!, I have visited hundreds of places

that commemorate the lives of men and women in history.

One of the least impressive,

but one that made a big impact on me,

was Clouds Hill Cottage in Dorset.

This old gamekeeper's cottage

is a cherished possession of the National Trust

as it commemorates Thomas Edward Lawrence,

better known to most of us as Lawrence of Arabia.

Lawrence was a prolific writer

and the peace and solitude of Clouds Hill

provided him with a perfect refuge.

During World War I, he fought with the Arabs

against the Ottoman Empire -

an experience he later described in his best known work,

Seven Pillars Of Wisdom.

It was this work that inspired the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia,

the film that would go on to immortalise his name.

Lawrence became a high-profile figure after the war.

He was lionised by the British public

and relentlessly pursued by the press.

But the stresses of the war and his unexpected celebrity status

started to get too much for him.

He was desperate for a new life.

In an attempt to avoid any more attention,

Lawrence joined the RAF in 1922,

even changing his name to John Hume Ross.

But he was exposed by the British press

and was forced to leave.

So, Lawrence came here to Bovington Camp in Dorset in 1923

where he rejoined the army as a private soldier in the tank corps.

But he was still desperately unhappy,

wanting to seek solitude and privacy,

somewhere he could nurture his writing talents...

Really, Lawrence wanted somewhere where he could hide.

And Clouds Hill was the perfect hideout.

Here, he could read, write and listen to music

and entertain his literary friends

like Thomas Hardy, EM Forster and George Bernard Shaw.

This is reputedly Lawrence, sitting on the beach at St Mawes,

which is just opposite Falmouth.

That's Henry Scott Tuke - very important artist.

Here's his music system. Look at that.

Wow...I'd love to hear that.

This was state of the art, at the time.

He was a man of good taste.

Let's get it up to speed.

Probably sat here, with a book...a cigarette...

ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYS

Look at this.

This is where the final draft was typed by Lawrence

for the Seven Pillars Of Wisdom,

based on his time out in the Middle East.

It's a very special place, actually. It does embrace you.

There's an energy here.

Despite Lawrence's attempts at anonymity,

he was still hounded by the press.

When he retired in February 1935, at the age of 46,

he expected to live quietly at Clouds Hill,

but he returned to find news reporters

camped outside the front door.

Sadly, Lawrence was never able to realise his wish

for a tranquil retirement.

Just three months after he did retire, on May 13th 1935,

he was involved in what would prove to be a fatal accident

on this very stretch of road.

He collided with two schoolboys

whilst riding his motorcycle home to Clouds Hill.

He was taken back to Bovington Camp,

where he was treated in the military hospital,

but sadly, he never regained consciousness

and he died six days later.

Thankfully, both boys survived.

One of Lawrence's lesser known legacies

is that the surgeon who tried to save his life at Bovington,

Sir Hugh Cairns, started a campaign of his own,

and his research led directly to the compulsory wearing

of motorbike helmets. As a consequence of treating Lawrence,

Cairns would ultimately save the lives of many motorcyclists.

Had motorcycle helmets been compulsory at the time,

Lawrence's life may well have been saved.

Hopefully, he'd have ended up fulfilling his dream

by spending the rest of his days here,

living peacefully at Clouds Hill.

Now, there is some debate about the wisdom of buying an item

with somebody else's name or initials on it.

Sometimes, though, it can just be a happy coincidence

that adds value to an item, as Elizabeth Talbot found out.

The two little artefacts I brought today are very dear to my heart.

The first is this early 19th-century little pewter mug.

It's all bashed and misshapen and it's had a hard life.

It was brought to me over 20 years ago

by an elderly gentleman who came to my office, asking to see me.

He had no appointment, but I went to have a look,

and he said he's been clearing out his sheds

and discovered something that was relevant only to me,

and he felt I ought to have it.

I looked at this poor little thing

and felt there was absolutely no merit in it whatsoever,

until I read the name along the front.

It's actually engraved "Elizabeth Warner",

which was my maiden name at the time. I was very flattered

and delighted he'd taken the trouble to come and find me

and give it to me.

Roll the clock forward 20 years, and the same thing happened again.

A lady appeared in reception, asked to see me and showed me a box.

As I looked down through the newspaper,

all I could see was a very, very cracked jug,

until I took it out to find that at the front of this one

is the name "Elizabeth Talbot" and the date - 1829.

And likewise, she'd rescued this

when she bought a mixed lot of china at an auction house

and she felt that only I could have it.

I have two pieces which, in history, are not so dissimilar in age,

but they've lived separate lives and now have been united in my care,

each representing the names I have borne.

They're as decrepit as I am,

but that only makes them more lovable, I think.

So they're worth nothing, commercially,

but often the most valuable things to us

are the pieces which hold sentimental value,

and therefore, make them almost priceless.

Whether it's a birth, death or marriage,

there is a wealth of commemorative items out there

to suit every pocket.

So if you're buying or selling, you know what to look out for.

I hope you've enjoyed today's Trade Secrets.

Join me again soon, next time.