Manchester 32 Flog It!

Inside this dome is a unique treasure

that most people know nothing about.

This is the Godlee double telescope.

It's part of a fully-functioning observatory that was built in 1902.

From this telescope, you can see the stars in all their glorious detail.

But today, we're interested in what's down there,

the city of Manchester.

Welcome to "Flog It!".

In the last 200 years,

Manchester has been home to some of the world's greatest scientists.

Atomic theory, no less, was first developed by John Dalton

in Manchester and his protege, Salford-born James Joule,

was so important to science he had a unit of energy named after him -

the joule.

So what better place to hold our evaluation day today than MOSI?

And in there is a replica

of the world's first stored program computer

and we're going to be pressing its buttons later on in the show.

But first, we need to work out a little formula of our own.

What do all of these people, plus their antiques, plus our experts

and an auction room equal?

"Flog It!"

Correct. And someone was very late there.

Go to the back of the class!

HE LAUGHS

Calculating the values

and predicting the outcome at auction today is Michael Baggott.

Now, I wonder if he was any good at science in school.

Rather than be a geneticist

I decided to become a spoon specialist.

And I think there is some chemistry between him and Anita Manning.

No, no, Anita!

Don't show him any silver.

-Oh, no!

-Don't show him any silver.

What have you found?

Well, I'm so excited because we have a massive queue here

and surely someone here has got something that's worth

a small fortune and we're going to find it.

You never know what's going to turn up at a "Flog It!" valuation day.

So, let's get everybody inside and get started.

Are you ready for this? Come on, then.

MOSI is filled with the inventions that helped

transform Manchester into a world-leading textile producer.

And today, it is also filled with antiques

and collectables that have their own story to tell.

But which will make the most money for its owner?

The silver coffee pot of quality Danish design?

Or the gold sovereigns?

Both sell for over £600 but can you guess which one wins the day?

Keep watching to find out.

Well, everybody's now safely seated inside the venue

and I'm just looking up there where it says "Flog It!"

But look at that queue.

Nearly as big as ours this morning!

We have our experts in place. They've found their first items.

We've got our researcher's working very hard behind the scenes

on behalf of our experts, looking out for further knowledge.

So let's now catch up with Michael Baggott

who's first at the "Flog It!" tables

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

Jeff, Leslie, there are some things

that come onto a "Flog It!" valuation day

I could happily run away with and I could happily run away with this.

It is absolutely delightful. Where did it come from?

Car boot sale.

No! Not another one! Not another one of the car boots.

Really, was it a very, very long time ago?

30 years ago at a car boot sale, the first one never in Manchester?

No. Three years ago.

When you saw it, did you know immediately it was good

or did you just...? Was it taking a chance?

I think we knew. We looked at each other, gave that look and went...

SHE CHUCKLES.

So you bought it. How much?

50p.

50p? It's the standard price at car boots, isn't it? 50p.

Um...

I suppose it doesn't look a lot to some people.

If you're not interested in glass or engraved glass,

you might pass that by and obviously a few people did.

But if we look at it in detail...

..it's obviously cameo glass. So, you've got this tinted glass.

It's not quite a lemon yellow.

And then it's encased in white glass, opaque white glass.

And some of this is etched back

and some of this is wheel-engraved back and carved

to give this three-dimensional form.

But it's just formed as a flower bud. A clever thing to do.

Most of this stuff is done in Stourbridge

at the end of the 19th century.

There are names like George Woodall,

but one of the great names is Thomas Webb

and if we turn it over, you've seen that before, haven't you?

Thomas Webb and Sons of Stourbridge, probably the finest manufacturers

of cameo glass in Britain at the end of the 19th century.

It does subtly have...

Oh, it's heartbreaking, isn't it?

-Chips with everything.

-Yeah.

-Food, yes. Glass, no.

It's such a shame it's a deep chip because you can't polish it out

and it's right next to some of the raised cameo.

So whoever buys this has to live with it.

So now we're narrowing, I'm sad to say, the commercial field for it.

What has 50 pence become?

-Any ideas?

-That's why we're here. Not a clue.

What's sensible, whenever you've got anything damaged,

is to put it in at an attractive price

because then people look at the object first

-and they don't worry about the estimate.

-Yeah.

Would you be happy if we put it in at £100-£200?

Definitely.

And we'll put a fixed reserve of £100 because,

I know I say this a lot, it is worth it all day long.

-Oh, yeah.

-You know, and I tell you,

if you can get a couple of hundred pounds for it

-and go and buy 400 more at 50 pence each.

-That would be good.

That's the thing to do, isn't it?

I really think it's an absolute gem.

It would fit in my pocket but they just won't let me take it home.

-Thank you so much.

-Thank you for that.

-Thank you.

It's a beautifully crafted piece but it's far from perfect.

Will the damage keep the bidders away? Jeff and Leslie Hope not.

Now, to a vase that's not quite so small and delicate.

Helen, if you are a "Flog It!" fan, you'll know exactly what that is.

-Yes, I do.

-Tell me.

-Troika.

-Troika. Yeah.

Now, I find that people either love Troika or hate Troika.

Well, hate is quite a strong word but I'm not very fond of it at all.

-You're not fond of it?

-No, no.

-Why not?

I think they're a bit ugly, really.

-I like more pretty, feminine things.

-Ah.

-Gentle, graceful, elegant?

-Yes, that's right. Yes.

-I love Troika.

-Oh, right.

ANITA LAUGHS

I love 20th-century design

and this is an important part of 20th-century design.

-Troika was made between 1963 and 1983 in Cornwall.

-Yes.

In this almost granitey finish, I'm seeing the ruggedness of Cornwall.

Right, yes.

I'm starting to think about Barbara Hepworth

and her wonderful sculpture garden

-and I'm sure that influenced the Troika design.

-Yes.

Has this been passed down? Tell me a wee bit about the background.

I don't know anything about it.

My husband bought it quite a number of years ago

and it's never been out in the house, it's just been put away.

-So it hasn't been on display?

-No.

This one was made 1976, 1977,

and we know that because on the base we have the artist's monogram,

which is S.L. and that is Sue Lowe.

-Oh, right. I didn't know that.

-And she worked...

She made Troika pieces '76, '77.

So it's very nice to have the monogram

because some of them are unsigned.

This vase is called the Anvil vase

and it's because of this anvil shape.

When I look at it I'm thinking of the influence of Aztec design.

Yeah.

The artist must have fallen in love with aspects of Aztec design

and adopted them within the Troika.

-Yes.

-And I think that it's wonderful.

The iconic large pieces of Troika

-are still getting huge amounts of money.

-Yeah.

This piece isn't quite there but it still will be desirable.

I would put an estimate of £120-£180 on it.

-Would you be happy with that estimate, Helen?

-Yes, I think so.

-OK. We'll put it in and we'll put a reserve on it at £120.

-Right. OK.

Well, I love it and I hope that there are people at the auction

who are as enthusiastic as I am about this lovely piece.

Thank you.

I never tire of hearing about one of the country's leading modern designs

and it's in good company here at the museum because it's packed

with British inventions that have changed and shaped our history.

Now, we're going to play a little game here.

We're going to ask all the audience what their favourite invention is.

We're going to hand out pieces of paper.

My colleague Sophie here, who's part of the "Flog It!" team,

is going to be handing out these.

Everyone's going to be writing down

what they think their favourite invention is

and at some time throughout the show,

we're going to be looking at this

and seeing which one comes out on tops.

I wonder who it will be.

Find out later in the programme, but now some very unusual owls.

Roy, thank you for bringing in these lovely pair of little pepper pots.

You're welcome.

How did you come by them?

-I got them off the internet.

-Long time ago?

-About three weeks ago.

-Three weeks ago? What was I doing?

Why wasn't I paying attention?

Do you buy a lot of silver on the internet?

I've just started buying silver, yeah.

About six months ago.

-Right.

-Like the babies' rattles and the vesta cases and things like that.

So what started you off?

I just like buying animal objects

so if it's in the form of an animal, I'll buy it.

When you bought them, what were they described to?

1952 was the date that the guy put on them

and just pepper pots, salt and pepper pots.

Right. Well, if we have a look here,

-we've got a full set of hallmarks just tucked on the tail.

-Yeah.

And indeed, we've got hallmarks for 1952 and Chester.

Chester is an assay office that in the '40s and '50s

started to produce less and less silver.

-Right.

-Less was marked there.

And in fact, it closed in the 1960s.

So it's very unusual to get large, novelty pieces marked that late.

-Right.

-That's the first thing.

And the second thing is, they're really good quality.

They are copying the first novelty pepperettes in the form of owls

made by Charles Thomas and George Fox, in about 1840, 1850.

-Yeah.

-Then towards the end of the 19th century,

all these little pepper pots get much smaller.

It's as if they're harking back

-to the ones that were made a hundred years ago.

-Right.

They are handmade. The feet are cast.

And they're engraved to simulate feathers.

I suppose the crucial question - well, two crucial questions -

is why do you want to sell them,

because you bought them three weeks ago?

-Because they're not old enough.

-They're not old enough for you?

-No.

You're a puritan. You're a man after my own heart, Roy.

And the other big question is what did you pay for them?

£350.

£350 was not an unreasonable price to pay.

That's with postage.

With postage and everything included.

In fact, you probably couldn't go into a dealers

-and buy those for £350 today.

-No.

So that's good value.

Now, at auction I think we would be sensible to put £300-£500 on them

and a fixed reserve of £300.

And that gives them the best chance of getting up to that £500 mark.

Right, OK.

So if these do well, you want something earlier and smaller.

I'm going to go on holiday with it.

Oh, it's holiday money?

-I suppose you can't spend all your money on silver, can you?

-No, no.

No, they're lovely things.

They really are unusual at that date so thank you so much

for bringing them in and I hope they fly away at the auction.

So do I.

Well, there you are. You've just seen them.

Three wonderful items that our experts have picked out.

I've got my favourite, you've probably got yours. But right now,

it's time to put those valuations to the test in the sale room.

So, while we make our way over to the auction room,

here's a quick recap just to jog your memory

of everything that's coming with us.

-Michael believes in it.

-It is absolutely delightful.

But will the crack hold this exquisite vase back?

And you've seen it on the show before

but can you guess what it sells for?

And the owls cost Roy £350. Will they proved to be a wise investment?

Travel 15 miles south of Manchester

and the setting is rather more rural.

And today's auction house is not just trading in the normal stock

of furniture and ceramics, they also have a separate sale for livestock.

COWS MOO

I think we'll stick to antiques.

Well, this is what it's all about -

the excitement and the atmosphere of an auction room.

You just cannot beat it.

Anything can happen right now. The auction has just got underway.

Nick Hall, our auctioneer, is on the rostrum

and we're going to get on with our first lot.

Sadly, Jeff and Leslie couldn't make it to the auction today

so they've sent their relatives along instead.

-Pleased to meet you. How do you do?

-Hello.

-Who's this?

-This is my niece, Terryl.

-Hello. That's an unusual name, isn't it?

Terryl.

-Beautiful little thing, isn't it?

-It is.

The only downside is the little chip

and it will be down to the bidders today to decide whether

they want it chipped or whether they'll wait for a perfect one.

And this is the beauty of auctions.

You never know what's going to happen in an auction room.

That's why we love them and that's why you keep watching them.

So let's get on with it right now and put this under the hammer.

Here we go.

Lot 415 is a Thomas Webb & Sons cameo glass vase, circa 1900.

It's actually signed Webb to the base. Beautifully cut.

Start me at £100 for it, surely.

Where is £100? Who's here to appreciate the glass?

80, 70.

Start the ball rolling at £50. Come on, who's here to bid this?

At £50. Thank you, madam.

50, I'm bid. Any advance on £50?

We have five against you. At 55. Are you coming in?

You're not, you're out. That was quick. Short and sweet.

It's 55 against you. At £55. Anyone else bidding now?

As 55 only. It's not enough. At 55 I have.

At 55 only.

No further bids. All sure?

At £55, unsold, sorry.

Well, the hammer's gone down and it didn't sell.

We didn't really get a maiden bid, not even an opening bid.

-There wasn't a nibblet.

-There wasn't, was there?

And in a way, that's quite good. Do you know that?

Because that was worth that reserve you put on that.

Sorry, Leslie and Jeff. It didn't sell this time

but there's always another day and another auction.

So, let's hope the fortunes are better for Roy's owls.

Something tells me Roy here has been doing a little bit

of sort of buying and selling, a bit of speculating.

-Yeah.

-Three weeks before the valuation day,

-you purchased these two little silver owls.

-I did, yeah.

-For £300...?

-£350.

-£350.

Which was sensible money, I think. I think that is bang on.

Let's just hope we get your money back and a little bit of profit, OK?

OK, here we go. They're going under the hammer.

Lot 575. It is a pair of hallmarked silver

pepper pots in the form of owls.

These are rather fun, aren't they? 1952, '53.

Right, who's going to start me at £300?

-And a deathly silence fell.

-Come on.

-Yeah.

Got a couple of wise old owls over there.

Surely you'll start the bidding. 300.

Couple of hundred to start with, then.

Yes? 200 I have. At £200, 210, 220,

230, 240, 250, 260,

270, 280, 290, 300.

300. Front row I've got at £300.

You're out at the back.

At £300, only bid.

Right at the front. Seated bid at £300.

-For late Chester Silver.

-Yeah, I know.

Otherwise I'm selling them at £300.

Front row will take them then at £300.

-Cor, they struggled a bit, didn't they?

-Yeah, they did.

We got them away but you've lost a little bit of money.

-Nevermind. You learn.

-You've had the joy of owning them though

and you've learned, exactly.

And you can only learn by your knocks.

No-one in this industry is born an expert.

It's something to have to learn.

If all I'd lost, Paul, was the difference between

-what Roy's paid and sold, I'd be a happy man.

-Yeah.

Roy may not have made his money back

but someone else is pleased he sold them.

The owls I bought cost me £300 at auction plus commission

and I'm going to keep it for my private collection

and I'm happy I bought them.

Coming up right now, we've got a wonderful Anvil vase from Troika

and I've got some laughs by the side of me.

You see, I like Troika.

I'm probably responsible for all of it coming out of the woodwork

and I know a lot of you don't like it but, you know, for me

it's got all those rustic qualities of Cornwall.

Did you pick this up on your holidays?

My husband picked it up, probably at a car boot sale.

Oh, right. So he probably only paid about a tenner for it or a fiver.

-Probably less than that, I would think.

-Gosh.

Anyway, it's going under the hammer right now.

Let's find out what it does. Let's double your money. Good luck.

Lot 405 is the good Troika pottery Anvil vase.

A lot of interest, quite rightly so. I've got commission bids.

I'm going to come straight in off the book with me at

150, 200, 210, 220, 230.

I start at 240.

At £240 bid for the minute.

240, 250, 260,

270, 280, 290, 300.

£300 I have. With we now at £300.

At £300.

Bids on commission with me now against the room at £300.

Don't think I'm lying. All done.

Selling away on the 300.

Bish, bash, bosh! Hammer's gone down.

-£300.

-Wee bit conservative there.

Doesn't matter, does it? It sold.

That's what it's all about, really.

-And you're happy with £300?

-Oh, definitely, yeah.

-Absolutely.

-Yeah.

-Yes.

Well, there you are.

That concludes our first visit to the auction room today.

So far so good. We are coming back later on in the programme.

Don't go away.

Now, you know I love heritage and architecture

and when you drive around the city of Manchester, you really have

an education in 18th, 19th and 20th century architecture.

It is quite mesmerising and a joy to behold.

So while we're here filming,

I decided to dedicate an afternoon to that very pursuit.

Manchester is bursting with diverse buildings.

From Italian-inspired Palazzo structures

like the old Free Trade Hall,

to the finest examples in Neo-Gothic.

Every building here helps tell the story of Manchester,

from the development of the textile industry in the 18th century

through to Manchester's colossal rise

as the world's first industrial city.

Each era brought new building styles for different purposes.

Banks, warehouses and municipal buildings were used by businessmen

as a symbol of their wealth and success

and these big architectural statements

also said they had pride in their city.

Many of those buildings are still standing here in a city

that's built on ambition.

And today, I'm taking you on an architectural tour of Manchester

and what better way to do it than by a chauffeur-driven limo.

-Hi, John.

-Hi, mate.

-Pleased to meet you.

-Pleased to meet you.

Well, John driving a taxi.

John, how long have you been a cabbie

driving the streets of Manchester?

Oh, this year, Paul, I daren't think.

-It's around about 30 years.

-Really?

Gosh, you must have seen the city change a lot!

Well, it's changed dramatically

and it's still changing even as we speak,

as you see as we're driving round the city, all the new buildings

and the old buildings all blend in nicely together, don't they?

-It's fabulous.

-Where do we start?

What we'll do is we'll start off and then we'll break you in gently.

We'll go to the Friends Meeting House which is one of the early

Greek revival buildings in Manchester

and then we'll move on from there.

OK.

Manchester may have been established by the Romans

but no Roman buildings survive.

What you do see here though is an abundance of buildings

that may look old but they are not nearly as ancient as they appear.

Now here we are, this is the Friends Meeting House

built by the architect Richard Lane in 1828.

It's a place where the Quakers would come and meet and worship.

Although the building is not quite 200 years old yet, it has the feel

and the presence of something that's ancient and prestigious.

That's because it's built in the Greek revival style

and by mimicking the ancient Greeks with this perfect form and symmetry,

wonderful columns with Ionic capitals at the top,

you create a building that has real majesty

and another clever trick that the architects discovered

by setting it back from that noisy road there

with these wonderful steps that goes up to a raised ground floor,

you have a building of such majesty!

You could almost imagine you're in ancient Greece.

Richard Lane's building marked the start

of Victorian architecture in Manchester.

The Victorians took inspiration from around the globe

and throughout history to give their structures an air of antiquity.

And no edifice did it quite as well as this, Manchester Town Hall.

Now you couldn't come to Manchester

and talk about architecture without seeing this building, the Town Hall.

It's absolutely awesome.

It's a powerful looking building yet it's full of dignity

and architectural detail and ornamentation.

It's a symbol of strength and inspiration and that's exactly

what the architect and the town planners of the day had in mind.

Alfred Waterhouse's Town Hall was built in 1877

but its style harks back to 13th century Gothic.

It echoes the power and the might of the UK's early cathedrals

and it said to the world that Manchester meant business.

What a fabulous building!

It's what I would describe as an architectural gem,

a real joy to walk around.

But I love the fact that it tells the story

of the most significant people throughout this city's history.

Scientists renowned the world over for their great achievements.

People like John Dalton here,

beautifully carved in marble right in the main entrance area.

And whilst busts of businessmen and politicians adorn the corridors,

the working man is not forgotten.

On the outside, on the exterior of this fine building,

there's this a massive great big roundel which tells us

the city's roots built on the textile industry,

right down to the wonderful floors, all the mosaic work.

The worker bees, thousands and thousands of them.

This represents the hard graft that everybody put in

throughout the Industrial Revolution,

making this city what it is really today.

The worker bees generated the wealth that paid for these buildings

and they did it from a far less salubrious environment.

This is where the architecture most strongly evokes

the story of Manchester.

These disused mills either side of me

were built in the 19th century to produce cotton

on an unprecedented scale and even by today's standards,

these buildings are absolutely huge.

These massive constructions were built for practicality

rather than beauty and conditions inside

were often cramped and dangerous.

The Ancoats area has a real atmosphere and feel to it.

On one hand, you can imagine these mills being full

with thousands of people working incredibly hard

for long hours in dangerous conditions and on the other hand,

it reflects the demise of the Industrial Revolution.

This whole area has gone from representing wealth

and industry to becoming a symbol of unemployment

and the end of the textiles industry.

Today, there is new life being breathed into Ancoats

and the city centre is thriving with buildings and investment.

And there's one building in particular that you cannot ignore.

Beetham Tower dominates the skyline as its 47 storeys

cut through the blue.

For me, it shows how the city has developed in the last 200 years.

Thanks a lot!

From its 23rd floor, you can see the Gothic,

the classical and contemporary buildings

that tell the tale of that progress.

The Victorians demonstrated Manchester's ambitions

with the buildings they designed and erected.

Power and strength symbolised in architecture.

And it's a message that's still emblazoned

across the city skyline today.

It's back to the industrial buildings of MOSI

where the valuations are still in flow.

Later on, we'll find out what the people of Manchester's

favourite inventions are.

But first, some precious treasure discovered, thanks to "Flog It!".

-Carol?

-Hello, Anita.

In today's current market,

I'm always delighted to see gold coins coming into auction.

-Very good.

-Tell me, where did you get these ones?

-Well, it's...

My dad passed away two years ago and I got them then

and they were just in a box.

And when I found out "Flog It!" was coming to Manchester town centre,

I thought I'll look in my dad's box and found these.

I thought I'll take them.

-So you didn't know that they were there until this morning?

-Yes.

It's...I never bothered to look in the box.

The price of precious metals has risen substantially

in the last few years.

This is because people are not getting big interest in the banks.

The price of their property has gone down,

stocks and shares have gone down.

At times like this, people go back to what they know,

what they can feel in their hand and that is gold.

We have two sovereigns.

We have a half sovereign and we have a sovereign in a ring mount.

Now, did your dad collect coins especially or is there anything

that drew him to collecting gold or coins or whatever?

He always had an interest in all different types of coins,

even the old penny coins.

And were you allowed to play with them?

Sometimes we were because we used to have them in special little packets

and used to slot them all in.

We have a look and we'd go, "Wow, Dad! They're great!"

Well, your dad was a very astute man.

-Especially in buying the gold coins.

-Yes.

The nominal value of these coins...

-Yes.

-Was one pound at the time.

-Right.

-So what are they worth now?

Um, £50, maybe. Maybe £60 for the bigger ones.

Well, they're more than that, they're more than that.

What I would do is I would sell these as a group.

I would put an estimate on these of £550-£750.

That's amazing!

-I didn't realise.

-£550-£750.

Wow!

For those little coins? Wow!

We will put a reserve price on these at £550

-but giving the auctioneer just touch of a discretion.

-Right.

-You had a wee fortune.

-I know, I don't believe it!

-Thank you very much.

-I know they'll do very well.

Thank you very much, Anita.

MUSIC FROM DIRTY DANCING PLAYS

Now no-one puts baby in the corner

unless you're The Museum Of Science And Industry.

And this is Baby, a rather large baby.

Well, it's a replica of the original.

Designed and built by three professors

at the University of Manchester.

It made its first successful run on 21 June in 1948.

The most important thing you have to remember is

it was the first computer in the world to store data

and use a program in electronic memory stored at electronic speed.

That's how brilliant this big baby was.

There were no drawings of the original. It didn't survive.

But there were photographs.

So this replica has been assembled from photographs by this man,

George and a few friends.

-George, pleased to meet you.

-Hi.

-What an incredible computer.

-Yes.

How long did this take to recreate?

It took us about 18 months and funnily enough,

it took the original engineers

18 months to build the original machine.

But they were working seven days a week

-and we were just part-time volunteers.

-Right.

We used about 10,000 hours of voluntary labour.

Assembled with photographic evidence of the original machine.

Our job really was to match which circuit went with which photograph.

Yeah, this is absolutely fascinating and to think it was put together,

the original in 1948, is absolute genius

and testament to the brains in Manchester.

George, thank you very much.

You're obviously a bright bloke as well, putting this thing together!

Volunteers like George keep our history alive

and are a wealth of knowledge, just like our very own off-screen experts

who work behind the scenes to research the items you bring in.

And now to a leading scholar in his chosen field.

-Bee.

-Yes.

-What a lovely jug.

-Thank you, I'm glad you like it.

What a lovely jug. Where did it come from?

-It was my mother's special coffee pot.

-I can sense an accent there.

Well, I come from Denmark and the coffee pot is Danish.

Marvellous, so... When did your mother give you that?

She...I got it when she died in 2002.

-So I've not had it for that long, really.

-It's a lovely coffee pot.

This little finial is very heavily influenced

-by someone called Georg Jensen.

-Yes.

And he did these sort of piling finials with ball.

But the actual shape of this puts me in mind more of a French silversmith

called Emile Puiforcat.

Who did these very geometric designs and I think...

Let's have a look.

-We've got there, it's signed Hans Hansen.

-Yes.

Who was a very good Danish silversmith.

He's not as well known over here as Georg Jensen

but we can see he's perfectly adequate in skill.

-And it's dated 1934 and stamped Denmark.

-Right.

And I think Mr Hansen must have been influenced

both by his native designs

and also by the French art deco at the period.

Can I just tell you that the shop and the workshop,

the silver workshop was actually in the town where I went to school?

-Good grief, so it's a local pot for a local person?

-Yes.

Well, that's magical.

What's delightful are all these little hammer marks,

and they're actually achieved with a planishing hammer.

And to planish a piece of silver is to polish it with a hammer.

So you're brightening the surface and you have to do meticulously

work round turning the piece all the time as you're going

to get this sort of diamond rippling surface to it

and it's most attractive.

Why do you want to sell it?

I think because my mum and dad would have enjoyed me

having a good day experience being on "Flog It!".

And I think they would have said yes, have fun, enjoy yourself

-and that's what I'm doing.

-Have fun? Ah, it's marvellous.

The good news is Danish silver and Danish design

has never really been more desirable.

But I think we can comfortably say £400-£600

and put a £400 fixed reserve on it

and I would hope on the day it might exceed my top estimate

because it's just a lovely piece of handcrafted silver

and you know, it deserves to be more.

-But thank you so much for bringing it in.

-Pleasure.

-It's a real treat to see it.

-Pleasure.

-Thank you, Bee.

A quality Danish coffee pot from Bertha's home town.

A perfect find for a silver lover like Michael.

Jean, these are wonderful and totally over the top.

You've got to tell me where you got them?

These are inherited from my husband's side of the family.

Alright, so you're putting them over to his side of the family?

Do you like them?

I think they're quite striking but they don't really go with our decor.

-Do you have a minimalist interior?

-Yeah, we do.

-And these don't fit in?

Well, they are in the living room at the moment but no.

-But you're dying to get rid of them?

-Yeah, I am.

-(LAUGHS)

Let's hope your husband isn't listening.

Yeah, I don't know where he is, I don't know.

Let's have a look at them as objects.

They are a pair of candleholders.

These things at the top,

we take that off and the candle fits in here.

They are I suppose based on bronze figures.

These aren't made of bronze,

they're made of spelter which is a cheaper material.

I think that they're possibly French,

we've had a wee look at the base but we don't see any maker's name.

They would have decorated a Victorian,

late Victorian Edwardian household.

At that time, people were fascinated by the East and the exotic.

And what these do is express exoticism.

It makes me think a wee bit of the King And I.

And Siam with these exotic dresses,

colourful, and the gilded headdresses.

Coming to auction, if they came to me,

-I would put an estimate of £100-£150.

-Right, yeah.

Would you, and of course your husband...

-..be happy with that estimate?

-Yeah, we would be.

We will put a reserve price on them. Obviously the lower estimate, £100.

-But we'll give the auctioneer a bit of discretion on that.

-That's OK.

Let's hope that they fly because this is the type of thing

that two people might just go crazy over.

Yes, thank you.

Now earlier on, we asked our audience to fill out a questionnaire

on their favourite invention.

We've had numerous replies,

lots of them in fact from the iron to the dish washer to electricity

but the one that came out on top was the TV set.

No doubt to watch "Flog It!".

And stay tuned in because we're off to the auction right now

for the last time and we're taking some very precious metal with us.

Gold prices fluctuate

so the sovereigns could make the top or the bottom end of the estimate.

And this silver may be solid

but there's no guarantees the coffee pot will sell.

And these ladies may be made of spelter

but there's real value in their elaborate design.

So it's cheerio to MOSI and hello again to Nick Hall

and the auction room.

He's done some research on the coffee pot

and discovered a name that could add to the value.

The craftsmanship is superb on this and it feels beautiful.

You get that with a lot of Danish metalware.

I mean, they really were past masters.

Still are but in this era, 1930s, very much at the top of it.

That's lovely.

The nice thing as well is although it's signed Hans Hansen.

That's the farmer's name and the name of the factory.

This particular design is by his son, Karl Gustav Hansen.

OK, does that affect the value? Are we right on the value?

-It makes it slightly rarer.

-Great.

Because this is dated to 1934 which was about the time

Karl was producing his first wares under his own name.

But still, with his father's factory name on the top.

In terms of value, yeah, I think it's a good estimate

and it should make it, I think possibly a little bit more as well.

Great, the condition's with it as well.

-It's in very good condition, isn't it?

-It's a great thing.

Hopefully, we're going to find some top bids for this tomorrow.

That's the advantage of selling through an auction house.

They'll research your item and if there are any connections

that increase the value, well it's in everyone's interest to find them.

So the time has arrived for the final auction of the day and first up,

the candlesticks with a difference.

Well, if you're looking for an antique that's got the wow factor

and something showy, then how about a pair...

-(LAUGHS)

-..of wonderful spelter candlesticks.

These really are decorative, they belong to Jean.

Now why are you selling these? Because they are in your face!

-There, look! Pretty good.

-We don't really want them anymore.

-They don't suit your interior?

-No, they don't suit the interior.

-And you won't find another pair down the road?

-I haven't seen any.

Let's put them under hammer, here we go.

The pair of 19th-century cold painted spelter

figurative candlesticks.

It's a good lot, this one

and I can start the bidding on this at £140. Anybody got more?

At £140, is there £150 anywhere? Commission bid of £140.

Any advance on £140. Any more, quickly?

The bid's on commission,

it's £140 and I'm going to sell to the maiden bid at £140.

-Yes, great. That's good.

-There we are!

And do you know, when you look at them, when you see them

up there on the screen, they do put a smile on your face, don't they?

Hopefully, they've gone to a loving wacky home that displays them

and enjoys them and uses them!

That's a good result for Jean.

Next, we know it's of exceptional quality

so this pot could make a fortune.

-Bertha, good luck.

-Thank you.

I think this is one of the nicest things in the sale.

Thank you, it is beautiful, isn't it?

Not just of the "Flog It!" items but of everything.

This is craftsmanship, it's Danish craftsmanship.

Had a chat with Nick the auctioneer yesterday at the preview day

and you know what he said.

Fell in love with it, agreed with the valuation

and said it is quality.

Quality, quality always sells and that's our mantra,

that's what we always say

and it's going to go under the hammer right now.

A stylish Danish point 95 silver Functionalism hot water jug.

I'll start the bidding straight in if I may on commission at £400.

With me at £400, £420 high bid. £440.

At £440 I've got, £460, £480. That's £480 against you, sir.

-We've announced £480.

-Exciting!

We've got the phones coming in, £500, £520.

£520, I'm bid at £520. £540, £560. £560 here, £580.

-Lovely thing, lovely.

-Can I get a £600? £620, £640.

£640 now, at £640. £660 takes it on the phone, I'm out.

-Selling over here, at £660.

-Bit more, bit more!

-£660, it is yours.

-Gone!

Good result, just over the top end.

-We're happy, that was a good result, wasn't it?

-That was alright.

Everyone had a go in the room, a couple of phones.

-That was alright, yeah. There was interest.

-Happy?

-Yeah, happy.

Brilliant top end result and next, they were found under a bed

and brought along to the valuation day.

How much will they sell for?

Going under the hammer right now with a lot of gold,

two full sovereigns, one half sovereign

and one full sovereign bound in a ring.

-Carol, it's great to see you again.

-Nice to see you.

-Who have you bought along? Who is this?

-Hello.

-This is my twin sister, Anne.

-Hello, Anne! Do you know what?

I thought I was seeing double there. Yeah, you are twin sisters.

-You can see it, can't you?

-You can.

-You really can.

-I guess you've both got joint ownership of this, haven't you?

-Yes.

-So you can divide up the proceeds?

-Yes.

-We're going to put it to the test right now, ready?

-Yes.

-Let's do it.

I can start the bidding £560.

-£560, yes!

-I'll take £580 if you like.

£580, £600. £620, at £620 in the room. £640 online.

£640, £660, all online now.

£680, that's £680, online bidder. Any advance now?

-Both online now, £680, £700.

-Good.

-£700!

At £720, all done.

Any advance online at £720?

-Selling at £740, £740.

-740!

Come on, don't stop there! £760, £760 and it's online.

-Sold.

-Yes!

-The top end of the estimate. Well done.

-Very good.

-That's a good result.

-Are you happy?

-Yes, very happy. That's great.

Well, that's it, it's all over.

It's time to say goodbye from the auction room here in Knutsford

and of course from the Museum Of Science And Industry

where we've all learned something from the great scientists

and hopefully today you've learned something from this auction room

and the antiques we've had on display.

So until the next time, from Knutsford, it's goodbye.