Coventry Flog It!

Now, this is Warwick Castle.

And that is the world's largest trebuchet.

It's modelled on 14th century drawings,

and it's an incredibly lethal weapon,

used for attacking castles during medieval times.

And apparently, it works.

And we'll be testing that a little later on in the show,

but, first, to our valuation day in Coventry.

Coventry is all too familiar with the weapons of war,

having fallen victim to the bombs of the Luftwaffe during World War II.

The city's thriving industrial centre was targeted,

and many historical buildings were destroyed as a consequence.

But redevelopment took place on a massive scale,

and one of the buildings that grew out of the ashes was this one,

and it's been home to the Coventry Transport Museum since 1980.

And for one day only, its home to the Flog It valuation day.

And hundreds of people are already in the queue.

And since it's opened its doors,

this museum has amassed the finest collection of vehicles in the world.

Including something that can reach a breathtaking 763mph,

a Daimler that's carried the Queen,

not to mention this beautiful car that's just brought me here.

And hundreds of people, laden with antiques and collectables,

and let's hope the rain doesn't dampen their spirits.

We'll get them inside shortly.

But they're here to ask our experts that all-important question,

which is, "What's it worth?"

And when they find out, what are you going to do?

ALL: Flog It HE CHUCKLES

Well, they say boys like their toys,

and our experts today are no exception.

Hunting out the best antiques

and collectables are the ever-understated Charlie Ross...

-LAUGHTER

-Ooh! How dare you, James!

..and James Lewis.

Come on, cameraman.

You know you're breaking the law here.

Well, that's to beat you with if you don't put me on the programme.

-What else is in there?

-Nothing else. I've got the other item.

There's some tissue paper in there.

Aah! That wasn't a bad guess without opening the box, was it?

And now, boys, play nicely.

Inside the museum, the Flog It team

are ready to receive over 900 people for valuations.

The tables are set, the lights are on, and the cameras are rolling.

So let's open the doors.

On today's show, can you guess which of these items will

sell for three times its valuation?

An 18th-century silver goblet?

An oil on tin painting, rescued from a factory?

Or a Moorcroft vase in perfect condition?

Well, our motors are certainly running at the valuation tables,

that's for sure.

We're surrounded by classic cars and antiques.

What a wonderful combination for a show.

And it looks like Charlie Ross is our first expert to the tables.

Let's take a closer look at what he's spotted.

-"Safety First," Chris.

-Yes, absolutely!

-What have you got here?

Well, I know what you've got here. But I'm fascinated by it.

Where did you get hold of them?

-Well, they originally belonged to my grandfather.

-Yeah?

And my dad as a little boy would have put the cards and stuck them in the book.

-Exactly. Cigarette smokers?

-They were both smokers, well,

he wasn't a smoker when he was a little boy, but...

-He probably was! Behind the bike sheds!

-Yes! SHE LAUGHS

One of the most famous tobacco companies, Wills,

formed in the 18th-century, and they started doing cigarette cards,

actually, in the late 19th century, I think about 1880-1890.

-The cards would have been collected by children.

-Mmm.

-Thereby condoning the rotten habit of smoking!

-Yes!

So the faster their parents smoked,

the quicker they could fill their albums.

Wills were the first people to produce these cards,

and cos their name was so prominent, they produced so many of them.

-Mm-hmm.

-And they're probably the least valuable.

-Yes.

The companies that only produced a few brands,

and therefore a few packets, have become hugely collectable.

-Right.

-But I've never seen the "Safety First."

There is something, if I can find it fairly quickly, that really amuses me.

"Never, on any account, throw anything from a moving car,

"for in addition to the force of the throw,

"it has the momentum by virtue of the speed of the vehicle."

-So the vehicle's speed was such a novel thing in those days.

-Yes.

You thought throwing a sandwich out of the car would be fine,

but if you're going along at 50 miles an hour,

-it is not great if you're hit by a flying sandwich, is it, really?

-SHE LAUGHS

"Do not hang onto a motor vehicle."

-"Do not attempt to board or alight from a vehicle in motion."

-SHE LAUGHS

-Pretty obvious, this stuff.

-Yes, absolutely.

Have you spotted anything about these that you like?

-Well, I like the colours, the colours are really strong.

-Yes.

-They are, aren't they?

-But I also notice it's always men that are driving, and not women.

Oh, I do think women were driving then, were they?

They were very nicely sitting in the back with nice hats on!

THEY LAUGH

-Oh, that's very non-PC, isn't it!

-Yes!

What I like is that the album is in good condition.

-Every single card is there, so they've all been collected.

-Yeah.

They've been stuck into the right spot,

and been well cared and looked after.

-Mm-hmm.

-And that makes it a collectors item.

-Mmm.

Here, we've got Great Aeroplanes Of The World, and the same applies.

I think what we've got here is John Player, you see,

another hugely popular name, and therefore,

-I'm not going to be able to put a huge amount of money on this.

-No.

I mean, I think that the two albums are probably worth between £30-£50.

-Right, OK.

-I don't think any more than that, I'm afraid.

-No, no, I didn't think it would be.

-No.

-So I'm quite happy.

-Do you want to put a reserve on them?

-Yes, I think so.

Or do you want to just sell without reserve?

-No, I'd like 30.

-You would?

-Yes.

-You want to put 30 quid on them.

-With a bit of auctioneer's discretion.

-Yes.

-If it gets bit 29, we'll let him sell.

-SHE LAUGHS

-Yeah? How's that?

-That's OK, that's fine.

-OK.

Health and safety advertised with cigarette cards?

That's an interesting choice. And from one vice to another.

-Are you a big wine drinker?

-No. SHE LAUGHS

So what on earth have you got a great big wine goblet for?

You sit by the fireside at night, guzzling away from this.

THEY LAUGH

So, who did this silver originally belong to,

-and how did it find its way into your family?

-It was my grandmother's.

-That's my grandmother. That's my grandfather.

-Oh!

She was the housekeeper, and he was the butler.

-And where were they in service?

-In London somewhere.

-OK. And who to?

-I don't know, I know it was Lord and Lady somebody.

-OK.

So they were in service, and stood they leave,

and this was given as a gift or...?

-I really don't know.

-Or did they pinch it and they were fired?

THEY LAUGH

-My mother actually kept the poker in it at the side...

-The poker?

-Red hot pokers?

-Yes! At the side of the fire.

-Oh, fire poker?

-Yes!

My goodness!

I mean, that is incredible, because it survived in relatively...

-Relatively good order, if you think about what she's used it for.

-Yeah.

I mean, this is a solid silver,

1760s, Northern European beaker.

They come in various sizes.

I've sold them that big before, I've never seen one this size.

-Haven't you?

-Has anyone ever looked at it before for you?

Erm... A dealer, when he came to buy Mum's furniture,

he was interested in it, and he thought it was Dutch.

-OK.

-Yes.

-Mmm.

-And he wanted to take it, I think he said Bermondsey.

-Oh, did he indeed?

-Yes.

-Yeah!

-I wouldn't let him!

-THEY LAUGH

-Well done!

And looking at the shape of it, it's much further north than Holland.

It's not Dutch. I think this is Swedish.

It's gilded, gold plated inside,

so that the wine doesn't react with the silver.

And this decoration, this is engraved and chased,

with a little tool called a burin,

and you remove little tiny bits of silver,

and then above there, we have a gilded band

to tie it in with the gilt centre.

-I just wish the object could talk.

-Yes.

And it's the research, and finding out,

and working out, why is it here?

How did it get here?

But I guess the relevant question is, what's it worth?

-I would have no idea.

-300-500 is what I think it's worth.

-Yes?

-Do you want to reserve? 300 firm?

-OK.

-Is that OK with you?

-Yes.

Thank you so much for bringing it. Really enjoyed looking at it.

Whilst James was gobbling up that wine goblet,

I went to find out more about Coventry's military record.

Now, earlier on in the show, we found out about the terrible time

Coventry suffered during the Blitz, and the consequences it caused,

but Coventry is also connected with a victory, with this very car.

It's in 1943 Humber, built here in the city.

But this very car, Field Marshal Montgomery drove to Berlin in 1945

to deliver the peace treaty.

Now, that's the vehicle with an incredible pedigree.

There are more items with renowned status in the motorsport gallery,

and Charlie is sticking up for his Flog It favourite.

Now, we get a lot of Moorcroft pottery on Flog It

And I think people can get a bit blase about it.

"Well, the factory's still going,"

erm... "Not another bit of Moorcroft."

I think that's just the wrong way of looking at it.

-I love it. Do you like it?

-No.

-What?!

-SHE LAUGHS I don't like it.

THEY LAUGH

There was I, getting all enthusiastic about a bit of Moorcroft, and you don't like it.

-No.

-What about your family?

-No.

-No?

-They don't, no.

-How long ago did you inherit it?

-Just over 20 years, I've had it.

So it's taken you 20 years to realise you don't like it?

Yeah, well it's been buried away in a cupboard!

THEY LAUGH

Do you know, so many people come to Flog It

and take things out of cupboards and come along here with them,

why are they ever in cupboards in the first place?

Mr William Moorcroft did not make that to stick in a cupboard, did he?

No, he did it for Welsh dressers, and we don't have that now.

-What do you know about it, you know who it's by, obviously.

-I know it's Moorcroft, yes.

-Do you know anything more than that?

-No.

-Do you know where Mr Moorcroft, William Moorcroft,

-who started the factory, was born?

-No.

-He was born in 1872.

-Yeah.

And he lived to quite a good old age, he died in 1945,

the end of the war, the factory was then taken over by Walter, his son.

Yes.

-It's the pomegranate pattern, did you know that?

-Yes, I did know that.

-You knew that.

-Yes.

-So you knew a bit more than you were letting on!

-SHE LAUGHS

When was it made?

-Er... 1935-ish?

-Cor! You're very good!

-Yeah, mid-1930s.

-Yeah.

And it's very, very popular still, and I like the colours.

-Now, the Moorcroft factory is still going today.

-Mmm.

And like the Doulton factory, Worcester,

like so many factories, the colours have become more garish, brighter.

They have, yes.

And I prefer these softer colours,

and that's why I particularly like this.

You probably think it's a bit dark, don't you?

-Yeah, I do, and also, it's too big...

-Yeah?

-..to put on a coffee table.

No, it's just something that might get broken, something you've got to dust.

-Yes, that's right.

-And you might as well have a few bob for it.

-Yeah.

Now you've probably done a bit of research, have you, on the value?

-I've had it valued, yes.

-HAVE you had it valued?

-Yes.

-Oh, dear!

-SHE LAUGHS

-This is when I start feeling a bit nervous on Flog It,

when people say, "I've had it valued."

-Do I want to listen?

-No.

-Go on, tell me.

-Well, what do you think it's worth?

-I'll tell you what it's worth.

Go on, then.

-Exactly?

-Yeah.

£365.

-Up a bit.

-Ooh! Steady.

-I think it's worth between £300-£400.

-Yeah.

-You don't like it, do you?

-No, I don't.

-So, frankly, it's got to go.

-Yes.

-But I would stick a price on it.

-A reserve on it?

-Yes, we must put a reserve on it.

-Yeah.

-Erm...

In case, you know, there's a tornado or a thunderstorm or something,

just as the auction is going to happen and nobody turns up.

We need to put a reserve on it.

-Now, I'd like to see the reserve at 300.

-Yeah.

-As a fixed reserve.

-300-320.

-Now would you be happy with that?

-Say 320.

-320?

-Yeah.

-Well, I'm not going to fall out over 20 quid.

SHE LAUGHS

But we must remember, this has more less catalogue value,

because it's not a unique item.

-Yeah.

-So let's say, 300-400.

-Yeah, that's fine.

-Put it there, and I'll see you at the auction.

-Yes, you will.

-Thank you.

-Thank you!

Well, it looks like we have literally taken over the whole

of the museum today, because we are in danger of running out of seats.

We're filming in the main gallery there, but look at this.

This is an overspill area, and the queue goes down the stairs

still, and out the main front door, through the foyer.

Everyone having a good time? Yes!

Well, I'll tell you what,

our experts have been working flat out in the other rooms,

and we're now ready to go off to auction for the very first time.

And it's Safety First with these cigarette cards.

Will they be smoking in the saleroom?

Nobody knows how this Swedish silver came to be in the UK,

but we do know it's off to auction.

And proving that art is subjective,

Gillian can't stand this Moorcroft vase,

but Charlie loves the pomegranate pattern.

He was confident of his estimate, so let's see if he's right!

Today's auction comes from Stratford-upon-Avon,

only 19 miles from Coventry.

It escaped the Blitz and the post-war redevelopment,

and is quite a different architectural landscape,

boasting some 3,000 listed buildings.

And with a charm all of its own, it's our auction house.

25, 30...

Auctioneer, Christopher Ironmonger, is keeping the peace,

and first up, those cigarette cards.

-Not a lot of value here, £30-£50.

-No.

But these two albums, I think, are wonderful

-and worth every penny at the top end, and more, Charlie.

-Yeah.

-Very good.

-Absolutely. They're iconic.

-They were used to promote the Highway Code.

-Yeah.

And let's find out what this lot thinks, shall we?

Here we go.

And another WD & HO Wills "Safety First" one, there we go.

We might learn something from that.

25 for it. 25 I'm bid, eight there, is it,

25, come on, surely.

28, is it? At 25, the maiden bid.

At 25. 26 now. At £25, are we done at 25?

Are we finished at £25?

HE BANGS GAVEL

-Sorry, Christine.

-Never mind, I've enjoyed the whole experience.

It's been fantastic. I've had a great time.

Sadly, Christine was pounds away from selling her cigarette cards.

Now, I absolutely love this next lot.

Belongs to Susan, and it's the Swedish silver wine goblet,

with that lovely wrigglework, by Johan Gadd.

Now, this has made the catalogue, big photograph.

-You're very pleased with that, aren't you?

-I was, yes.

But you did ring the auctioneer, I've just read in my notes.

Weren't quite sure about 300-500. Surely it's worth an awful lot more.

-Oh, really?

-Mmm...

Oh, you didn't tell ME that on the day!

THEY LAUGH

Christopher actually has said, look, you were right, 300-500, so...

You're still happy, aren't you?

Oh, yes, of course.

It's just that somebody pointed it out 10 years ago,

that it could be worth around a thousand.

-Yeah.

-Let's find out who's going to buy it, shall we, and what they're going to pay for it.

And number 185 is the Johan Gadd, 18th-century Swedish silver beaker,

very attractive piece, this...

Nice wrigglework on this. I can see why you liked it.

-It's your thing, isn't it?

-That's the bit I like.

-And the banding.

-Yes.

250 I'm bid, 250, the bid's there at 250, 250, 250, 300, is it?

250, 260, 270, 280?

280, 300, 320?

300 on my right, at 300, seems awfully reasonable at £300.

20 if you like, £300, it's going to be sold,

the bid's here at £300, are you done?

HE BANGS GAVEL

-It's gone. £300, lower end, we were right, weren't we?

-Yes, yes, yes.

Well, there you go.

I'm surprised the wine goblet didn't make the upper end

of the estimate, and of course, if it was English silver,

you could stick a nought onto that £300.

Right now going under the hammer,

we've got a great name in ceramics, it doesn't get much better.

Moorcroft, a bit of Walter Moorcroft, as well.

One of the great designers, artists, pottery thrower and chemist.

-Experimented with a lot of glazes, he did.

-He did?

And, this pomegranate pattern is very, very popular

with the buyers and collectors.

-But not so popular with you.

-No, I didn't like it.

-Charlie told me that, you didn't like it.

-No.

-THEY LAUGH

-But in a way, you know, we don't mind that,

because we're here to sell things, we don't really want you to keep things.

-So what puts you off this?

-The colour.

-The shape.

-You don't like the colour, the ground, at all.

-The shape, it's too tall.

-Happy with the 320-400, though?

-Yes. I'm fine.

Like the money. Rather have the money than the vase.

Yes, yes, I would. Yes!

SHE LAUGHS

Fair enough.

I'm just hoping it'll do... I don't think it's going to do the top end.

-No.

-But, erm... If we can get 320-340, I'll be quite happy.

Well, it's now down to this lot. Let's find out what the bidders think, shall we?

It's going under the hammer now.

And a lot of interest in this, I can start it straight off at 320,

on the book, at 320, at 340, is it in the room?

At 320, 340, 360, 380, is it? 360, I've got.

-370 might help.

-Yeah, that's selling.

-It's selling.

-I'm selling it...

-Hopefully we'll get that top end.

370, 380, 390?

£380.

390 now. £380, are we done and finished?

-HE BANGS GAVEL

-380.

-Yes, the hammer's gone down, £380. Yes.

-I'm happy with that!

-And I am.

-I bet you are, because you couldn't stand it!

-Yes!

-Yeah, exactly!

-SHE LAUGHS

-Hey, don't forget, there's commission to pay, all right?

-Yeah.

-But nevertheless, it's a lot of money, still, there.

-Yes.

Well, that concludes our first visit to the auction room,

and all three ladies have gone away smiling.

Now, the auction room is packed full of antiques

from all different periods of history.

It gives us a strong association with the past.

Now, not far from here,

there's a building that witnessed more history than most.

I went off exploring. Take a look at this.

Treachery, treason, demise and resurrection.

There is one castle in the County of Warwickshire that can lay claim

to all of this and more.

Warwick Castle.

Ten centuries of history soaked into this ground and these walls.

A building that has survived challenges,

both ferocious and financial.

And this is where it all started, on this great big earth mound,

two years after the Norman invasion of 1066.

William the Conqueror ordered Henry de Beaumont

to build a motte and bailey castle right here, overlooking Warwick,

in a key position of strength.

It was basically a statement of intent

to ward off any English uprising.

The motte and bailey castle was built mainly of timber,

and was quick and easy to assemble.

It was given to the first of many earls of Warwick, Henry de Beaumont,

whose job it was to govern the land

and keep law and order amongst the people.

But motte and bailey castles weren't built to last,

so with the Earl's money,

the wooden castles were reinforced with stone in 1260.

The stone was bought and transported from local quarries,

and built around the original footprint of the old castle.

And while the walls were incredibly strong, the earl behind them wasn't.

The eighth Earl of Warwick, William Maudit,

was seen as indecisive and weak.

An attack was launched on the castle from neighbouring Kenilworth Castle,

and with weapons like that...

even the strongest walls would crumble.

The trebuchet was the largest

and most formidable siege weapon used in medieval times.

In essence, it was an enormous catapult.

Well, this is a reconstruction of a trebuchet, built on notes

and drawings from the 14th century, based on that,

so it's absolutely accurate,

and it's an incredible piece of engineering.

As you can see, it's about 18 metres high, it weighs a massive 22 tonnes,

and it can throw an object 25 metres in the air

at a distance of 300 metres,

so it's the ideal weapon to attack your enemy with.

It was built of oak, incredible tensile strength, the oak has,

but the throwing arm, that's made of ash.

And the grain in ash allows it to be much more flexible and pliable,

it's got a whippiness to it.

But this is it.

So as you can see, look, they're winding up the windlass.

The throwing arm's going down.

It gets attached by a locking mechanism, so it's

fully in place, and when it's ready to go, the ammunition is loaded.

You can see the sling is on the end of this rope here,

and on the other end of the pulling arm, you've got a ballast box,

and that ballast box is full of around five tonnes of rock,

so when the mechanism is pulled,

that ballast box drops straight to the ground incredibly fast,

whipping the throwing arm right up in the air.

Hurling your ammunition towards the enemy.

The throwing arm is now in position.

The locking mechanism is in, so the break is on.

The rope is being attached now to the slaying.

In the sling is the ammunition, the projectile

that you're going to throw in that direction, towards the enemy.

What could it be today, could it be a ball of fire? A big rock?

Or could it be a rotting carcass, a cow's carcass full of maggots?

Well, I hope that hasn't put you off your afternoon cup of tea and biscuits.

I'm sure it's not going to be that.

In a moment, we're going to have to just move back,

just in case something might go wrong, we might be in the way.

But can you imagine moving this hundreds of metres

towards your enemy?

You wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that,

because it literally just goes, pow!

-Yes...

-CHEERING

What a wonderful cheer from over there!

Nine... Eight...

Seven... Six...

Five... Four...

Three... Two... One... Pull!

Wow!

Oh, my gosh!

That is incredible!

That was incredible, that was absolutely incredible.

Wow, look at the whippiness in that throwing arm, still.

And you can see how beautifully counterbalanced it is now,

with that ballast box full of five tonnes of rocks.

The trebuchet, and other tools of war,

caused major damage to the castle in the 13th century.

The North Wall was torn down, and the towers were starting to crumble.

Fortunately, in the 14th century, the earl stepped in and reinforced Warwick Castle,

building the front facade, which has become one of the most recognisable examples

of 14th century military architecture.

But as the centuries changed, so did the fate of the castle.

Historian, Adam Busiakiewicz, told me more.

In the Tudor period, this castle was, believe it or not,

seen as old-fashioned.

Nobody really wanted to spend the huge amounts of money

to rebuild it, or even remodel it, so there we go.

So what happened to the castle in the end?

Well, in the 16th century, during the Elizabethan period,

believe it or not, Warwick Castle became a prison for a while.

Still we have on the walls, all types of scratching

and graffiti that prisoners left.

That's quite lovely, actually,

so even the walls are permeating history.

And what would the castle have looked like during this time?

-Well, we have accounts that actually, during the time, the Great Hall ceiling had fallen in.

-Gosh!

All the windows had been taken away,

even some of the towers were said to be falling down,

so could you imagine that?

Warwick Castle was dying.

The towers began to fall, and what had been a symbol of strength

now looked weak and withered.

But hope was not lost.

Enter Fulke Greville, the man responsible

for restoring a dilapidated castle into a magnificent country home.

He was given the castle by James I, with a value of around £470.

He saw the potential in it,

and ploughed a huge amount of cash into its restoration.

Somewhere in the region of £20,000, and at the time,

that was absolutely millions.

Much of what you see today is thanks to the Grevilles.

Fulke Greville used architects who were the first

to go on a Grand Tour of Europe,

and witness classical design and architecture.

The Red Room shows elements of that design, particularly the ceiling.

When you look up there and you see the classical ornamentation,

that repetitive form of decoration,

inspired by the classical Renaissance,

something you'd see in an Italian villa.

Yet, when you look at the walls,

you see traditional panelling from floor-to-ceiling.

Note the absence of a dado rail, a very important architectural detail,

which you'd expect to see with the ceiling like that

and the cornice like that, but it's not there.

So that tells us this is a transition from the old to the new.

Now, the room would have changed colours many times

with each different owner, but thanks to the Grevilles,

this room has remained very special.

Warwick Castle stayed with the descendants of Greville

for 374 years.

That's nine generations.

But it was sold in 1978 to the Tussauds Group.

Now it's being kept alive by actors telling the castle's history.

CHEERING

..fly right at the Tower. All the way down...

War, triumph, imprisonment and transformation.

Warwick Castle has seen it all.

Its stone has survived centuries of decay,

and seen some colourful characters along the way.

And as the saying goes, if only the walls could talk.

Now, back to our valuation day at Coventry Transport Museum.

George, I have to say, you are far too young and trendy

to be the sort of guy that buys, or owns, flaky oil paintings like this.

-I am actually a collector, I do collect.

-Are you?

-Yeah. I've got delftware.

-Yeah.

I've got some Beswick, I've got some Clarice Cliff, erm...

-Depends what takes my fancy, whatever shines through.

-Really?

-Yeah.

So how did it come to be in your possession,

and what's it doing here?

-My father saved it from a factory.

-A factory?

-Yeah.

The factory was destroyed three days after the painting was removed.

-Really?

-Yeah.

And then I discovered the inscription on the bottom, so I typed that in.

-Yes.

-And then an artist's name appeared.

-OK.

-Which was Robert Dodd.

OK.

-He was prolific for painting marine type work.

-Yeah.

Even though he did or oils, he also did in great things.

Because Dodd was a great engraver,

-his work was accessible by everybody.

-Mm-hmm.

So you find that anyone who has his original works engraved

-is also the type of artist that was copied most of all.

-Yeah.

So here we're looking at a picture

that was probably not far after Dodd himself.

It says here...

.."HIS Majesty's ships."

Now, that clearly means that the original painting was painted before 1837,

cos that's Queen Victoria, It would be "HER Majesty's ships."

This is a George III scene.

Probably painted around 1820-1840, something around there.

It's oil, and it's oil painted directly onto tin.

We look at the centre of the painting, and it's in really good order.

The only damage is around the outside,

and that is so easy to repair.

And I've seen it happen so many times that we look at a picture like this

and think, "Fabulous, let's clean it."

-The first thing that comes off when you clean the picture is the dirt.

-Yeah.

The next thing that comes off is the layer beneath the dirt,

-which is the varnish.

-Yeah.

The next thing, if you clean it too far below the varnish,

is the last thing that the artist painted,

so if you've got a face painted by an artist, the last thing the artist puts on,

the little white dots in the eye to bring the eyes to life,

if you restore that back too far, the white dots are lost.

-Yeah.

-And the face becomes flat and lifeless.

-And the same thing will happen here if you're not careful.

-Yeah.

So, for me, leave it like that, but if you just lick it,

I'm not going to lick it straight on, do you mind if I spit on your picture?

GEORGE LAUGHS

Just look there.

-See the way that just starts to come to life?

-Yeah, excellent.

-You can actually see all the extra detail coming through.

-You can, can't you?

-Yeah.

-You can.

I think the right auction estimate would be £300-£500.

-I think it might make a shade more. It's a very speculative lot.

-Yeah.

It's the sort of thing that might, with a following wind,

-catch on and make you up to £1,000.

-Wow.

-Fingers crossed.

-Fantastic.

-Fingers crossed.

-Shall we put a reserve on it?

-Yes, please, yeah.

-£300 firm is what I'd recommend.

-That's brilliant.

-Brilliant.

-But I think it's a great picture, and thank you so much for bringing it in.

-No, thank you. Thank you.

Good to see the next generation with a passion for antiques.

And now to an unusual family collection.

Well, Margaret, the more I rummaged around

in that little box of yours, the more interesting items came out.

-Yes.

-Is there a connection between them?

-Yes, there is, they are all family pieces.

-Yes.

But from different parts of the family.

-Yeah.

-This one belonged to my mother.

-Yeah.

This one belonged to a grandfather,

-but I'm not sure whether a maternal or paternal grandfather.

-Right.

And these belonged to my paternal grandmother.

Right.

I'm absolutely intrigued in particular by these bayonets.

Are they brooches?

-As I understand it, they are lapel pins.

-Yeah.

-That were brought back from the First World War.

-Yeah.

What do you think of them?

-Er... I'm a bit... I think they're a little gruesome, actually.

-They are, aren't they?

-Yes!

-Is this a token of love?

-Well...

Would you bring your wife a bayonet pin back?

-I would not give my wife a bayonet.

-SHE LAUGHS

-I'm more enamoured of the other objects, to be honest.

-Yes, they're more appealing.

And this is a cello, or a double bass, and it is, what is it..?

-A vesta case.

-A vesta case.

-Yes.

-I would really love this object to be silver.

-Sorry..!

-But it isn't.

-SHE LAUGHS

Do you know, if this was silver, I think it would be rare enough to be worth £200-£300.

-Really?

-Yeah. But its plate, and it isn't, so don't get too excited!

Now, the other object, I'm pretty certain I know what that is,

if I lift it up, I think it's incomplete.

-SHE LAUGHS

-Is it not?

-It is, yes!

-And what is it?

It's from a baby's rattle.

-It's from a baby's rattle, or teething ring.

-Or teething ring.

And yes, there we go, there's a large hole in the bear's bottom, here.

Now, this is silver.

-I don't know whether it has a hallmark... Yes, it has!

-Yes, it has.

It's got an English hallmark on there.

Do you know, it's so small, I can't see it.

Properly. But I would estimate that to be about 1908.

-Now, I think it's a Chester hallmark.

-Yes. It's got a date, then.

-It's got a date, I think, it's 1921.

Do you know, I think that's good enough for it to be restorable.

-Really?

-Yes, I do.

I would suggest that although that's badly damaged,

that has more value than the other objects.

-I'm attaching very little value to those.

-No.

I'm attaching a value of probably £30-£40 on the bear, so...

-You look pleasantly surprised!

-I am! I didn't expect it to be...

No, and I think 10 or 20 there, I think we can put 50-100.

-Now.

-Gosh, yes.

-Shall we put a reserve of £30 on them?

-That's fine.

James has been doing valuations all over the museum today,

and it looks like he has hit the road again.

Debbie, I have to say, in a museum full of the trappings of luxury,

we can't find anything more contrasting than two medals

that would have been won in such severe conditions.

-Are they family pieces?

-I inherited them from my grandfather.

-I believe they were his father's, so my great-grandfather.

-Gosh.

That's about as much as I know, really.

The great thing about these medals

is that if you look around the edge, they are named,

you've got the number there, and "Private T Worrall".

-Mmm.

-"Royal Welsh Fusiliers."

-Yeah, Thomas, yeah.

-Ah, Thomas.

-Mm-hmm.

So here we have two medals that were service medals

that have been awarded to your great-great-grandfather for efforts,

fighting the Boers in South Africa.

One can only imagine what Thomas Worrall would have thought

when he arrived in South Africa, just over 100 years ago.

I mean, where all used to watching David Attenborough, aren't we,

and seeing lions and zebras

and rhinos going across the Great Plains,

but for somebody to come from England and see those creatures,

and see Zulus for the first time, face to face,

would have been an incredible experience.

Now, if we have a look at the bars, these are called bars,

along the ribbon, you've got

Transvaal, Driefontein, Paardeberg and the Relief of Kimberley.

Now, all together, there were 26 bars that you could have on this one ribbon.

That would have been one long medal, it would be almost like my tie by the time they'd finished with it.

But it's still a good medal.

I mean, they've been rattling around in this old tin for quite a long time.

-It's a chocolate tin, isn't it?

-It is, yes.

-Yeah.

These were given to a lot of the troops.

-They had cigarettes in one half.

-Mm-hmm.

-Chocolate in the other, and a little Christmas card in the centre, as well.

-Yeah.

And Mary actually did the same thing in the First World War,

-and gave all the troops a little pencil in the form of a bullet.

-Really?

Dividing the chocolate and the cigarettes,

so that all the troops in the trenches could write home for Christmas.

-Right.

-What have we got here? Ah, now.

"Parchment certificate of character on discharge.

"His conduct and character while with the Colours have been,

-"according to the records, very good."

-Mm-hmm.

-So he was a good soldier.

-That's good news.

He was five foot six inches tall, had grey eyes,

and he was a labourer.

-Mmm.

-Gosh, it's very personal, isn't it?

-It is, yeah.

-He was 31 years.

I've never seen any photographs of him, so I've no idea what he looks like, even.

I've actually got another document which I didn't bring with me,

which is the burial certificate for himself and his wife,

and they're buried in one of the churchyards somewhere locally, in Bedworth.

-Are they really?

-Yeah.

-Would you be able to get me a copy of that?

-Sure.

-Cos that...

I've got his birth certificate, as well, if that helps.

Brilliant. Birth certificate, death certificate, bit of history on that.

-I might have a marriage certificate as well.

-Perfect. You want to sell them? Find them a home?

-I'm definitely interested in finding them a home.

-For me, people often say, "Why do families sell medals?"

-I look at it from a different perspective.

-Mm-hmm.

In that the people that collect medals are fascinated with history.

Whoever buys these will look into your great-grandfather's history.

They will write down every bit of information about him.

If they can locate a photograph, that will go with the medals.

-Mm-hmm.

-And these will start to really tell a story.

-Yeah.

So, in a way, keeping them in a drawer is not a better thing to do

than allow them to tell the story of what he did.

-Value. I think they're worth about £200-£300.

-OK.

-Something like that.

-All right?

-That's great.

I think they're great medals, I think they've got great character.

-I'd put a reserve of 180 on them.

-Mm-hmm.

-And an estimate of 200-300.

-That's great.

-Is that all right for you?

-Absolutely, yes.

-Fantastic. Well, I think they're going to do very well.

-Thank you, James.

Well, time to say goodbye to the fantastic Coventry Transport Museum.

But before we go, there's just something I'd like to show you.

In fact, I've been given special permission to sit on this

particular motorcycle.

A local chap named Stanley Glanfield rode this

motor cycle around the world.

Through 16 countries, four continents.

He clocked up 80,000 miles on the clock.

Now back then, in 1928,

this motorcycle cost £60. And talking of values,

let's put this next set of items to the test, shall we?

Let's get over to the auction room in Stratford-upon-Avon

for the very last time.

And here's a quick recap just to jog your memories

of the items we are taking with us.

MAKES REVVING SOUND

With the wind in its sails,

this wonderful painting is navigating its way to the saleroom.

These medals commemorate the service of Thomas Worrall in the Boer Wars

over 100 years ago.

Will they sell to a collector who's interested in their heritage?

It's not going to make her a million

but Margaret hopes her collection will get the top end of the estimate.

At 60 with the lady. At 60... Sold.

-Debbie, good luck.

-Thank you very much.

We're about to put your medals under the hammer.

The two Queen Victoria South African medals. James, spot-on valuation.

Medals have been a great investment over

the last few years.

-And they're picking up. It's getting a stronger market now.

-Yeah.

I think there's interest in the military as well with

the Gulf War, Afghanistan.

Our respect for the forces are increasing.

There was a time we didn't talk about the forces.

But we're really up for it now. It's great.

-They're going under the hammer right now. Here we go.

-Fine.

Queen Victoria South African medal.

And quite interestingly with this one I would add that we've

got copies of the birth and death certificates for Lucy Worrall.

-And Thomas Worrall.

-Do you know, provenance is everything.

It builds a package and that package is the value.

I'll start the bidding here at 180 with the commission bid.

Is it 200 in the room? 200 I've got, 220, 240, 260, 280.

280 with you, yes? 280. That takes me out. 280 on my right.

-280.

-Selling in the room.

-£280 on my right, 280.

-There gone. It was as simple as that, wasn't it?

-Thanks, guys.

Thank you! £280.

-Yes, lovely.

-Somebody will love them.

That sale proves militaria's popularity.

Now to another family heirloom with a military connection.

-Margaret, are you ready for this?

-I think so, yes.

-OK.

-There's not a lot of money at stake.

-No.

But it's a nice little collection of silver.

-A few little odds and ends there.

-Yeah.

-A good little lot.

But we're testing the market right now, aren't we?

-This is a good experience.

-That's right, yes.

It's a Flog It first for you.

LAUGHTER Whatever it gets is going to charity anyway.

Well, it's a cracking little lot, really, Charlie.

A bit of quality. Something for everybody.

I just hope people have spotted that it's Chester Hallmark on that little bear.

-All right, OK. Here we go, it's going under the hammer now.

-Great.

Right, we now come onto lot 230 which is the selection of

base metal collectors items.

So who's going to start me with £30? £30.

Very collectible.

£20 then. £20 I'm bid. 25, £30, £35, gentleman's bid at 35.

Will you go? At 35, 40, sir, 40. 45. 45, 50.

45, the lady on the stairs at 45. Is it 50 now? Last chance at £45.

-Well, it's gone.

-That's good.

-That's good.

-Yeah.

-That's good.

-Spot on, Charlie.

-Spot on.

-Got some money for a good cause, so...

Bidding in the room,

the buyer of Margaret's lot told us what attracted her to it.

It was mainly the teddy bear

that brought me to it because I have a business partner

and we actually have a business together

where we sell animal-related antiques.

That little bear has found a new home.

We see a lot of oils on canvas on the show.

We don't see that many oils on tin.

Especially large examples like this. It belongs to George

and it's a 19th-century copy of the original by Robert Dodd, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, a wonderful thing. Absolutely wonderful.

Why are you selling this?

Erm, I'm just worried that under my care something's going to

-happen to it.

-Right, it's a bit vulnerable?

-Yes.

So I just thought, maybe it needs to go to someone who can look after it

or maybe have a bit of restoration done.

Well, look, good luck, both of you on this.

We've got 3 to 5 riding on this. I think it's a snip.

Here we go, let's put it to the test.

I can open the bidding with commission at 300.

Straight off at 300 and I think we have some phones as well. At 300.

Who wants 350? I've got 350. 350 there.

There's a phone line open, look.

400, 400. 450? 400 on the top phone.

450. 450. 500? 500, 550? 550.

-600?

-600.

-Good.

-650? 700? 700? 750?

750. 800? 800.

-This is very good, George. This is quite scary.

-850. 900?

-900. 950?

-It's making cracking money.

1,000? 1,000. Go 1,100?

-1,200?

-Wow.

-1,300?

1,400. 1,500.

1,600.

1,700.

1,600 on that phone, are we all finished?

-£1,600, George.

-£1,600. Top phone at 1,600.

-Gosh.

-GAVEL FALLS

-There you go. £1,600. What a moment.

-I can't believe it.

-What's going through your mind right now?

I was expecting to take it home,

I didn't think it was actually going to sell.

-£1,600! Enjoy it, won't you?

-Yeah.

And I know you want to set yourself up in the antiques trade

and what a wonderful way to start.

It's a nice little package or a nice little earner

-as they say for your first one.

-Oh, definitely.

Keep doing it, keep doing it, well done.

Another happy Flog It customer. And if you think a painting on your wall might be worth a wedge,

come along to one of our valuation days.

Details can be found on our website or in the local press.

Well, that's it from Stratford-upon-Avon

and another unpredictable auction.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd.