Commemorations - Part 2 Flog It: Trade Secrets

MUSIC: "Pomp and Circumstance" by Edward Elgar

Over the years on "Flog It!" we've helped you

sell many thousands of your antiques and collectables,

and during that time we've seen some wonderful things

and it's not easy to put a price on them all,

but there are some things we know will always find a market.

So we want to let you into our Trade Secrets.

In today's programme, we will be exploring commemorative pieces -

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

Avoid any commemorative pottery

made after Queen Victoria's coronation in 1837

because it is so plentiful.

But Anita finds the exception to that rule.

-Bad news first?

-Yes, please.

-Commemorative stuff is off.

-Oh, dear.

-Good news?

-Yes.

-This type of stuff is HOT.

-Lovely!

And Mark tries desperately

to bring Frances round to his way of thinking.

I love it. Now, does that make any difference to you?

-Do you like it any more?

-No.

-No? You still don't like it? You're determined to flog it?

-Yes.

-Wonderful, cos we wouldn't have a show otherwise.

-No!

Discovering what you've got in all of your bags and boxes

is like shining a light on the history of Britain.

And it seems to me we all like to own pieces that commemorate

royal occasions or important people -

possibly because we're so proud of our monarchy.

There are lots of reigns to choose from,

so when is your commemorative mug worth hanging on to,

or when is it just two a penny?

Everybody has collected Diana and Charles.

Now, how many people do you know

that have a CAMILLA and Charles commemorative plate?

The thing to do, like any other antique,

really, is just buy quality.

Buy the best that you can.

When you're looking for commemorative ware to invest in,

I would look for earlier pieces.

Go back into the 18th century,

and if possible, go back into the 17th century

cos those pieces have real rarity and a true value.

We've selected some of the most interesting pieces of royal memorabilia

that caught our eye in the "Flog It!" auction rooms.

First up, a Royal Doulton jug,

commemorating the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary.

Royal Doulton was one of the major factories

in the whole country of course, and the world,

and they made a whole range -

they made Series Ware,

which was a printed design onto a plain background,

and Kings Ware was another range of items that they made

amongst the many different ranges of items that they made.

And it's quite distinctive,

with that sort of treacly brown glaze to it.

A lot of people will recognise this, it's Kings Ware.

The brown ground, with the figure, often made for Dewar's Whisky.

-Correct.

-Hence the Dewar's on this one.

Can you tell me, whose is this?

-It's actually mine.

-Right.

It was my grandmother's father's whisky decanter...

Right.

-..and he actually kept whisky in that.

-Excellent -

-so it was used for its purpose?

-Oh, absolutely.

This one was made to commemorate the coronation,

George V and Queen Mary, on the 22nd of June, 1911.

So this was made in quite large quantities.

A lot of commemorative ware was produced to commemorate

royal weddings, coronations, any major royal event,

so this as Kings Ware goes isn't a particular high rarity.

-Right.

-Although some pieces can be worth an awful lot.

It largely depends on the figures, the shape...

Of course, condition is another factor.

'I think for a royal commemorative item to be worth a lot of money,'

generally speaking it has a pre-Victoria.

Once Victoria came on the throne,

commemoratives started being made in much larger quantities,

for jubilees, record reign, et cetera, et cetera.

And post-Victoria, we see loads and loads of royal commemoratives.

So pre-Queen Victoria,

and you've got half a chance of finding something quite valuable.

Usually these make £60 to £80. They're a model we're familiar with

because we see them quite often.

We'll put a 40 reserve, just in case.

Right, may I have an opening bid, please, of £50?

40, and 20.

And five. I have 30.

And five. At £35.

At 40, sir. £40.

At 40 at the back of the room.

Lady on my right, at £45, it's going...

Don't we all hope for more when we put something in auction?

But in this specific incident

with the Kings Ware jug,

I think our contributors were secretly hoping that I was wrong

and I think they thought it was probably worth £100, £150.

Unfortunately for them, I was right.

If it's not rare, it won't fetch a high price.

Earlier Victorian pieces are worth more,

but beauty's in the eye of the beholder.

What a lovely piece of Victoriana you've brought in.

-Now, you love it, don't you?

-Oh, yes. No!

-What do you mean, "no"?

-No, no.

-Why not?

-It's just...not my sort of thing.

-You think it's quite ugly, don't you?

-Yes.

Well, you see, I love it, because we've got here a wonderful,

what we call relief moulded ware.

Basically, it's been made into halves in a mould and then put together.

But it's to commemorate the death of Prince Albert.

Prince Albert died in 1861. This was produced shortly after.

Albert was an archetypal Victorian -

not only the Queen's consort,

but he engaged with the public with engineering, he was a scientist.

Crystal Palace Exhibition was down to him.

You couldn't have wanted more, really -

and a very collectable piece.

This was a very traumatic part of British history.

I mean, remember Victoria went into mourning for the rest of her life.

She was absolutely devastated by the loss of her husband.

The death of Albert, of course, had a profound effect on Queen Victoria -

in fact she spent the rest of her life in mourning -

and nearly destroyed the monarchy.

And I just love the imagery.

You've got a wonderful portrait of Albert there.

The whole jug is covered with royal pomp and ceremony.

You've got crowns, you've got symbols, the royal crest on the back.

You've got all the medallions. It's just fantastic.

Albert was missed by the scientific community and a lot of other

people because of his commitment to improving British society.

I love it. Does that make any difference to you?

-Do you like it anymore?

-No.

-You still don't like it!

-You're determined to flog it.

-Yes.

-Wonderful, cos we wouldn't have a show otherwise.

-No!

It wouldn't have mattered what I said to Frances.

I would never have got her to love that jug.

I think, in today's market,

we're probably looking at an estimate of £60-£80.

I hope it'll make a bit more than that. We'll put a reserve at 50.

-Would that be all right with you?

-Yes.

Albert died 40 years before Queen Victoria,

but despite a shorter life, he certainly left his mark.

I guess the greatest monument to Prince Albert would be the Albert Hall, wouldn't it?

-What a wonderful building and a lovely monument.

-A bit too big...

Too big to bring to "Flog It!"

If you've got anything like that, we want to see you!

Bring it to our valuation. Here's the auction. Good luck.

Who'll start me at £50? Thank you. 59 bid. Who's in at 60 now?

Thank you. 60. 70. 80. 90.

-100.

-It's doing well.

110. 120.

130. 140.

-140. 150. 160.

-Somebody on the phone.

Right at the front here at £150. I'm looking for 160.

If not I'll sell at £150 then.

At double the estimate, £150 is a great deal for something that

Frances couldn't wait to get rid of.

Sometimes rarity isn't about how many pieces were made,

but about how many pieces have lasted.

Occasionally our experts stumble on Victorian memorabilia

that by all accounts should never have survived.

Julie, thank you so much for bringing this wonderful set of,

well, paper plates.

They're very fragile, where did you get them from?

When my grandmother passed away, she sent a trunk down for my mum

and dad to go through.

They were going through all the bigger bits,

and these were at the bottom. My mother said, "We don't want those."

So I said, "Can I have them?" And I've had them ever since.

I was about six.

So if you hadn't - when you were six?

-If you hadn't put your hand up and said I'll take those, they'd have...?

-They'd have gone.

The dishes were wonderful. They're what we call ephemera.

Strictly speaking, that's something that's produced at a time

and not meant to last.

They were in the process of being thrown away

when she saved them, as a six-year-old child,

so there probably is what happened in 99 out of 100 cases.

Do you know anything about them? The dates? Where they were made?

I don't.

They must be quite old because that's Queen Victoria and Albert.

-Yes, you get a clue from the subjects, don't you?

-Yes.

I've never seen anything like them before - to be quite honest.

They're basically produced for the Jubilee in 1887.

It's basically scenes from Victoria's life,

so we've got the coronation there.

And on this one, she's marrying Albert.

Then it's the birth of Prince Albert.

Good to get those in the right order,

not the baby before the marriage.

Then we've got the various important scenes.

This is probably the best-known image,

it was published in various forms.

It was a print and was issued on ceramics as well.

They've been produced as a story of her life so far.

When you get into the 1887, 1897 commemorations,

basically anything you can think of that you could stamp, engrave,

emboss or transfer print, the Queen's head on would've been made.

We're talking about tens of thousands of objects

in huge quantities. It was a marketing bonanza.

-What's amazing is they are so incredibly fragile.

-Yes.

From a distance, they look like porcelain, but they're card.

We can see why they're made in card, they're made by...

It's incredibly small.

Raphael Tuck & Sons.

-They're extremely well-known for postcards.

-Oh, right.

One can only imagine that as they were making postcards,

they had a bright idea, "Why don't we make these little

"commemoratives dishes and sell them in sets?"

The dishes themselves, because they're paper,

because they're ephemeral,

there probably aren't more than two or three sets in collections.

So, because of their rarity,

that's what created the interest and made them sell very well.

I think the set of six, because they're by Tuck,

because they're in super condition, let's put £60-£100 on.

Let's put a reserve of £60 and let's see what they do.

-They're better to be seen, rather than in the dark.

-Yes, exactly.

-Let someone else appreciate it.

-Absolutely.

I'd like to see £150 for these, please. 150 I'm bid on commission.

-Thank you, 150 I'm bid.

-Wow!

185 standing. 210. 230.

-Fantastic.

-£260 with you, madam.

260, we all done? Selling here.

-What a result!

-Isn't it?!

-Gosh!

-Most surprising.

-Good grief.

-I'm shocked that actually.

-Good grief, yes.

If you take the high estimate, you double it

-and you add the lowest amount, I was spot-on.

-You were!

The fact that Julie's paper plates weren't designed to last gave them

a rarity value that fetched a good price.

Apart from the Royal occasions,

objects are made to commemorate all manner of events.

From ship launches to moon landings,

to important moments in our military history.

Next up are some silver coffee spoons made to commemorate

the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

Each one of the bowls of the spoons bears

the name of an action during the Battle of the Somme.

They are French and, being French,

-the standard isn't quite as high as it would be on English silver.

-No.

These tiny marks on the top right-hand side of each bowl

tell us that.

The finials are each dated 1914-1915.

And are enamelled with the flags of the Allies.

I chose these spoons mainly because of the story.

I think it's really important to establish a link

whenever you can with an event which occurred all those years ago

and somebody who's alive and around today, who's able to explain

that particularly because it's part of their personal history.

-Can you trace them back to the Battle of the Somme?

-Yes.

Because my aunt, great-aunt, was a Queen Alexandra nurse

and she actually was nursing at the front.

She gave them to me as a wedding present in 1951.

How did she acquire them?

Well, I can only presume on off-duty moments from field hospital,

she went to local places and picked them all up.

And they are still going strong today.

Now known as Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps,

or more commonly the QAs,

they continued to work at the sharp end of military

life across the world.

As a wedding present, you must be a bit sad to see them go.

Yes, yes, I am. I like them, but I've got to downsize.

My family aren't interested,

so I thought, well, going to someone who might appreciate them.

As far as the value is concerned,

I think optimistically we could expect £10 a spoon.

Conservatively, I would be thinking in terms of an estimate of £30-£50.

All other things being equal,

-would suggest a reserve of £30.

-Yes.

World War I period commemorative spoons.

These are interesting things. At 35, 40, 50, 60.

70, at £70 on the side. I'll take five.

Yes, £70. That was short and sweet.

Blink and you'll miss that one.

-That was very good. £70, are you happy?

-Yes, I am.

Because I thought originally

they weren't valued that much.

-I thought they would, so I'm thrilled.

-What you said, yes.

Yes, I was a little bit disappointed.

I felt they might have made more than that.

I suppose it comes down to the fact that spoons like this are not

that uncommon in the great scheme of things.

To be pretty brutal, they didn't weigh a great deal and it's

always the melt value that puts the bottom in the silver market.

Anniversaries create renewed interest in commemorative items,

so Lorna's spoons would've fetched a much higher price in 2014,

being the centenary of the First World War.

Perhaps she should have held on a little bit longer.

If you plan to sell a piece that commemorates a national event,

it's worth looking ahead to a significant anniversary.

It's quite possible that with all the interest focused around that

moment in history, items associated with will spike in value.

If you're collecting commemorative pottery,

look for the pieces earlier than Queen Victoria's coronation.

Anything afterwards is likely to be mass-produced.

Don't be put off by pieces commemorating a death.

Though not as joyful as birth, there's still a market for them.

If it's silver you're after,

make sure you feel the weight of it first.

Quality silver will be heavily cast.

There's one commemorative object that crops up more than any other.

Lurking in the back of many a cupboard are china mugs

marking Royal events

and it is the one thing that is sure to get our experts

hot under the collar.

Every time I do a valuation day, one thing I know

I am always going to find is a piece of commemoratives china.

I vowed never, ever, ever to do this commemorative ware on "Flog It!"

-Oh, right!

-Ever, ever, ever!

-Why?

They are sort of just mass produced little trinkets, really.

And it is believed the first such trinket was

made for Elizabeth I as early as 1600,

but it was not until the middle of the 19th-century that the

production of commemorative china really took off.

The Industrial Revolution saw a huge influx of machinery.

Pottery pieces previously made by hand could now be

made in their thousands.

Avoid any commemorative pottery made after Queen Victoria's

coronation in 1837 because it is so plentiful.

But don't rush straight

to the nearest charity shop with your mugs.

Later china can still be worth something

if it is by a well-known maker.

Look for good names, particularly from the Victorian period and later.

Look for Copeland, Vinton, Wedgwood, Coalport, that sort of thing,

because you can guarantee the quality will be higher.

Betty, I have got bad news for you, and I have got good news for you.

-Bad news first?

-Yes, please.

-Commemoratives stuff is off.

-Oh, dear.

-Good news?

-Yes.

-This type of stuff is hot.

-Lovely.

It is made by Wedgwood, which is one of the best of the factories.

It is commemorating the Queen's coronation in 1953.

-If I say, 100 to 150?

-Really?

-Would you be happy with that?

Yes, yes, certainly!

Even Morecroft has a few commemorative pieces.

Morecroft did not do an awful lot of commemorative stuff

and this is commemorating the 1914-1918 war, isn't it?

I have seen so many different ones.

But this one, I have never seen one of these before.

This is a rare piece of Morecroft, I am convinced of that.

So I reckon, 200 to 300.

As with all antiques, rarity is everything,

but it is not always obvious which items will become rare.

Probably be most common fallacy is, "Oh, look what I have got!

"I have got a mug from Edward VIII, the king that abdicated!"

You think, "Oh, God, not again!"

Because the lead up to the coronation of Edward VIII, it was a really

long lead up period, and lots and lots and lots of them were produced.

And as soon as everybody realised he was going to abdicate,

all of the others were bought up.

Whereas poor old George VI had a very short lead up, he was crowned, he was

a king like any other, and therefore, nobody thought anything of them.

But in fact, George VI is rarer than Edward VIII.

There will always be china marking Royal events,

which is why there is so much of it about.

So here is a good tip -

look out for objects commemorating non-Royals.

They are likely to be rarer, and therefore, worth more.

One such item that Anita fell in love with was a jug

celebrating the legendary Scottish entertainer Harry Lauder.

Now, he was the biggest thing in Scotland since sliced bread.

He was a music hall turn and he was beloved of everyone.

Harry secured his status as national treasure after playing

the lead role in a Glasgow pantomime in 1905.

It was for this show that Harry wrote a song, I Love A Lassie,

the song he is best remembered for.

MUSIC: "I Love A Lassie" By HARRY LAUDER

# She is as sweet as the heather

# The bonnie purple heather.

# Mary, my Scotch bluebell. #

It was Harry's fellow workers in the coal mines who first spotted his

talent for singing and encouraged him to perform in local music halls.

By 1911, he was touring America earning 1,000 a night,

and a year later,

he was headlining Britain's first ever Royal Variety Show.

An extraordinary life like Harry Lauder's from miner to

millionaire is certainly one worth commemorating.

So you can find pieces out there with lovely stories attached

if you are willing to do a bit of research.

But if Royal memorabilia is your thing, remember, there is

more than china mugs to collect.

Nations like our own with a wonderful history of monarchy

are awash with items that marked

the comings and goings of kings and queens,

princes and princesses.

These two little object might look very insignificant

but they are important.

And the reason they are important is that they relate to royalty.

Royal items like this that were used by the household, may have

been handled by royalty themselves, become dramatically valuable.

This is a Georgian table fork that is worth £50.

But because of this engraving on it, it's a Georgian

table fork that is worth £500, £600, £700.

The one thing they all have in common is

they will be surmounted by Coronet.

We have got a crown which is for a prince.

You can also get other objects which weren't made for the Royal family

but have an association with them.

This spoon is the most boring thing you can think of.

It is a tablespoon from the canteen, it is worth £30 or £40.

What happens, however, was that at Wickhill House in Berkshire,

the man who owned that house had a royal visitor.

And when royalty comes to visit, it is often the way that if they have

used a piece of silver you will take that and send it immediately

off to your silversmith, the date and the occasion recorded on the back.

But what you will have is the royal crest appended there.

The owner of Wickhill House at the time was a noted hunter

and we know that in a subsequent year the man who was to go on to be

King Edward VIII went on a hunting trip to Africa for six months,

so it makes sense that this spoon was used by Edward VIII

to have his dessert, on the 22nd April, 1924.

So unlike the fork, which we know is royal

and made for the royal household,

this, we know, has been in Edward VIII's mouth.

It is a moment of history encapsulated in an object

and you can tell all of this simply by the engraving.

People come to our valuation days with all kinds of items

and for all kinds of reasons, but some stand out from the others,

like Alan and Joan, who met up with Mark Stacey,

in Stirling, back in 2006.

It was actually quite nice

because we were standing well back at the end of the queue,

all going along, and he actually looked at the watch and said,

"This is very nice, a half hunter, and basically, right away, he said,

"You go to the front of the queue."

We thought, "Oh, wonderful, a good start!"

Very nice to see you here in Stirling.

Now, I love looking at little boxes like this

because you never know what you're going to find inside them.

So, shall we open it up straightaway?

The watch itself is quite a typical half hunter.

That means that we can tell the time without opening the watch.

What I always like to see on these is the retailer's mark

on the front of the clock, it is the same as on the box.

So we know that the whole thing has been together.

The watch came from my father's aunt.

My Aunt Ina was a very eccentric spinster, never married,

no children, but she was a real character.

She used to wear a fur coat, I remember, in the summer.

She had a fur coat, and sandals, with socks, ankle socks,

and one of these croupier's hats!

She was just lovely!

The watch would have gone to my son. He died three years ago.

He was a waistcoat and bow tie man, so that would have gone to him.

Craig was such a snappy dresser.

And always had been, from when he was a young boy.

As an older child, I never remember him wearing a T-shirt.

It was always shirts, or shirts and ties, suits, waistcoats,

he had a load of waistcoats.

He would have worn that watch with absolute pride.

Without any doubt.

It sometimes too painful to have things lying about that

just remind you all the time, such a sadness, so we thought,

"Just get rid of it."

And we will do something for him and my mother, with the money.

-Have you ever thought of the value yourself?

-Not really, no.

Not particularly, no.

It just lies in a drawer collecting stoor,

along with many other things.

-Collecting what?

-Stoor.

-Stoor?

-What is stoor?

-Dust.

-Dust? Oh! I must remember that!

I will confuse my friends when I go home!

If we were putting that in for auction,

I would probably suggest around £200 to £300

-and we put the reserve at 200.

-Excellent.

Next up, the nine carat gold half hunter pocket watch,

and it belongs to Joan and Alan here.

Thanks for coming in. It is a great watch.

Why are you flogging this again?

It is for the memorial?

Yes, we wanted to do something for my son.

-My son died in a car crash...

-Yes, you said earlier.

-..and that would have been his watch.

-Aaw.

He was a real smart dresser.

Let's hope we get that top end of the estimate.

We, on to Lot 350a,

the nine carat gold half hunter pocket watch with white enamel dial.

A few commissions on this lot. We are starting the bidding at £180.

-Oh, they have started at 180.

-That is good.

200, 210, 220 on commission, 230 beside me, 240, 250...

It started to build up and build up, "Come on, keep going, keep going!"

-260. 270. 280.

-Wow!

290. 290 is here. Any advance on £290 for it?

Then it just seemed to stop.

-It just stopped.

-It was like, "Sold!" Oh!

-All done at 290. All done at £290.

-The hammer has gone down.

-I want to clap!

-Good result, wasn't it? £290.

-It was excellent.

Thank you so much for coming in.

What we decided to do was buy the chairs that we have in the back

garden, because Craig was such a home and garden person,

and he was part of building this wee garden as well,

so it felt right to just do what we did with them.

We have been asked, "Will you be putting a plaque up?"

And I think, no, it is just too much for me. I would not want that.

There is enough with the memories that are in your own head

every day without being reminded of it by a plaque.

I just wouldn't like that at all.

You know, these are Craig's seats,

so it feels like he is still part of things.

Well, I am delighted that "Flog It!" was able to help Alan

and Joan to commemorate their son in such a beautiful way.

That is the beauty of the show.

I hope you have enjoyed today's trade secrets.

Join me again soon, next time.