Cardigan 1 Flog It!

Today we're near the fabulous coastline of Cardigan Bay,

stretching north into Ceredigion and south into Pembrokeshire.

Much as I'd love to stand here all day embracing this marvellous Welsh countryside,

they wouldn't let me get away with that!

There are too many antiques waiting to be valued inside. Welcome to Flog It!

The town of Cardigan has been a port since the early Middle Ages.

Its importance stems from its strategic position on the River Teifi,

the gateway to the fertile Teifi Valley.

We've certainly got an army of followers here today.

They have turned out in force at the Rhosygilwen mansion,

all hoping their treasures will be worth a small fortune

when we take them to auction. Who will it be? Stay tuned to find out!

It may even be this wonderful bus.

So tickets, please! Let's start our journey.

Leading the Flog It troops to find out what people have brought along

are our team of experts headed up by Charlie Ross and Christina Trevanion.

Coming up, we've got a show full of weird and wonderful things!

Look at that! That's a surprise. I didn't know that was going to happen!

Good lord, that's quite wacky, isn't it?

It's a bit of an acquired taste.

Yes.

We incur a casualty.

She's been through the wars. Tell me what happened there.

She was all right when I left this morning.

-When I undid it, she was in two pieces.

-Oh, no!

And will a hoard of Indian silver translate into a stack of British pounds?

I'm just hoping they like Indian silver in Wales!

We kick off with Christina and that broken statue.

But it isn't on its own.

Fiona has a group who've all had to put up with a few knocks in their time.

We've got a jolly band of fellows here. They look like they're having a good time.

-They do.

-Where are they from?

They were my grandmother's. I don't know where she got them from.

She wasn't very careful with them and most of them have got something broken.

-Right.

-My mother reckoned she was just clumsy!

-Right.

-My mother hated them, actually!

-Did she?

-She couldn't wait for me to have them!

-They're a real...

-Are you fond of them?

-I love him.

-I love the colours on them. They're fabulous.

-Really bright, aren't they?

-Gorgeous.

-The detail's good. But they are awful dust collectors!

-I bet.

-Dreadful.

-Nightmare to clean.

-Yes.

Some of them aren't very clean.

I don't blame you. They are very fragile.

-Sadly, we've got damage pretty much across the board.

-Yes.

That's one of the first things as a valuer, establishing a value on these,

-it's very difficult because of the damage throughout.

-Yes.

Down here we've got a hand, and a bit of a broken bottle here.

They've just had a good time, I think, they've had a good old party.

Surprisingly, when I looked at them I thought they made a good group.

But actually, they're all by different factories.

-Right.

-So we've got this pair here.

-Right.

We've got some nice marks here.

This tells us they're by a German factory called Sitzendorf.

Right.

They're beautifully enamelled. When you pick them up, they're heavy.

So nice heavy porcelain.

But unfortunately...

-Yes, I know!

-She's been through the wars. What happened there?

-She was all right when I left this morning!

-Oh, no!

And I did wrap her up but when I undid it, she was in two pieces.

-Whether it had already been broken and my grandmother had mended it at some point.

-Very possible.

The good news is, yes, it's damaged,

but it's a nice clean break so it could be restorable.

It's OK. So we've got these two figures here.

These, I think, are the best quality-wise.

-I love this chap.

-So do I.

-He's wonderful, isn't he?

He's a boozy fellow.

-What's his name?

-Landlord.

The Landlord. So a nice character figure.

And what's even better is that I can just picture him in a gentleman's study

as a figurine, and as soon as the wife's gone or the family's gone,

he gets out his figurine and has his tot!

-He's not a figure any more, he's a decanter!

-Gorgeous, isn't it?

It's wonderful. I love it.

As a decanter to a decanter collector, he could be really quite interesting.

Yes.

Then this pair of figures here.

We've got a fruit seller and her gentleman partner.

They're a matched pair.

They didn't start life together.

Not as exciting, possibly, as these.

I think, at auction,

we have to bear in mind the condition issues.

-But I think we're still looking in the region of 100 to £200.

-Good!

-Would you be happy to sell them at that value?

-Yes.

-Brilliant.

-Let's flog it!

-Save the dusting!

Hopefully the bidders will relish the idea of getting their hands on this motley bunch

and give them the opportunity to live another day.

Next, Charlie's talking to Terry who has an interesting collection of Indian silver.

Terry, have you been shopping?

Just a little bit!

Have you bought them yourself or inherited them?

No, I bought them on the internet.

-On the internet?

-Over the last year or so.

-Gosh. What was the first bit you bought?

-I think the jug.

The jug. Is that your favourite bit?

-It is, actually.

-Yes.

Do you have any connection with India? It's Indian silver.

The only connection I've got is that my mother and her side of the family came from India.

Right. Have you been yourself?

I've been twice and I'm going again the week after the auction.

-I'm going to find my grandfather's grave in Calcutta.

-Gosh!

-He was a train driver.

-Really? How fascinating.

-When did he die?

-I think he must have died in the early '70s.

-Well post-Raj.

-Well post-Raj.

-Yes.

This is mostly Raj, isn't it? Nearly all of it.

It is, I think all of it is Raj period.

I would think most of this is between 1920 and 1940?

-I'd say some pieces are...

-Some earlier?

-18-something.

-Late 1800s.

-You think they go to the 19th century?

It's interesting to try and guess from the influence which part of India they might have come from.

This has a sort of Buddhist influence down here.

I wonder if it's nearer to Ceylon down the bottom there.

-Yeah.

-I think this one, your favourite piece,

I think if I took the handle away, took the snake away there,

I would struggle to know that was Indian and not Middle Eastern.

Yes, it looks a bit Arabic.

It does. The top here looks very Arabic.

And the flowers.

-So we need to raise some money, don't we?

-We do.

-Help you with the flight.

-We sure do.

-Assuming you're not rowing there.

-No, a slow boat.

I've looked through, weighed some of it.

I think we should be safe at 150 to £200.

-I'm happy with that.

-150 to 200.

Reserve 150. A bit of auctioneer's discretion.

-See you on the day.

-OK.

-Let's get enough for the whole flight.

-Flog it!

Yes, flog it!

It's a tricky one to value, but I think Charlie is quietly confident.

We'll find out later if it's well placed.

Flog It valuation days are very busy, so when people are selected for filming,

they often have to wait a while.

I can't resist having a good peek at what they've brought in!

There are several tables dotted along here.

This is the holding bay.

This is where all our owners that haven't been filmed yet are waiting to be filmed.

Who owns the ostrich egg?

Wow, look at that!

That certainly is a present from down under.

We think so. It was a present to my father, who was a surgeon.

It was a present from a patient who wanted to thank him.

There's a kangaroo actually carved onto the shell of the egg.

Do you know something? I think that with this emu and that kangaroo,

and the whole thing with these wonderful over-the-top pieces of glass,

I think it will find its way back to Australia. I really do.

Yes.

Let's hope the bidders will want to snap them up.

People bring a variety of antiques to our valuation days

but there's nothing that gets me quite so fired up as furniture.

I was so excited to see this next item that

I intercepted Holly before she had a chance to get inside.

Thank you so much for bringing in a piece of Welsh furniture.

You've made my day. Cos this is what it's all about, regional things.

Wherever we go,

it's always nice to see something that's made in the vicinity.

And this chair was made all over Wales,

even on the Welsh borders around Herefordshire, as well.

-Do you know much about it?

-Not a huge amount at all.

I knew it was Welsh oak and that's it.

It doesn't get any better than Welsh oak. You know that.

All hand-sawn and it's all pegged.

Can you see that?

-See these little pegs?

-Oh, yes.

All dowels driven right through a mortise and tenon,

so all of these stretchers,

there's a little tenon in there that sits into a mortise and to hold it

tight, a hole's drilled through there

and then a dowel is knocked through.

-Gosh. A lot of work goes into them.

-Yeah.

But it stops the joint from moving. And look at that.

Look how tight it is.

You couldn't even put a cigarette paper in that joint, could you?

This is a lovely thing to have, all these pegs showing.

But this chair has never been fiddled with because,

if you turn it upside down, can you see it's as dry as a bone there?

-Yes.

-If that's been polished,

it means it's been polished to match in with polished

sections of these stretchers, so the seat wouldn't be original.

But looking at this, it's as honest as the day it was made,

and that's a lovely thing to have,

because I date this chair to the latter part of the 18th century.

-I'd say this is circa 1780, 1790.

-Gosh.

-Yeah, I would, honestly.

So, value. How much did this chair cost you?

I think it was about £60. Certainly no more than that.

Well, I think we could safely say let's put this into auction

at a value of £120 to £180, and I think she'll double her money.

-That's fantastic.

-We'll put a reserve of £100 on.

This will come in handy to anybody that loves Welsh furniture.

There's plenty of people here in Wales who'll buy this

because they'll make up a set around the kitchen table.

And it doesn't matter if it slightly mismatches another one of the style.

It may not have these lovely flattened bobbin turnings,

but that doesn't matter.

-Harlequin sets look really good.

-Yes.

-And they're full of character.

And it will last somebody another 200 years because it's so practical

and functional.

-Yeah?

-Very pleased.

-See you at auction.

-Thank you.

First, Christina is chatting to Gary

who's inherited a piece of Swiss sophistication.

Here we've got your chronograph Swiss wrist watch.

Tell me, where's it come from?

I had it from my father, actually, going back 15, 16 years ago.

-Right.

-He never used it. So he said to me one night when I was with him,

he showed me a lot of watches and I said I'd have that one.

-Have that one or that one.

-Yes.

-OK.

So tell me, was Father sporty?

Not really, no.

Tell me why would he have wanted a chronograph movement?

A chronograph movement, as you know, is a stopwatch.

-Was he into the horses, maybe?

-No, no, no.

-Running?

-Nothing like that?

-Only cars and lorries.

-Cars and lorries.

-Maybe he used it to time his lap circuits or something.

-Maybe!

You never know.

So it's a rather nice example.

As we can see from the dial, we've got a subsidiary minutes dial here

which times up to 30 minutes.

We've also got a seconds dial here.

And the way that it works, as you probably know,

is that we start it there, see the red hand ticking away nicely there.

Then we can stop it. We can restart it.

And then stop it.

-And then we can restart it completely.

-Yes.

It's fantastic. Very, very controllable, isn't it?

It's got a nice clear dial.

Not much damage on the dial. A few scratches on the face.

But nothing serious.

If we turn it over...

we've got a nice mark which says 18k and 750.

That's indicative of 18-carat gold.

-It would be nice if the strap was gold!

-It would be!

-But sadly it's not.

We can see here that this gold plate is wearing off the strap.

The base metal is coming through on that strap there.

We've got some serial numbers down here.

-Unfortunately we can't pin it down to an absolute factory...

-No.

..without opening the back, but the back is very delicate, a very thin sliver of gold

and I'd be reluctant to take the back off.

However, it is a Swiss movement.

The Swiss, as you know, renowned for fantastic watch making.

Yes.

I think in the open market today, we'll be looking at an auction valuation of about 200 to £300.

-How do you feel about that, Gary?

-The more, the merrier!

Well, it may well fetch more on the day

but if we put it any more it'll look quite pricey compared to other chronograph watches on the market.

OK? So happy to sell it at 200 to 300.

-Yes.

-Let's set the reserve at 200 firm. Try and get as much as we can for you.

-OK.

-Perhaps put the money towards a new watch for you!

Good. Thank you.

Over in Carmarthen, the sale room is starting to fill up.

Commission rates here are on a sliding scale,

starting at 17.5% for items under £150,

down to 10% for items over £3,000.

Here's what's going under the hammer.

Fiona's figurines might have been injured in service, but perhaps they'll find a new lease of life.

Hopefully the bidders will appreciate Terry's collection of exotic silver

and provide him with passage back to India.

Holly's beautiful Welsh oak chair that I've fallen in love with.

Lastly, Gary's Swiss watch.

It might be lacking a gold strap, but will its quality still shine through?

Wielding the gavel today is auctioneer Nigel Hobson.

Time is now definitely up, not for my watch, but for Gary's watch.

-Lovely thing. It was your father's.

-I've got another one.

-That was his as well, was it?

-You love this as well.

-Yes, and it's a chronograph so hopefully it'll get there.

-It's a very good watch.

-Yes.

-Not many of them made.

-Let's hope we get a decent surprise.

-I hope so!

-I hope so.

-Let's find out. Here we go.

261. The mid-20th-century Swiss 18-carat gold

chronograph gentleman's wrist watch.

A good-looking watch, ticking away nicely.

The case is marked 18 carat.

A nice-looking watch. Interest here with me on the book

-means I can start the bidding straightaway at 200.

-Brilliant.

-220 I've got. £220 on the book.

-It's gone.

Let's hope we get another bid.

At 220.

At 220. May I say 240 now?

240. 260.

At 260.

260. Against you in the room. Against you online at 260.

Bidding on the book now at 260.

At 260. Selling it. On the book, then, at £260.

Sold! Good estimate. Very good.

-Happy?

-Yes, very happy, actually.

Brilliant. Well done. Well done.

Christina was spot-on there, but has she got the measure of those figurines?

This sale is being conducted by Nigel's colleague, Geoff Thomas.

Well, it's the moment of truth, Fiona.

Let's hope the damage doesn't put the buyers off.

Collectors are fussy, but maybe they just might go for this.

-You just don't know. We've got 100 to £200.

-Yep.

And a slightly lower reserve

to take into account that damage.

Let's see what the bidders think. Here we go.

Lot 365, a group of porcelain continental figures.

Lot 365. Start me at 100.

80?

50? £50 I've got. 50. 60.

70. 80. £80.

It's going. It's going!

At £80 I'm bid.

At £80. 90 is it? All done, then?

All done at £80.

-Well done.

-£80 - and they were very broken!

I wonder if someone will restore them.

-Inevitably.

-Yeah.

Now, I'm starting to get cold feet about our next item.

I keep saying bring lots of furniture in,

we love seeing furniture.

Bless Holly, she did just that - a lovely Welsh regional chair.

It's about to go under the hammer. Fingers crossed. I'm really nervous.

I know everybody in the trade keeps saying,

"Brown furniture is on its knees and it's a good time to buy".

OK, it is a good time to buy,

but hopefully it's going to be a good time for you to sell.

-Yes.

-This has got personality.

-It has.

-It's got great personality.

Let's see what happens.

A late-18th century Welsh oak single chair. Lot 184.

What should I ask for this one? Start me at 180.

150.

£100 I'm bid. £100 I've got. 100. At 100.

120. 140. At 140. 160. 180.

-At 180 bid. At 180.

-Brilliant.

-At 180. 200 do I hear now?

At 180. 200.

200. 220 with me. 220. At 220 bid.

At 220. 40 is it now? At 220.

-They like it.

-Yes.

-40 is it, then?

At 220. I'll let it go, then.

With me at £220. All quiet.

Hammer's gone down. £220. Not bad, top end.

Amazing!

I was really, really frightened

because the furniture had just come in and there were half a dozen

chairs before our lot, a mixed lot, a harlequin set, £180, six of them!

That one did £220. I'm ever so pleased.

What a lovely artisan piece!

Next up, will Terry's silver provide him with the passport he's hoping for?

The pressure is on. Terry has just joined me and expert Charlie Ross.

We need the top end of that valuation. £200-plus.

Because Terry is off to India. He's worked out the price of the flight.

440 quid. And you're going next week?

-Yes.

-Got the visa?

-Yes.

-He hasn't got the ticket yet. We're waiting on the result of this silver

to go under the hammer, Charlie.

A lot of Indian silver here. It's a shame it's not hallmarked or dated.

-It would fly through the roof, wouldn't it?

-Yes.

It's quite tricky. I've done one piece of Indian silver before on Flog It

which went really well. So I'm hoping they like Indian silver in Wales!

We're going to find out right now. Let's see what it's worth.

245 is a collection of 19th- and early 20th-century

Indian silver items.

20-odd ounces there. What do we say? About £200 here?

150 to go, then, surely? £150 I'm bid.

-150. 160, may I say?

-That's good.

At 150. In the room at 150.

160 online. 170.

Are we going to get that top end?

180. 190.

-200, may I say?

-Might be going business class!

220.

240, may I say? 240 online. 260.

260. 280, may I say?

260 in the room. Against you on the internet at 260. In the room.

At £260.

-Well done.

-That's fantastic.

Well done, you. Well bought.

Yes, well bought. Well valued!

Thank you, sir!

What a successful first visit to the auction. But before we go back to the valuation day,

I discovered more about a Welsh tradition that's more universal than we might first think.

The River Teifi forms a natural border

between the counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire.

About seven miles in from the mouth of the river in Cardigan

is the pretty village of Cenarth, famous for its falls and its salmon.

In the 12th century, a visitor to the village noted that an extensive fishery existed on the rocks

where the salmon leapt as they migrated upstream.

But this river is also famous for the unusual but traditional way

in which those salmon were caught.

For hundreds of years, the fishermen here had used a coracle

and it's probably only one of three rivers in the world where coracles are still used

for salmon fishing with a net.

Coracles were once common all over the British Isles.

Julius Caesar is said to have first come across one

when he invaded Britain back in 55 or 54 BC.

Nowadays, you'll only find the craft in a few areas.

One of them is Shropshire on the English/Welsh borders.

The other is right here in Wales.

Every area had its own unique type of coracle made from local materials

and designed for the particular conditions of the local river and its use.

But the basic construction style would have been very similar.

As you can see, it's simply made of a basket-like construction.

Interwoven laths that give it its strength, its cohesion.

Traditionally they were completely round and covered with animal hide.

The size of the hide would dictate the size of the vessel.

The hair would be on the inside, the skin on the outside.

You'd use the fat to help waterproof it.

For the last 200 years here, they've been covered in cotton

and painted with a pitch.

The pitch does two things. It tightens the cotton and also makes it waterproof.

The wood used on the laths is a willow and hazel wood,

woods that are plentiful in the area.

But the most important thing is, with these little craft,

is the bottom has to be flat because it works within three inches of water.

This little craft will actually hold three times my bodyweight.

It's so simple.

At the end of the day, all you do is pick this thing up,

put it on your shoulder and walk home.

Fascinating!

Over the years, fishing licences were not renewed and sadly the coracle is now a rare sight.

But this important symbol of Welsh heritage is part of a worldwide tradition.

I've come to the National Coracle Centre in Cenarth to meet Martin Fowler

who is going to show me some of the coracle's foreign relatives.

What a fabulous place! I guess my first question has to be,

when and where did the coracle style of boat originate?

Although most people associate them with Wales, I think the Middle East is where they actually started.

We're looking at the first forms of water transport

from the first civilisations of the world, really.

You've got different examples from around the world.

-Can I see the one from North America?

-Yeah, sure.

It's a lot smaller than I would have thought.

-Yes...

-Then again it depends on the size of the animal. The hide.

-North American Indians...

-Buffalo?

-Buffalo hide.

At one time, there were thousands of buffalo on the plains of North America.

-They've left the tail on!

-They always did. It's interesting

because this is the only one I know of where they've covered it the opposite way

with the hair on the outside and the skin on the inside.

They left the tail on so they could pull it up the bank,

tie it to something.

But when you use this, you kneel and paddle, exactly the same as we would use a coracle here.

But with the tail here,

when you went downriver, the hair would always go with the water.

So instead of putting grease on it, they left it exactly how the animal kept dry.

-Yes.

-And that's why I think everywhere in the world, people came up with the same ideas

but all independently.

This is just so remarkable.

The whole afternoon has opened my eyes to boat-building with a difference!

It really has. Martin, thank you so much for showing me round the museum.

It is open to the public. It's got to be unique. Possibly the only one in the world.

-I think so.

-It's well worth a visit. Long may it continue.

-Thank you.

It's been really fascinating to see how the simple idea like a basket-like boat

has cropped up all across the globe from the earliest of times.

It's a real testament to man's ingenuity and determination

to overcome the limits of his environment.

It's rather bizarre to think this village in Wales is one of the very few places

in which you'll still see these coracles at work.

Back at our valuation day in Rhosygilwen mansion,

people are still pouring in with all manner of fascinating and quirky items.

And the emu egg that I spotted earlier has caught Christina's attention.

-It's wacky!

-Are you going to value it?

-I think so.

I keep looking at it on my own going... It's one of those things.

-I'll have a good look.

-That'll go back to Australia.

-Do you think?

-Definitely.

-I hope so. Imagine shipping it!

-What are you going to put on it?

I've no idea!

-No idea!

-Have a good think.

-I will. I'll come back to you on that one!

I look forward to what she's got to say about it once she's done some research.

First, let's see what Charlie thinks about an unusual item belonging to Leon.

This, I think, is fantastic. Where did it come from?

It came from my wife's family.

-In 1970-something she was given it by her gran.

-Yeah.

She was moving house and couldn't take it with her.

She's had it ever since.

So was Granny a high liver?

-I suspect so, yes.

-Yeah.

-Knowing her family!

It smacks of that era, of what I call the Charleston era,

the Deco era. It's pure Art Deco.

It's got a cocktail shaker.

Champagne glass.

Cocktail glasses.

A brandy balloon.

All the things I love in life! Fantastic.

Except for one thing.

-And that, of course, is...

-The cigarettes.

-The dreaded cigarettes.

-We haven't got any.

This would have had, I would have thought, the best Balkan Sobranie cigarettes,

-the coloured ones.

-Yes.

-Pink ones, black ones, mauve ones.

It would have looked absolutely stunning on a bar.

Quite stunning. It's not brilliantly made, I have to say.

But it's very Deco, even the shoulder of the barman

has a Deco angle about it, which I love.

Where's it been? Have you had it on display?

No. We bring it out occasionally at parties to see if people can guess what it is.

-How many people guess what it is before they pull it up?

-Not many! Not unless they've seen one.

I think it's just a super statement of the time.

I don't think it's worth a lot of money. Are you hoping for a fortune?

No. I'm surprised how much you like it.

I love it. But we shouldn't get carried away with regards value.

Because I like it, doesn't mean it's worth a few hundred quid.

I'd like to sell it without reserve, to be honest.

-I would expect it to make somewhere between 20 and £40.

-Fair enough.

I think I'll take it home!

No, no. We'll take it to auction. Thanks for bringing it along.

Christina is pleased to have bumped into Vicky

because she is very partial to a bit of jewellery.

-I see you're a brooch fan.

-Yes.

-I'm a brooch fan.

-Yes.

-And you've brought a brooch in to show us today.

-I have.

-Tell me who it belonged to.

-It was handed down in the family.

I presume it belonged to my grandmother and then my mother

and then it came to me.

-Goodness me, that is a very long pedigree history.

-Yes.

The brooch dates to around 1880, 1890, something like that.

-Would that tie up with great-granny's dates?

-My mother was born in 1896.

-Right.

-So that would tie in.

-It would, wouldn't it? OK.

So we've got this wonderful star motif here, which is

absolutely fantastic.

It's actually made of glass.

The glass would've been made in layers, like a glass sandwich,

and then they would've carved it to produce this wonderful stellar,

or star effect here.

-It's trying to be hard-stone agate.

-Only trying.

It's trying, yes, it's trying very hard.

And it would've been much more costly material to produce this in.

It would've been a mourning brooch originally and we can see that

because it's got the plaited hair of somebody in the back of it.

-Yes.

-Might that have been great-granny's?

-I hope so.

-I wish I had a name, but unfortunately I don't.

-OK.

Now, the Victorians were very involved with their mourning.

They really did mourn pretty much everything.

When Victoria lost Albert, she went into deep mourning

and all Victorians had to follow suit.

And this was classic of that time.

You carried a piece of them with you in your everyday life.

-I think it's quite a charming memento.

-Absolutely, it really is.

And, of course, from the front, you wouldn't know it at all.

I think this yellow metal here,

having studied it quite carefully, is actually gold plate.

So it's a cheap brooch, it's mock agate and it's gold plate,

not real gold.

You said that. THEY LAUGH

Now, here we come to the crunch point.

I'm not going to get too excited at this stage.

Sadly, I think, because it's a bit tired

and because some people get a little bit squiffy about having

mourning pieces and having someone else's hair

in the back of their brooch, which is why so often now we see them empty,

that I think the value really is going to be relatively low.

Well, that's all right. It's just staying at home in a box

so it might as well go to the auction.

If it doesn't get the reserve, then I'll keep it.

-Either way, I'm happy.

-Good.

OK, well, I think at auction, we'd be looking at putting

an estimate of £20 to £30, something like that,

and hopefully we can find it a new home with someone who will wear it.

-Exactly.

-So what about a reserve?

Generally, we tend to put the reserve at the bottom end of the estimate.

-Yes. I think I'm going to be cheeky and put a reserve of 30.

-30?

-Yes.

-Gosh, OK. So that means we have to put the estimate at £30 to £40.

-Yes.

OK. Which is being a bit optimistic, obviously.

I think it might be slightly optimistic,

-but I'm willing to give it a go and hopefully...

-Yes.

Well, I won't get too excited and I don't mind either way,

so that's the best way to be, really.

Exactly, yes. Well, let's keep our fingers crossed and let's go for it.

-OK.

-All right!

-Thank you.

-You're welcome.

On a good day, I think it could do it, but as Christina suggested,

it might well be a tricky sell.

Now it's my turn to have a go at a valuation.

I've taken a bit of time out to come into the refreshments marquee

and there's lots of staff on hand and lots of jolly good cakes.

I'm chatting to Louise who's joined me over a cup of tea!

We're out of the oak room where it's all going on, a hive of activity.

Our experts are nearly through the day.

-It's been a jolly good day.

-It has.

-Really has.

-Very interesting.

Let's talk about Popeye. There's no mistaking this character!

-No.

-Big fan of Popeye. Olive! Can we see if he still works?

Yes. I haven't wound him for a while.

-He has been through the wars, Louise.

-He has.

Where did you find him?

He was in a piece of furniture, a chest of drawers.

-He was tucked in the back of the drawer.

-A bonus!

-It was a bonus!

It's amazing what people leave in things they put into auction.

Oh, look at that! That's a surprise!

I didn't know that was going to happen!

I thought his arms were going to move

and he'd go like, "I'm Popeye, the sailor man." Eating all the spinach.

Unfortunately, he's lost his pipe.

-That's sad, isn't it?

-Yes.

-If you were a Popeye enthusiast, you could easily make one.

-Yes.

It's those little pieces that disappear.

-But he's still working. He's got one or two dents and bruises.

-Yes.

His face has seen better days.

You've also got the original box with "Popeye" on it.

There's a picture there of him with his pipe.

-It was an oversized pipe, wasn't it?

-Yes.

-It was.

Isn't that lovely? It's got here "Made in 1929".

Gosh, that's early, isn't it?

Very early. Look at the squint in one eye!

He was like that.

So, that lucky find, I think, translates

into something like £40 to £60.

Were you thinking along those lines?

Yes, I thought 40, 40-ish, I thought.

Condition is everything for the collectors.

Is it best to leave him for the new owner to clean up?

Yes. Yep. We'll put him into auction as he is.

As you say, let the new owner clean him up.

-And maybe pull out some of the dents in the arms.

-Yes.

That's possible. If he was in exceptionally good condition,

museum quality, and the box was in fabulous condition as well,

-that would be worth around £150 to £200.

-Gosh!

-That's how rare it is.

-But he's still fun.

-He's still fun.

We might be pleasantly surprised. It might exceed 40 to 60.

-You never know.

-That would be nice.

-It would be.

Can't wait to see what the auctioneer thinks. "What has Paul done here?"

I bet he laughs. He'll probably say, "It's worth a tenner!"

But once he winds Popeye up and does this,

"Showing here, lot number whatever, here we go."

-That's got to get the bidders going, hasn't it?

-Definitely!

'We'll find out in a few minutes.'

Remember that egg? Christina has now had more time to digest it!

Let's see what she says to Robin and Kathleen.

This is the most bizarre thing I've ever seen!

What's it doing here? How did you get it?

-This was, we believe, a gift to my father.

-Right.

He was an ear, nose and throat surgeon

and this was a present to him from a patient

for an operation that he'd done to their satisfaction.

Do you think Dad was pleased with the gift?

I don't know. The egg was on display for all of my younger childhood,

so I imagine he was pleased, yes.

When I saw you sitting at the table, I thought,

"Good lord, that's quite wacky!" It really is.

It's obviously Australian connotations.

It's got this wonderful emu's egg here,

carved with a kangaroo and an emu.

Like the figures on the base.

And it's raised on this fantastic central leafy palm tree that we have here.

With foliage round the bottom.

Then we've got these Vaseline glass trumpets here.

To go either side.

Obviously it's an epergne,

made to accommodate some floral things out of these trumpets here.

To go on a sideboard to be displayed with its back against the wall.

The decoration is to the front.

So, as an epergne, these Vaseline glass trumpets

are particularly well made, with this crimped rim here.

And this trailed glass detail here.

I'm wondering if maybe these were added to it

when it was in this country.

-Right.

-Maybe they've mounted this at a later date

because it was such a curiosity.

The Victorians were into their curiosities and wacky things.

Maybe they mounted it slightly later

to create a wonderful Victorian epergne.

I think it would be a bit of an acquired taste...

-Yes.

-..shall we say - to put it politely!

I think we might be limited with our buyers on it.

We have to think of what market we're selling to.

I think at auction, we might be looking in the region of £100 to £200.

But it's such a wacky thing, it could make an awful lot more.

-We might be in for a surprise.

-That would be lovely!

I've no idea what the bidders may make of it.

So let's find out!

Joining Robin and Kathleen's emu egg epergne

we have Popeye the sailor man!

A very early example that isn't in the best nick,

but it'll attract attention!

And the Art Deco barman

who dispenses cigarettes.

There's that pretty Victorian mourning brooch belonging to Vicky.

It really is a curious selection that's very difficult to evaluate.

But we're about to find out if our experts are right.

And to start, in the spotlight, is Charlie and the Art Deco cigarette dispenser.

First under the hammer.

What a great thing! Why do you want to sell it?

It's been in the cupboard for years and everybody we know that's been to parties have seen it.

It's lost its fun factor.

Just need a couple of smokers. Actually, it doesn't need a smoker.

-Somebody with a bar.

-Someone with a bar. A cocktail bar in the corner!

Shaped like a boat!

Exactly!

-Little bell on the boat.

-Just the job!

-Captain!

Gin and tonic?

Good luck, both of you. It's going under the hammer now.

319 is the Art Deco cylindrical yellow metal cigarette box.

What do you say? Rather fun.

What's it worth? £50 away on that?

50. You've seen it in the cabinet. 50?

It's fun. 30? 20 only.

At 20. 30, may I say? At 20 only.

Would help if he went up in fives, not tens!

25. At 25. 30, may I say?

At 25 only bid. May I say 30 now?

At £25 only. Can I say 30?

-30.

-That's better.

-Where are all the hands?

-At 40. Only at 40. Any more?

Finished with it at £40.

-Hammer's gone down at £40.

-Estimate 30 to 50.

-Spot on!

-That's all right, isn't it?

-Yes.

-Happy with that?

-Happy with that one.

And we had a laugh looking at it. It put a smile on our faces.

'Now, will we manage to do the same for Vicky's brooch?'

-Vicky, you're up next.

-Yes.

-With the mourning brooch. £30 to £40.

There's the part for the hair at the back, as well.

It's a nice little thing, actually, if you collect this kind of thing.

Absolutely.

Let's find out what the bidders think right now.

The Victorian overlay glass leaf design pin brooch.

Pretty pin brooch with the woven hair panel to the back.

What's that worth, little memorial brooch? £50?

50 for it. Surely.

30 to put me in, then. 30.

-Oh, 20 then, somebody.

-Come on.

-It's worth that.

-20 I'm bid here.

At 20. Who says 30 now? At 20 only.

At 20. 5. 25.

30 may I say? At 25. You want 30, madam? At 25 only.

At 25. At 25. 30, is it? At £25 only.

May I say 30 on the brooch? No more?

-It's not going to sell, is it?

-No, well, I'll take it home and love it.

-Not to go then, I'm afraid.

-Take it home and love it.

-Exactly.

I just think, unfortunately, because they are quite heavy,

they're difficult to wear

and some people are a little bit squeamish about mourning brooches.

So I think take it home, love it, wear it.

-And it's quite nice that it's staying in the family.

-Exactly.

Just short of 30, but Vicky wasn't willing to let it go for any less.

And quite right, too.

He's been in a cupboard for 15 years.

You know who I mean. Ready, Louise?

# Duh-duh, Popeye! #

HE LAUGHS

I hope there's some Popeye fans here amongst the bidders today.

We have a great crowd here. I haven't seen anybody playing with him.

Here we go. Let's find out what the bidders think.

Here we are. 403, we've got Popeye.

One of my heroes of all time.

Popeye the sailor man.

This one's Japanese. I don't think Popeye was originally.

This is a Japanese plastic clockwork figure of Popeye

-in a bit of a dilapidated box.

-Yeah, but he's lovely, isn't he?

What do we say for Popeye?

You've had a look at him. What's he worth? £50 away?

50, surely? 20 to get on, then.

20. 30 I've got with me at 30. At 30. May I say 40?

On Popeye at £30 only.

At 30. 40, is there?

40. At 40. 50 is it now?

At 40. No more at 40 for Popeye?

Selling against you all, then. All happy at £40.

Yes, sold it.

Brilliant! I'm happy! I thought it was going to struggle.

-It seemed to.

-Muscles, that's what it is!

Popeye did the business for us! Thank you so much!

Popeye is about to set sail on more adventures. I'm pleased about that!

Now time to see if that emu egg epergne appeals to any of our bidders.

We've been working our socks off. Now we're going to work on an egg!

Kathleen and Robin's egg!

A wonderful emu egg. We have £100 to £200 on this.

This could be a real sleeper.

It could do anything.

We can't talk about it any more. It's now really down to the bidders.

Do they want to SHELL out a lot of money for this egg?

It's going under the hammer!

Lot 391. The Vaseline glass-mounted table centre epergne.

It features the emu egg.

Little emu and kangaroo figures as well. Very unusual.

Vaseline glass flutes. An unusual thing.

What do we say for it? Some interest with me. Lot 391.

-I can start the bidding at 80. 100.

-Brilliant.

-110. 120.

At 120. At 120 on the epergne, at 120.

May I say 130 online.

140 on the book. 140. 150.

150 online. 160 still here with me.

160.

170.

-180.

-We're getting there!

-180.

With me on the book. 190 online.

200.

220, may I say? At £200. 220 online.

240 on the book.

-240.

-Commission bids and internet bids.

280.

280 with me. 280. 300 now online.

-Brilliant!

-320. 320.

-More like it!

-320.

340, may I say? 320.

On the book at 320. Against you online. Make no mistake,

the bid is with me. At 320. Any interest in the room?

-340 back in online.

-Ooh!

-340.

360 still here with me. 360.

360. 380, may I say?

At £360 I'm bid.

On the book at 360. Selling against you online.

All happy?

At £360.

-Fantastic. Well done!

-Brilliant!

-And that was a present to Dad as well?

-It was, yes.

-A gift to my father.

-Thank you, Father!

-It reached a good price.

-It did, yes.

-The condition was very good.

-Yes.

-An unusual thing.

I hope it's gone back to Australia where it belongs.

-Yes.

-It would be a nice trip.

Thank you for bringing it in and looking after it.

The custodian for all these years! That's all we are to antiques.

They outlive us and go round and round. A wonderful item.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

It's all over. The auction has finished.

One minute it's lights, camera, action,

and complete mayhem as to what will happen.

Lots of excitement. And then a vacant room.

Bidders queuing to pay for their lots behind me.

A great day. Robin and Kathleen's emu egg stole the show for me,

almost doubling its estimate.

I hope it goes back to Australia. I hope you've enjoyed today's show.

Join us again for more surprises, but from Carmarthen it's goodbye!