Wartime Tales - Part 2 Flog It: Trade Secrets

Over the years on Flog It!, we've helped you sell many thousands

of your antiques and collectables,

and the variety of items that turn up at our valuation days

have been absolutely astonishing. And as some of you know,

it's not easy to put a value on them all.

But there are some things we know will always find a ready market,

and here's where you can find out more.

This is Trade Secrets.

In this series, we're pooling all of our knowledge together

to help you get in the know.

Welcome to Trade Secrets.

Today, we're exploring militaria. It's a huge area,

but one which, more often than not, it's the weight behind the story

and the personal sentiment that puts the value on the object.

Coming up: medals given for outstanding bravery.

That's a true hero.

We learn how smoking can, sometimes, be a life-saver.

The bullet stopped and saved his life.

Our experts offer some useful tips.

If you're gonna be looking at old shells, guns and whatever...

do make sure they're deactivated.

And we see how collectable militaria can be.

At £4,100, then... GAVEL BANGS

-Bash! The hammer has gone down.

-I can't believe it!

Recent anniversaries of the D-Day landings and the Dam Busters raid

remind us of the terrifying war that engulfed the world

and changed it for ever.

The Second World War's a rich territory for Flog It!,

and our experts love to hear the stories related to the items

you bring along to our valuation days.

But we should also remember the brave lives lost in other wars,

and cherish those memories, those stories

and those items that are left behind.

Very shortly we're going to be coming up to the 100th anniversary of the First World War

and in my eyes, that's going to push up the value

of First World War related items.

Look at your history books and think, "Hang on.

"What is there going to be an anniversary of in ten years' time?"

Certainly in my experience, the most valuable military items are medals.

I think Falkland medals can now fetch several thousand pounds, certainly.

In 1990, a Victoria Cross was making in the region of 100,000

and I believe that one has just sold for half a million pounds.

'40s MUSIC PLAYS

Not only is the VC the highest military honour,

but with fewer than 1,500 ever awarded, it's rare

and therefore valuable.

As with much militaria, the value of the medal is in the story it tells.

At Duxford air base, James Lewis heard a tale

that was straight out of a Boy's Own adventure.

Patrick, whenever I see anything like this,

it reminds me of tales of childhood,

a little boy reading Biggles, Douglas Bader,

learning about the Dam Busters and the bouncing bomb.

And of course, all those sort of guys were awarded this, the...

-Distinguished Flying Medal.

-Distinguished Flying Medal.

What an amazing thing.

-And what a fantastic place to discover it.

-Yeah.

-Here.

Tell me about the medal and tell me about who it was awarded to.

It was my stepfather, Roland Allen. He was a wonderful guy.

He was an air gunner in the Royal Air Force,

but previous to the war, he'd been in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve,

which meant he learned how to fly a plane, although he wasn't a pilot.

They attacked the Philips factory in Eindhoven in Holland,

where they made radar and radios for German aircraft

and the German war industry.

The plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire

and the pilot was injured.

He wanted the guys to bail out.

Roland said, "No, I can fly," so they pulled the pilot out the seat

and he then flew the plane back, bringing back a valuable plane

and a valuable crew, as well.

-Gosh.

-And there's the pilot, who he saved.

The story itself of being in a plane

when nobody else knew you could fly it

and when the time came,

the captain of the plane has been injured,

everybody thinks, "That's curtains, chaps. We're going down."

And the voice pipes up, "Oh, by the way, I can fly."

Sits in the pilot's seat and rescues the plane and the entire crew.

It's something out of Disney. Wonderful story.

All those men died of old age

but the reason they died of old age is because Pop brought the plane back.

-That's a true hero.

-He was indeed.

-And there's the letter from the King.

-Yeah.

-King George.

So what we have here, we have the three very straightforward Second World War medals.

We've got the France and Germany Star, the 1939-45 Star,

Victory Medal and, of course, the Distinguished Flying Medal.

I mean, one of the questions I'm sure so many people are thinking -

why do you want to sell them?

You obviously... You're very proud of him, as family history.

He would have wanted them to go to my daughter, who's 29 now.

She's got two grandchildren but they never knew him.

She obviously knew him as her grandad

but I think it's quite possible they could just disappear into a drawer somewhere

and be discarded.

So maybe if we can pass them on with all the memorabilia

to somebody who would do something good with them, we'll flog them.

Would I sell the medal, if it was my family?

I'd sell my house first,

but the most important thing with this type of object

isn't that the family keeps them,

it's that somebody keeps them who will allow the story to live on.

I was thinking in terms of an estimate of £1,000-£1,500.

I would recommend a reserve of £1,000.

If it doesn't make that, have it home.

But, you know, I've got no doubts whatsoever - it's going to sell.

Lot number 11 is the WWII DFM group of five.

There we are. And I've got interest here starting me where?

£800. 850, 900, 1,000.

-They've gone.

-They've gone.

-1,450?

-Wow.

-1,400 here. 50 where?

At 1,400. And 50? 1,500. My bidder.

At 1,500. I'll come to you all. 1,600. Bid me now.

Left handed at 1,900.

Round it up at 1,900. Two bid.

-At 2,000 bid now.

-Wow.

-At 2,000.

2,200? At 2,200 bid. At 2,200 bid. At two-two.

Two-four. At 2,400.

Two-four, two-six.

At 2,600 bid.

At two-six. Two-eight. At two-eight now. Round it up.

At 2,800 bid. Three?

At two-eight. Coming to you all now.

-At £2,800 on the telephone.

-£2,800, Patrick.

-Wow.

-I'm tingling. You've got to be shaking.

-I am, I am, yeah.

I just can't believe it. Absolutely unbelievable.

Such big interest in militaria at the moment

because what you're investing in is pieces of history,

not just medals but real history.

-James, that flew.

-That was a great result.

-A good price for that.

-Very good.

You can't put a price on a story like that.

Most military items we see on the programme

date from the First and Second World Wars.

But objects from other conflicts do turn up,

like this unusual item from the Boer War, which caught Mark Stacey's eye.

You've brought in one of the nicest things I've seen.

Well, I rather like it.

This is a souvenir of the Boer War, 1899-1900.

We've got an exact copy of a gun here, which is...?

-Lee Metford.

-Lee Metford.

Right down to the bayonet going in the spoon, here.

-And all these little details of how the gun worked.

-Amazing, isn't it?

This is a sharp shooter. You'd have gone like that to fire it quickly.

The first thing that attracted me to the spoon was the shape.

It was quirky, it was a bit weird, a bit wonderful.

But of course, when you read the inscription on that

and the quality and the fact that it was solid silver,

all those in my mind were adding up to something

which is going to appeal to the collectors.

We've got a full set of hallmarks and the maker's mark

and a little registration number, as well.

I just think it's a lovely, quirky bit of commemorative silver.

Well, anybody who collects spoons or militaria, I thought, would be interested.

-You don't need me at all, you know.

-You've just stolen my lines.

Of course, there are people who collect things to do specifically with the Boer War.

-Do they? Yes?

-As well.

The spoon, of course, was very rare.

I've never seen another one like it

and I think because it connected with a particular war, the Boer War,

which lasted a relatively short time,

I think that would have really brought that type of collector to the fore.

Now, tell me the history of it in your family.

Well, I only know that my mother had it.

-She would have been about 14 at the end of Boer War.

-Yes.

And that's all I know. It came to me.

-You would have bought this as an act of patriotism.

-I expect so.

So your mother or a member of your family would have gone out

and would have been proud to have that on display at home,

showing you were fully behind Britain and her empire.

So for a little object, it's got an awful lot of history, hasn't it?

Yes, yes.

I think I'm going to be cautious with it

-and say maybe £60-£80.

-Oh! That's a lot for a spoon, isn't it?

It is a lot but it wouldn't surprise me on the day

if it went over £100.

-Really?

-Absolutely.

It's just such a lovely, honest, collectable item.

At £60 on my left. I'll take five. Different place. 70.

80, 90, 95.

-This is very good.

-110.

120, anywhere? All done, then, at 110? Thank you very much.

I thought £110 was extremely reasonable,

both for the vendor and for the buyer.

Hilda was a lovely character

and I'm really glad the spoon made so much for her.

All war memorabilia has a story attached

and sometimes the best stories can be linked to the most unassuming objects,

as expert Christina Trevanion discovered.

-What's in here?

-It doesn't look very much, does it?

It's very unassuming, isn't it?

Let's take it out. So it's a Curta calculator.

So here it is.

Where has it come from?

Well, Audrey and I were having a sort through the garage

because Audrey's been very kind to me since my husband died

and we were having a look through some of his things

and she said to me, "What's this?"

So I said, "I haven't a clue."

Well, it's an incredibly early version of a calculator,

-a modern-day calculator.

-Yes.

-Yes.

And I believe, in theory, we're supposed to be able to adjust these little slides on here

to the relevant numbers, turn something...

And something tells us the answer.

The answer is supposed to come up on the top here.

I never found out how it worked. I really should have done.

I did try but, no, I'm ashamed to say,

I never found out how it worked.

They say that calculators are a life-saver.

This little machine was actually a life-saver for its maker,

whose name was Curt Herzstark.

He was an Austrian Jew in the 1930s and '40s,

which was not a very good time, sadly, for the Austrian Jews.

And he was put in a concentration camp for the duration of the war.

And the Nazis spotted his rather fantastic ability

with mechanical implements

and this machine saved his life

-because the Nazis wanted him to make one as a gift for Hitler.

-Oh, really?

He built one very, very slowly. LAUGHTER

Well, he's a genius, he's an absolute genius.

"Oh, no, it won't work this week.

"Just give me a few more weeks and I'll get it sorted out."

Genius. Love it.

And he survived the war because of this machine.

Post-war, it obviously went into production.

They were produced in Liechtenstein and they put them into production

and they were very, very popular.

It's a brilliant boy's toy, isn't it?

And of huge interest to anyone in early maths and early calculators.

I think that at auction, we'll be looking at somewhere in the region, hopefully,

of about £300-£500.

That sounds good. Let's hope we get two real enthusiasts...

-Who can put us out of our misery.

-And show us how to work it!

And show us how to use it!

The interesting Curta Type 1 Mechanical Calculator.

There we are. You need a degree in how to work it.

I'm sure the buyers will know what to do with it.

Where do you start me? Interest here with me at 250, 280, 300, 320.

-Oh, here we go.

-380, I'm bid and 400 with me.

420, 450, 480, 500.

-500 here now in the aisle.

-In the room. Fantastic.

You're out at the front, yes? At 500 bid.

With you, sir, at £500. Are you joining in?

-At £500. All done at £500.

-Bang on!

-Excellent.

-If you've got something like that on your garage shelves,

now you know what it's worth.

-That was a very good tin of paint, wasn't it?

-It was a great tin of paint.

I think Lesley was quite surprised

because she and her friend had just been sorting out the garage

and she thought that it was a pot of paint,

so to then get this really quite valuable gadget

was quite a shock for her, I believe.

So why not have a good look in your garage

and see what treasures you can uncover lurking at the back of your shelves?

And, of course, if you find anything of interest,

you know where to come.

Claire Rawle spotted something that saved a soldier's life

in a more direct way than the calculator

and that proves some bad habits can turn out to have an upside.

Lovely collection here.

Now, this relates mainly to your grandfather

in the First World War.

This has obviously stayed in the family.

-This is him. Is this your grandfather?

-It is.

-Right, OK.

This story was fantastic.

I mean, if you saw it on a film

you'd think, "That's a great bit of fiction," but it did happen!

There it was and it was there in front of me.

This is his little Bible, New Testament.

He's been shot. The bullet's gone right through.

There's the little...

-The Jesus in the middle there, yes.

-Yeah.

It went through.

And then, obviously, his cigarette case, that's gone with the bullet

and stopped, obviously, and saved his life

and, obviously, that's why I'm here.

Well, yes, yes, because if that hadn't stopped, I wouldn't be speaking to you now.

-That's correct, yes.

-Smoking isn't always bad for you, is it?

LAUGHTER

The bullet had gone through the Bible

and was stopped by the cigarette box in the pocket,

which was carried in the breast pocket,

which if it had gone on through - dead soldier.

To a collector, that's brilliant. It's such a piece of history.

And it adds a lot of value.

And, of course, you've got the discharge papers

and, obviously, his papers, when he came back from France,

having been wounded but, amazingly, not killed.

-And you hear about these things on films, don't you?

-Yes.

And here's the proof.

It's quite difficult to value because there isn't a huge value on it

but if somebody's caught up by the story,

of his surviving the war and all the papers,

I could see it selling quite well.

So I think, sensibly, put it in at about sort of £150, maybe £200.

-OK.

-It's a lovely lot and I think it'll do really well.

-Oh, lovely. Thank you.

-I look forward to the sale. Great.

The most amazing story I've heard for years.

Absolutely love this story. Now, what have you been doing?

You've been in the wars as well, haven't you?

I have. I just hit my head on a cupboard door,

-broke the blood vessel, and that is the result of that.

-Ohhh!

-Ooh, I bet that hurt!

-It did a bit, yeah.

OK, let's put it to the test. Here it goes.

And where do you start me on these? The hands telling me.

£170 takes the other bidders out. At £170.

Do I see 180 anywhere else in the room?

At £170. Maiden bid on a commission. Do I see 180 anywhere else?

At £170. It'll be first and last.

-All the other bidders out at 170.

-GAVEL BANGS

It doesn't seem very high, does it?

But at least it's going to a collector

and it's living on, in a way.

So whatever the price, you're reliving that person's history

through their items.

There are all sorts of reasons why people choose to sell items

documenting their social history.

But, please, if you are sitting on something related to a relative's war stories,

think twice about selling it.

Why not give it to a local museum or to the regiment it's associated with?

Because, at least, if you do want to see it again,

you know where it is.

If you sell it in an auction room, it's gone for ever.

If you're interested in military antiques,

remember that a good story attached could increase an item's value.

If you have something to sell, wait for a significant anniversary.

The renewed interest may well push up the price.

Whether you're buying or selling, there's always a good market for medals

and through them, you'll help keep tales of heroism alive.

I'm a firm believer that if you own antiques,

they should be display on display so you can enjoy them.

That's why I'm not keen on guns and swords and spears around the house,

because I've got young children.

But I do have one item of militaria, and it's this.

It's the most exquisite little powder flask,

which I picked up in auction a few years ago for £300.

And actually, I just gravitated towards the craftsmanship,

so it's not just a sort of practical object,

but it's a worked piece of art.

We see quite a few powder horns on the show,

and they're generally made out of a horn, basically,

which has been plugged - hence the name "powder horn".

Well, this one's made out of a coconut shell. It's French,

and I'd say it's circa 1800 to 1815,

and it was used during the Napoleonic Wars.

But as you can see, it's carved with a beautiful little face on it,

and its nose is actually the stopper for holding the powder.

But if you look closely, there are flags and armorials.

There's all sorts of things going on.

It's beautifully carved. Now, the great thing about modern technology

is, you can actually subscribe to certain companies

that will set up search engines for you.

If you describe what you're looking for.

they will give you an auction alert.

Two or three days before the sale,

they will tell you what it's going for and where it's going at,

so you have a chance to bid on it. They do all the legwork for you,

so you stand a chance of putting a decent collection together,

as long as you let them know what you're looking for.

And I think something like that is a great starting point

for a piece of militaria.

There's one object that epitomises war more than any other.

The firearm.

Some of the most memorable to have crossed the Flog It! tables

are 19th century guns.

From standard military issue holster pistols...

It's a working serviceman's pistol.

..to Smith & Wesson revolvers...

That's a really good collectable firearm.

..to pocket pistols used by men and women for personal protection.

Now, this would have been carried by a lady

while travelling on a stagecoach.

Good makers' names always draw in the bidders.

Ulrich. A Franz Ulrich.

-He was the best gunmaker in Switzerland of the 19th century.

-OK.

But the one that sticks in my mind is an immaculate French revolver

found by the much-missed David Barby.

It's a percussion gun with a revolving barrel,

and the blued state of the barrel is such,

I don't think it's ever, ever been used.

At £4,100, then,

you've finished at 4,100.

GAVEL BANGS

Bash! That hammer has gone down.

What a fantastic result.

The highest price a gun has ever made on Flog It!

Although the earliest recorded firearms date back to 14th century China,

it wasn't until the 19th century

that different designs took off worldwide

in vast numbers.

This era saw the arrival of the Colt,

the iconic handgun of the Wild West.

It produced the Gatling gun, the first real machine gun,

used by the British in South Africa and Sudan.

Later that century, the Maxim gun appeared,

the first fully automatic machine gun,

used in the Great War, right up until the 1960s.

Given the vast scale of this collecting area,

I suggest you specialise in one particular field.

That's just what gun collector Geoff Walker has done.

I met up with Geoff in 2008.

He specialised in guns designed for a very specific purpose -

the infamous 19th century duel.

What got you interested in collecting duelling pistols?

Well, I've always been fascinated by guns

and duelling pistols in particular show the sort of cutting edge

-of the gunmaker's craft.

-Yes.

-These are, you know, the work of gunmakers at their zenith.

-Yes.

And there are some famous names represented here.

Are we looking at English guns in particular?

These are all English guns. I only collect English guns.

-Because they are the best?

-They are the best.

Certainly, by the time the duelling pistol was in this sort of form,

English makers were the best in the world.

What should I look for when I go to buy a duelling pistol?

-Look for the name of the maker.

-Right. A good English maker.

You cannot get better than that name there.

-Manton.

-There were two Manton brothers, John and Joseph.

There's a debate about who was better.

I prefer John, but a lot of people prefer Joseph.

-At least they didn't settle it in a duel.

-That's right!

-They were amongst the best.

-There was lots of honour at stake.

-Yes, there was.

I mean, really entry level for a half-decent cased pair of duelling pistols -

could you get a pair for, let's say, £6,000-£7,000?

-Yes, certainly. That's about where you'd start.

-That's entry level.

But if you want the top names and the top quality,

you've got to go further than that.

So, I mean, anything from £5,000

up to £100,000 for something very rare and very special.

Duels were fought over everything and anything,

from revenge for a violent crime to defending a lady's honour

and in the 18th century it was the honour that was more valuable than life itself.

The motivation was not to kill the other person

but to gain satisfaction by proving you were willing to risk your life.

Talk me through what happens. Because in the movies, in the period dramas,

I absolutely love these guns.

They're so tactile and extremely beautiful to look at.

Even though they're quite lethal weapons, they are real, true antiques, aren't they?

They're lovely things just to own and to enjoy the workmanship.

Geoff, thank you so much for showing these.

-I think you're a very lucky man.

-Thank you.

-I've learnt a lot.

-They're wonderful things.

If you're thinking of collecting guns,

remember - buy from a reputable dealer

and make sure you have the paperwork to go with it.

Antique guns don't need a licence

but if you can still buy ammunition for it, it's not an antique.

And Philip has one last tip.

If you're looking at old shells, guns and whatever,

do make sure they're deactivated before you blow your neighbours up.

All of our experts love to see militaria on the show,

so James Lewis was rather excited when he met Phil

at a Winchester valuation day in 2011.

I actually was looking on the internet

to see when the next Antiques Roadshow was going to be in the area

and the results on the search engine came up with Flog It! being in Winchester.

That's why I went.

Now, Phil, I hope you didn't carry these to the Guildhall.

-You did carry these to the Guildhall.

-I did.

In the boot of your car or just open on the streets?

Initially in the boot of my car

-and then, fortunately, wrapped up.

-Wrapped up. Good.

You're allowed to move them if they're wrapped up

but not if they're not.

So, good move.

I'll be careful. Just feel that.

-It feels very rough.

-Yes.

And that's shagreen or shark's skin.

And the reason why they used that,

imagine you're going into battle

and you're faced with the enemy looking mean as hell.

-You'd get a bit sweaty, wouldn't you?

-Absolutely.

I mean, I'd turn tail and run.

The shagreen stops your hand slipping on the grip.

These are three parts of amazing military history.

How did you come to have them?

-They were owned by my father-in-law, who had quite a substantial sword collection.

-Did he?

So you've inherited them, they've probably been stuck under the bed for the last few years.

-Well, not under the bed. They've been in the garage since we moved house.

-Have they?

James put a valuation of between £900 and £1,400

on the two swords and the pistol.

I'd not been to an auction before,

so this was a first experience as well.

At £200. 210, 220, 230, 240.

250. 260? 250, then. At 250...

The three items that I brought along all went consecutively,

which was nice. All at the same time.

A Scottish infantry officer's sword.

Now, I've got a few bids here. I've got to start you at 320.

-340 can I say now?

-Good. Straight in.

At 320 with me. 340, is it?

Anybody else? At 340...

The French infantry officer's sword.

£300 on the net. 400. 500.

600, 750, then, on the net. At 750.

870?

No? At £850.

-850.

-At £850. Any more? At 850. Are we done?

The final value was just over £1,400,

just a little bit more than it had been valued by James on the initial day,

which was nice to see,

and very pleased, very happy with the way it went.

What a great result for something otherwise hidden in a garage.

But the reason I remember this sale has

as much to do with what was bought with the proceeds

as with the items themselves.

The plan was that we would put that into an account for my son.

However, we did decide to spend some of it on a drum kit...

..which he's playing on for a couple of months now and taking lessons.

Like Jack, I started playing drums as a child.

It's a hobby that turned into a lifelong passion.

Who knows? Maybe Jack could be the future Charlie Watts.

He seems to be enjoying it

and he seems to be able to make an awful lot of noise with it.

Well, a man after my own heart, there.

It's great to see young talent getting the chance to shine through

and all because Phil had the good sense to visit a Flog It! valuation day.

Well, that's it for today.

If you're thinking of going out and doing some buying and selling,

good luck, but until then, it's goodbye from Trade Secrets.