Weird & Wonderful Flog It: Trade Secrets


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This is the show that aims to give you the inside track

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on buying and selling antiques and collectables.

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We've got over ten years of Flog It! behind us.

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That's hundreds of programmes

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and thousands of your antiques valued and sold.

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Stand by for some top tips. This is Trade Secrets.

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The majority of the items you bring along to our valuation days

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are comfortably familiar to all of our experts

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and their valuations are pretty accurate.

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But every now and then,

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you bring along something that takes us all by surprise.

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So today's programme is going to be dedicated

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to the weird and the wonderful

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that not only puts our experts to the test,

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but makes the programme so much fun.

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Coming up on today's show - Philip tears a strip off one owner

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for mistreating a very strange-looking creation.

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Some hooligan, over the years, boy, have they done some damage to it.

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-I think that might be my fault.

-What, you're the hooligan?

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Mark shares his tips with us.

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You might find something which is valuable, you might not.

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But it will still be a lovely object to look at.

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And I get the best surprise ever at a valuation day.

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That's one of the rarest things we've ever seen on the show.

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24,000.

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-26,000.

-26,000! I'm tingling.

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-Are you tingling?

-Aye.

-£26,000.

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Now, it's often the case with all these with weird

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and wonderful things that turn up at our valuation days

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that generally, they are just normal household objects,

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except they are the eccentric versions,

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dressed up, in a way, to keep us guessing.

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To create a conversation.

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Even the stuffy confines of the gentleman's study weren't

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exempt to this kind of practice.

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Take, for example, the humble desktop object.

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Some of them can be rather intriguing.

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BELL CHIMES

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It's good, that, isn't it? I've been dying to do that for hours.

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-Kevin and Karen. Whose is this?

-Mine.

-It's yours?

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I'm a great believer that it's back to the boys' toys things

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again and blokes definitely do buy things for their desk

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but I've got to say

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that I think that rams' horn thingummyjiggy-whatsit doo-dah,

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it does say something for your own ego

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if you have got to buy one of those to stuff on your desk, doesn't it?

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These are rams' horns. And you see them from about 1850 to about 1900.

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We start off with this quite sweet little circular clock up the top

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and then we've got our bell and I wonder

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whether that's to ring someone and tell them to, you know,

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come and collect my post, because this is actually a desk tidy.

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So it would have sat on your writing desk. Where'd it come from?

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It was my grandfather's.

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Well, some hooligan, over the years,

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boy, have they done some damage to it.

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-Do you know how they have done that?

-I think that might be my fault.

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What, you're the hooligan?

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Well, as a child, it was my job to clean it with Brasso.

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Why didn't you go the whole hog and use a scratch brush as well?

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I was ten years old at the time. I knew no better.

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-So, can you remember cleaning this initially?

-Yes.

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-And all this was silver?

-No.

-Can I just show you something?

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Can you just see there? That's silver. Or it's the plate.

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-And you want to sell it.

-I do.

-So it's his but you want to sell it?

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-I do.

-How does that work, then?

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-I'm just getting my own way again.

-Again?

-Again.

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-Is this the story of your life?

-Sometimes.

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Kevin and Karen were a little bit at odds over the desk tidy

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but there is no doubt in my mind that Karen was going to have

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her way and it was going, and she was going to get the money.

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I think if all of this was beautifully silver-plated,

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it would look a whole different proposition.

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And then it could be worth £1,000 or more.

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I think, as it is, this is worth £300-£500. That's my view.

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If it makes, I don't know, £450, what would you do with that?

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-Well...

-Holiday.

-Let's think about this for a moment.

-Holiday.

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I can sense a family debate coming on. So a holiday here or here...

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-What is the "or"?

-I've got a 1969 Mustang that I'm renovating.

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-Have you? Are you a car man?

-Yes. Big petrolhead.

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Let's get it sold for you.

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Philip's face lit up at the mention of cars,

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but will one of these bidders be driving home with Kevin's ornate desk tidy?

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Start me that at, what, 500?

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400? 300. Two.

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£200 I'm bid. At 200. Two I am bid.

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At 200. 220. 250 the lady.

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250. 280. 280. At 300.

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£300 I am bid. At 300.

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-Well, we've sold it.

-320. 320. 350.

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380. At 380. Four, is it? £400.

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£400 I am bid. At 400. And 20.

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-420.

-This is good.

-450. 480. 500.

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500 quid. 520.

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520. 550. 580.

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600 on the telephone.

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620. 650. 650. 680. 700.

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-What a fantastic price.

-Brilliant.

-720 bid. 750. 780.

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-800.

-Gosh.

-800. 850.

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900 I will take. 950.

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At 950, in the room.

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-You all done? It's going to be sold.

-£950!

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£950!

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-I have to say, I'd rather have 950 quid.

-So would I!

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So would I, that's why I'm selling it!

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These guys would as well!

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Wow, it might not have been the most beautiful object but two bidders

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were so keen on it, they were prepared to fight to the finish.

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I think that rams' horn desk tidy was probably bought

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for the export market. In all probability, America.

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And, you know, I think

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the Americans see their antique life as through what's

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reflected in this country and I think they see that as being

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the height of Victoriana and that's what they buy.

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Just because the rams' horns aren't to our taste today,

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it doesn't mean they won't find a market

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so don't dismiss strange-looking objects out of hand.

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-Hi, Dave.

-Hiya.

-I love this.

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I homed on this instantly I saw you in the queue with it.

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It's a great little thing. It's a real Victorian novelty.

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-How on earth did you come by it?

-I was given it by a family friend.

-OK.

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-Recently, or a while ago?

-Recently.

-Quite recently.

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Just to let everyone else know what it is we're looking at here,

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if you just flip the hinge up, it's an inkwell.

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It's a real gentleman's collector's item, I guess.

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Unusual one-off objects like this are notoriously difficult to value

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because as auctioneers,

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we often use comparable results to value objects.

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I've seen one of these before, I've seen the type of thing.

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And you use your knowledge and experience to sort of second-guess.

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We'll take this to auction and there will be a lot of interest in it.

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People that collect sea-related items,

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people that collect brassware, people that collect inkwells,

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predominantly, will be the main bidding force.

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And I can see it making maybe a couple of hundred pounds.

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But when you've got things like this you've got no comparables

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to fall back on so you've got to go with your gut instinct.

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Will people like it, why will they like it,

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how much can they afford to push it up to?

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So it becomes less of an accurate estimate,

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and a little bit more of a guesstimate.

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A round figure of, say, £100 would be a good reserve

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but don't be surprised if it makes more than that and goes on.

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-Are you happy to do that?

-Yes.

-OK.

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If I like it, then surely someone else there is mad enough to like it

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and lo and behold, they did.

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Cast brass lobster-pattern desk inkwell. Novel item.

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-Three bids on the books. 140.

-Three bids.

-We're starting at £140.

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Looking for 150. 150. 160. 170.

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If you're going to buy and sell curiosities,

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make sure they are curios, OK? Don't buy bland, mainstream items.

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Find things that make people sit and say, gosh, what is that?

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180. 190.

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200. And 10. 220. 230.

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-This is more like it.

-240. Anybody at 240?

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Bid is in the room at £230. Standing at 230 and selling at £230.

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Yes, the hammer's gone down.

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That's a "sold" sound. £230. They loved it.

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So if you're buying curios, the curiouser, the better.

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Desk items are, to me, wonderful.

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I love the idea of sitting at a desk and writing,

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rather than sitting at a screen and typing words in.

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Desk items are popular. They make great presents today.

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They're very decorative, they are very varied.

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There are some very, very keen collectors out there.

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Something a bit unusual and a bit different as a gift,

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a little desktop item, is a great thing to have.

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And the more unusual they are, I think,

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the more readily they are going to be chased up to a high price.

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In the 19th century, as the middle classes grew richer

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and more influential, a gentleman's desk became a status symbol

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and the Victorians were masters of making strange

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and wonderful desktop objects to place upon it.

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What all these desktop status symbols have in common is

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they are still worth hundreds of pounds today and apparently,

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the odder, the better.

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But talking of weird, I've never seen anything like these before.

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Come on, Ken, tell me a bit about these?

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They are originally from my great grandparents, who owned a farm.

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Obviously, it was a well-loved cow and they mounted two of the hooves.

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I'm not sure whether all four were done or not but certainly the two.

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I love the cow's hooves.

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A great family history.

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They were quite an unusual item. You don't very often find cow's hooves.

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They were in place on a sideboard in my grandmother's house.

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When she passed on and I don't think anybody else in the family wanted them,

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we took them and we've had them in the cupboard ever since.

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-And you don't really care for them?

-No.

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-But the nice thing is, the name is on the top of the lids.

-Yes.

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-Mulberry and her dates, as well.

-Yeah.

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They preserved the hooves as a memory of the animal.

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It's usually horses' hooves, your favourite hunter,

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the best racehorse you've owned.

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But, in this instance, it was a favoured cow.

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-And, of course, they're an inkwell.

-Yes.

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If we lift the hinged lid.

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Erm, and then in this one we've got the little glass well,

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which you would put the ink in.

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It's a memorial of the cow.

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So every time you look at the ink well, you think of Mulberry.

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And there are collectors of all sorts of taxidermy

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and I've always found the horses' hooves sell quite well

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but not for a huge amount.

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-We are probably looking in the region of 40 to £60.

-Really?

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That's surprising. I thought, maybe, the price a joint of beef

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that we were going to buy.

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I say, is that what you're spending the money on?

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'Now let's see how much of a guesstimate that was, Claire.'

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One of you start me on this, £40, for the hooves?

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40, quickly. 40, thank you. 5 anywhere else?

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45 and 50. And 5?

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And 60, and 5?

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£60 front row. 65 and 70 says "No".

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65 a fresh bid. 70 anywhere else?

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At £65 for the hooves. I'm selling the hooves at £65.

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Are you sure then at £65?

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The hammer's gone down.

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-That's a good price for a pair.

-That is.

-That's really good.

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Even with today's prices, you should get a nice joint of beef

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for that, shouldn't you?

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People are more concerned about bits of animals being sold

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but where you're talking about unendangered species like this,

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there is a strong market. There are people out there that love them!

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'Flea markets and general auction sales are the best places to buy

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'unusual objects but make sure it's something you genuinely love

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'and can live with, as they won't always be great investment pieces.'

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Quirky sales, unusual sales,

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the salerooms are full of bland, mass-produced objects.

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But those one-off, unique items, there is

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a buyer out there somewhere for it.

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The wackier the better and don't be frightened to have a go

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if you see something cheap, pick it up, go home,

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have a bit of fun, do some research.

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You might find something which is valuable, you might not,

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but it'll still be a lovely object to look at.

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'I'm lucky enough to see some fantastically unusual antiques.

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'Sometimes their strange shapes will have an unexpected purpose

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'but at a valuation day in Scotland I was blown away to find

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'an object made of something that hardly ever comes onto the market.'

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This has to be one of the nicest things I've ever seen on "Flog It!"

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And possibly one of the most valuable items

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we've ever had on the show.

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-You know what this is, don't you?

-It's a libation cup.

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It's a libation cup. It's a ceremonial drinking vessel.

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-Do you know what it's made of?

-Wood?

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It's got a grain in, hasn't it? You can see there is a grain detail.

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Lots of compressed hair but it's rhinoceros horn.

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Yes. This dates back,

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last quarter of the 18th-century.

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We read about the visit of "Flog It!"

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And Evelyn, my sister insisted on taking the libation cup,

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which, I must admit, I thought was just made of ordinary wood.

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I spotted one that was sold at Christie's so I thought

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ours was worth something, so I took it to the valuation.

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Let's just talk about the damage. You can see how it was used

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-as a ceremonial drinking vessel, can't you?

-Yes.

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There are one or two chips,

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there's bits of damage to the horn

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and here we've got some mythical beasts climbing the side of the cup.

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Half a head's missing there. Can you see that?

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But, if you turn it over, you can actually see the compressed hair

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and almost the grain of the horn.

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Can you see that, that's definitely horn?

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That's one of the rarest things we've ever seen on the show.

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Mum, she inherited it from my grandfather.

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He had travelled the world.

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We actually thought it was African to start with

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but it turned out to be Chinese

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so we're not really... he dabbled in antiques,

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so we're not really sure where he got it

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but she obviously inherited it but she didn't realise what she had.

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Where has it been in your house?

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This has spent many years in a glass cabinet,

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-kept in our living room.

-So you've been looking after it.

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How much do you think that's worth?

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Well, listening to what you've said...

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You've said you think it's slightly valuable?

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A couple of hundred pounds?

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A couple of hundred, yeah?

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A couple of hundred pounds.

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I've got to be so careful here.

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We've got to do an awful lot more research.

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OK? But do you know what my gut feeling is?

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It's a lot more than that?

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A heck of a lot more.

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My gut feeling is this is worth eight...

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..to £12,000.

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-Oh!

-Yes.

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Then they said, how about 12,000?

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Everybody went, "Oh," you know.

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So that's when we discovered it was actually worth something.

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-It could be even more than eight to £12,000.

-I'm quite happy.

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Quite happy?

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The easiest thing to do is take it to an auction where the public

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can bid on it because the auctioneer will get this on a website

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that will go all over the world so people, in all countries,

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can place their bids.

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We won't even bother discussing a reserve

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and putting pen to paper at the moment

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because I do need a second opinion on this.

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Let's wait for that, OK,

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and we'll get on the phone to you within a couple of weeks' time.

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Hopefully we're going to find out exactly what this is worth.

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There's been an international ban on trading in rhino horn

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for more than 35 years but it is legal to sell carved items

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made before 1947.

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Tom and Evelyn's rhino horn cup was such a rare find that we sent

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it to Bonham's Auctioneers in London,

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where Chinese Art Expert, Angela McAteer took a closer look.

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It dates to the 17th/18th century,

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most probably to the period of the Kangxi Emperor,

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who was the first great emperor of the Qing Dynasty.

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He reigned from 1662 to 1722

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and, you have on either side,

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er, towtier masks

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and you've got chilong dragons carved in high relief,

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which are typified by their split tails and their single horns

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and their heads poke up over the rim.

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'Remember the damage when we first saw the Libation Cup.

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'Well, the auction house recommended restoration to Tom and he agreed.

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We've used a person who is really the top restorer

0:18:190:18:22

in the country for any sort of organic Chineseware

0:18:220:18:25

and if you were looking at it, and didn't know that it was restored,

0:18:250:18:28

then it would be very difficult to tell. The really positive thing

0:18:280:18:32

though is that the horn hasn't dried out over the years.

0:18:320:18:34

What we often see in Western collections,

0:18:340:18:37

that have rhinoceros horns,

0:18:370:18:39

is that they've been put in direct sunlight,

0:18:390:18:41

or they have been put near a radiator

0:18:410:18:44

and it really sucks the life out of them

0:18:440:18:47

and they lose their colour and their appeal.

0:18:470:18:50

This has a wonderful lustre and a wonderful texture.

0:18:500:18:53

So, it's obviously been kept in a fairly humid environment which,

0:18:530:18:57

over the years, has retained its nice qualities.

0:18:570:19:01

'So it sounds like sitting in a cabinet in Scotland for years

0:19:010:19:04

'has actually been in its favour

0:19:040:19:06

'but will this specialist work to repair it be worth it?'

0:19:060:19:10

The restoration costs were around £600

0:19:100:19:13

and that amount is deducted from the final proceeds of the sale.

0:19:130:19:18

Really, it may sound like a lot of money

0:19:190:19:22

but when you think of the difference that it will make

0:19:220:19:25

in the final hammer price on the day,

0:19:250:19:27

I think it's a very sensible investment.

0:19:270:19:29

'Angela agrees with my valuation of eight to £12,000

0:19:290:19:33

'and we'll see how far the bidders are prepared to go

0:19:330:19:36

'a little bit later in the programme.'

0:19:360:19:39

We do see some weird and wonderful things on "Flog It!"

0:19:440:19:48

But we don't usually get the chance to see what curiosities the experts have at home.

0:19:480:19:53

One of Will Axon's favourites is a cool piece of retro technology.

0:19:530:19:59

Well, nowadays, you don't think twice about reaching

0:19:590:20:01

into your pocket, do you, and pulling out what is, essentially,

0:20:010:20:04

a minicomputer. We've all got smartphones.

0:20:040:20:07

If you're lost, you press a button and it'll tell you where you are.

0:20:070:20:10

Imagine the high-powered business meeting in the mid-'70s

0:20:100:20:13

where you were number crunching and the chap opposite you

0:20:130:20:16

pulled out of his pocket what can only be described

0:20:160:20:21

as a very stylish pocket calculator here. You would tremble in your boots, wouldn't you?

0:20:210:20:25

You'd think I'm up against the big man here, I'm going to have to pull my game together

0:20:250:20:30

because this is a Sovereign calculator

0:20:300:20:33

made by Sir Clive Sinclair.

0:20:330:20:36

I actually went to school with Sir Clive's nephew

0:20:360:20:39

so we kind of got some early insights into the designs.

0:20:390:20:44

I remember when everyone else brought their bikes to school,

0:20:440:20:46

he turned up with a C5 and had souped it up with a couple of batteries.

0:20:460:20:51

It went some and, Sir Clive, he was obsessed

0:20:510:20:55

with miniaturisation of electronics.

0:20:550:20:57

He was very much forward thinking and how can I make things smaller

0:20:570:21:01

and slicker and more designed, more contemporary-looking?

0:21:010:21:07

It was his downfall, really,

0:21:070:21:09

because he ended up concentrating more on that

0:21:090:21:12

than he did with things such as quality control and cost

0:21:120:21:15

because this, at the time, would have cost you two weeks' wages, about £30.

0:21:150:21:20

I've just got to get a couple of batteries to replace

0:21:200:21:22

the mercury-filled ones and I think I might be pulling that out

0:21:220:21:25

at a client's house or two just to work out my commission.

0:21:250:21:29

No, Sir Clive, I love it.

0:21:300:21:33

'If you are interested in technology,

0:21:330:21:35

'look out for the early items that were trailblazers

0:21:350:21:38

'in their design and technology, if you want to make money.

0:21:380:21:42

'A rare Apple 1 computer sold recently, at auction,

0:21:420:21:46

'for £442,000.'

0:21:460:21:49

Now when you think of weird and wonderful,

0:21:520:21:54

you wouldn't necessarily think a chair fits the bill, but it does.

0:21:540:21:58

When we think of furniture construction,

0:21:580:22:00

you straightaway think of, let's say, a carpenter and a joiner,

0:22:000:22:03

somebody that assembles and makes pieces of furniture,

0:22:030:22:06

tables and chairs, hence the name joiner,

0:22:060:22:08

joining the wood together with mortise and tenon joints.

0:22:080:22:12

Then you would ask a wood turner to apply some decoration,

0:22:120:22:15

maybe in the form of some split bobbins that are applied afterwards

0:22:150:22:19

or to turn the odd leg or two.

0:22:190:22:21

Well, it wood turner obviously got frustrated in the 17th century

0:22:210:22:25

and he said, "I can make something that's practical and functional

0:22:250:22:28

"and it's not just decoration, it's a piece of furniture!

0:22:280:22:31

"It's a chair!" Here we have a wonderful, one of the best examples

0:22:310:22:35

I've ever seen in my life of a 17th-century wood turner's chair.

0:22:350:22:40

Apart from that seat, everything here has been made in the round,

0:22:400:22:45

turned on a pole lathe in the woods.

0:22:450:22:48

He's shown some great skill here because look at the ornamentation,

0:22:480:22:52

all of these turnings are slightly different.

0:22:520:22:55

It is wonderful. It would have taken hours and hours to do,

0:22:550:22:59

but it is not that comfortable.

0:22:590:23:03

It is very uncomfortable and it takes up a lot of room.

0:23:030:23:06

It's hardly surprising these turner's chairs didn't take off

0:23:060:23:11

but, nevertheless, this one is as good as it gets.

0:23:110:23:15

Now, back to the rare rhino horn cup which turned up

0:23:210:23:25

at our valuation day in Scotland.

0:23:250:23:27

Amid all the excitement of the Bonham's sale approaching,

0:23:270:23:30

brother and sister Tom and Evelyn got some devastating news.

0:23:300:23:34

Their mother, who owned the cup originally, had sadly passed away.

0:23:340:23:38

Well, we were quite upset that she didn't get to be on the TV

0:23:380:23:43

because she was a wonderful 93 years old.

0:23:430:23:48

But...she would've wanted us to go ahead, so that's what we did.

0:23:480:23:55

We went ahead with it and got the benefit.

0:23:550:23:57

Lot number 470.

0:23:570:23:59

-£5,000 for it. £5,000 is offered. Thank you, madam.

-We're in.

-5,500.

0:23:590:24:05

6,000. 500. 7,000. 500.

0:24:050:24:10

8,000. 500. 9,000.

0:24:100:24:13

The phones are coming in now. 9,500. 10,000. 11,000.

0:24:130:24:19

12,000.

0:24:190:24:22

13,000. New bidder.

0:24:220:24:24

14,000. 15,000.

0:24:240:24:26

Do we get a smile? Yeah, smile.

0:24:260:24:30

-18,000 against you.

-'I think it's sort of surreal.

0:24:300:24:33

'You feel like you're not really there.'

0:24:330:24:35

I think it was cos it was like it wasn't really happening.

0:24:350:24:39

You know, but it did happen.

0:24:390:24:41

-20,000, new bidder.

-20,000.

-24,000.

0:24:420:24:45

-26,000.

-26,000! I'm tingling. I am tingling! Are you tingling?

-Aye!

0:24:450:24:51

The bid's at £26,000.

0:24:510:24:53

And there was a slight pause about £27,000.

0:24:530:24:59

And we thought that, naturally, that was it, finished.

0:24:590:25:02

But, no, the telephone started again!

0:25:020:25:05

Oh, come on. Take it!

0:25:050:25:08

-Two bids.

-£30,000 I have behind you.

0:25:080:25:11

£30,000.

0:25:110:25:14

34,000. 36,000 over here. 38,000.

0:25:140:25:19

Astounding! £40,000! £40,000 on the left.

0:25:190:25:24

Against the phones, against both the ladies. The bid's at £40,000.

0:25:240:25:29

40 grand!

0:25:290:25:30

I actually said I can't believe that somebody would pay that much

0:25:300:25:34

money for such a small thing.

0:25:340:25:36

42,000. Just in time.

0:25:360:25:39

42,000. It's the lady's bid here.

0:25:390:25:42

Against the telephones. Against you, far left and against you standing.

0:25:420:25:46

Ladies, please, in the centre. £42,000.

0:25:460:25:50

I can't believe it. £42,000.

0:25:500:25:52

No? 42,000, I'm selling it, lady here in the Bonham's boardroom...

0:25:520:25:57

Saleroom at 44,000. With the hammer.

0:25:570:26:02

£44,000.

0:26:040:26:06

At £44,000 on the telephone,

0:26:060:26:10

selling it, then, for £44,000.

0:26:100:26:13

You're quite sure, madam?

0:26:130:26:15

I can't believe somebody wants it that badly.

0:26:150:26:18

£44,000. The auctioneer's asking...

0:26:180:26:22

On the telephone at £44,000.

0:26:220:26:26

You're all done. Sold!

0:26:260:26:28

-Thank you very much!

-What's it worth? £44,000.

0:26:280:26:33

Congratulations, Tom. Congratulations, Evelyn.

0:26:330:26:36

Do I get a kiss for that? What a lovely kiss that was!

0:26:360:26:40

-Happy?

-Yes.

-Great surprise.

0:26:400:26:43

What an incredible result! The most valuable item ever sold on the show.

0:26:430:26:48

I think I was nearly as stunned as Tom and Evelyn.

0:26:480:26:51

So, what did they do once they got over their shock?

0:26:570:27:00

It did actually come in quite handy for me

0:27:010:27:04

because I had a couple of small debts which I paid off,

0:27:040:27:07

but I still had something left so I got my laptop

0:27:070:27:11

which I kept talking about. I kept saying, "I'm wanting a laptop."

0:27:110:27:15

And Tom was able to blow some of his windfall

0:27:170:27:20

and indulge in his love of cars.

0:27:200:27:23

I wouldn't say I'm a speed hog...

0:27:230:27:26

I actually appreciate the rumble of the engine and the sportiness.

0:27:270:27:33

He bought himself a nippy run-around.

0:27:370:27:40

Of course, I drive within the legal limit, most times!

0:27:400:27:45

And enjoyed a track day at his local circuit.

0:27:460:27:50

Selling a family heirloom that's been passed down through

0:27:570:28:01

the generations can be a tough decision to make,

0:28:010:28:04

but that libation cup was worth a fortune

0:28:040:28:07

which Tom and Evelyn have been able to enjoy to the full.

0:28:070:28:10

Well, that's it for today's show.

0:28:100:28:12

Good luck with all the buying and the selling and do join us

0:28:120:28:15

again soon for more Trade Secrets.

0:28:150:28:18

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