Dorset 24 Flog It!

Today we are in a rugged stretch of coastline in Dorset

known as the Jurassic Coast,

because of the number of fossils that are exposed here.

I'm on a beach near Lyme Regis and, later on in the programme,

I'm going to be finding out about the woman

who put this place on the map

and started the craze for fossil hunting.

Welcome to "Flog It!"

Our valuation day is at Lulworth Castle,

which includes five miles of this magnificent Jurassic coastline.

But, while the estate might date back 350 years,

that's nothing compared to the rocks beneath,

which hold the remains of fossils dating back 250 million years.

It's a fossil-hunter's dream

and why this coast was made one of only two

natural World Heritage Sites in the United Kingdom.

Today, at the castle,

the rains have brought our antique hunters indoors.

Later on in the show, we'll be finding out what it takes

to be a successful fossil hunter.

But, right now,

here at our valuation day venue, Lulworth Castle.

And what a setting it is.

There are differently no old fossils here.

But hundreds of people have turned up to see our experts,

to ask that all-important question, which is...

What's it worth?

Stay tuned and you'll find out.

Today, our experts are flying off the racing line.

Catherine Southon is flogging her objects

before she's even valued them.

I think you've got a potential buyer here.

-Well, if we don't flog them...

-Someone else will buy them.

-I think we've got a buyer there.

-Thank you.

And David Fletcher is testing his knowledge of cars.

It doesn't look like a Jaguar to me. It looks more like a leopard.

But he's got some way to go.

Some of them are modern. Some of them are old.

I think you'd better brush up on your knowledge of cars.

-OK, I'll try and do that, Catherine.

-Good luck.

I'm sure he'll know his models before he hits the tables.

And, on the programme today, Catherine likes what she sees

and is coveting a very unique scarf.

Where did you get this from? Because this is a bit special.

While David found some old cartoons, which paid for a bar bill.

Would I rather have these four cartoons or 20 pints of beer?

I'll have to think about that one.

60. 70. 80. 90. 100.

But, at auction, we'll be paying the conventional way

as one of these breaks its top estimate.

Can I sell?

Our crowds have been bringing in the items they've unearthed.

But, just before we get cracking, a question...

Now, here's a little test for you, OK?

Listen to this.

Where'd you think the word Jurassic came from?

-We're talking about dinosaurs now. Hollywood?

-Could be.

Could be, couldn't it? Well, you're wrong.

Because the phrase wasn't even coined until the 19th century.

Jurassic was named after the Jura Mountains in France,

which contain all of those ancient rocks.

So there you go. It's all down to the French!

Right. Now, it's time for our experts to unearth

their first treasure to take off to auction.

Let's hand the proceedings over to David Fletcher.

David might not be sure about his car mascots,

but he definitely knows his goods trains.

-Ann and Steve, good to see you both.

-David.

I had an horrendous drive down here yesterday.

I was going to come by train

but there isn't a station very close to Lulworth, unfortunately.

-But, at least we have a train here.

-We do.

So it's good to see one. Albeit rather small.

And, interestingly enough,

I notice that it's illustrated on the lid

as being a passenger train set.

Described as "mixed goods" train

and, clearly, the actual train itself is goods.

-So I wouldn't have got a seat on it anyway.

-No.

This has to be yours, Steve. I can't believe this is yours, Ann.

It belongs to both of us.

-It's jointly owned? OK.

-Yes.

When you're married, everything is jointly owned.

You see, you even have to hand over your miniature train sets.

Life's not fair, is it?

The Dinky brand, or the Dinky name,

was first used by Frank Hornby in the mid-1930s.

Right.

And this little train set dates from that period.

If you think Art Deco for a moment,

and think of the colours you associate with Clarice Cliff vases.

Yes.

You know, red, yellow, orange, green.

You have all those colours here. So that helps us to date it.

I hadn't thought about that before.

Well, I think it's quite important, really.

Because, if you collected trains

or if you collected Clarice Cliff vases,

your eye is going to be attuned to the same sort of influences, really.

I mean, how else would you account for a yellow log?

Yes! That's true.

You know, whoever manufactured and decorated this little item here,

they had their eye on its commercial nature,

on how easily they were going to find it to sell,

rather on accurately representing,

you know, a locomotive and three wagons.

The condition's great.

The box is also, more or less, in 100% condition.

And someone has written on it.

-I know.

-I don't think it matters too much.

Because it's not as if it was scribbled on yesterday.

It's been there a long time.

I'm a little bit concerned

that the contents don't quite match the box,

but I'm sure that's just something that's, perhaps,

slipped through quality control.

There's no question about it having the wrong box for the set.

Do you own other items like this?

Not the same as this, no.

It's just something that we picked out because we like the look of it.

Yeah. I'm frightened to ask, but what did you pay for it?

We're trying to think. Probably about £50.

I think we can show you a turn on it.

There are lots of people out there keen to buy boys' toys.

And this is a boy's toy.

Even though you jointly own it, it's still a boy's toy.

I would be inclined to think in terms of an estimate of 180 to 220.

Right.

And a reserve of 170.

OK.

-You're a star.

-We'll go with that.

-See you on the day.

-I look forward to it, David.

Thank you.

As David says, boys' toys are very collectable.

The founder of Meccano Dinky Toys, Frank Hornby,

also created the construction kit Meccano in 1901.

It took off and it had its heyday for little boys in the 1930s.

TV NARRATOR: Complicated and intricate toys

do begin to appeal to some children at seven or eight years of age.

Today, it's built up a real following,

so you could look out for the rare and early pieces

in immaculate condition.

This set was recently sold for an astonishing £15,000,

when it went under the hammer.

Now that's an expensive hobby.

And Catherine has found something

that appeals to those of us who still love to play.

In front of us, we've got a mahogany box.

-But it's not an ordinary mahogany box, is it?

-No.

-Shall we have a little look inside?

-Yes.

I love it when we get things like this

and we don't know what's inside.

There we are.

Lovely little travelling chess set.

And what is nice to see is it's all there and it's all complete.

-And, actually, in rather nice condition.

-Oh, good.

Where's it come from, Leslie?

Well, I inherited it from my late husband in about 1991.

Right.

And he had it for many years.

But I don't know anything about it, really, apart from that.

The date of it is about 1900, maybe slightly earlier.

So late 19th century, early 20th century.

It's interesting to see whether these are ivory

or whether they're actually bone.

Oh, yes.

Now, if you pick it up, you can see there are some little flecks in it.

-Can you see there?

-Yes.

These little flecks.

-And that tells us that it's bone, rather than ivory.

-Oh, I see, yes.

This is a nice set.

More importantly, that it's perfect, that it's all there.

Because you do sometimes get these little bits breaking off.

And it doesn't look like

it's been played with a huge amount, to be honest.

But, I love travelling things like this.

I love the fact that you can just fold it all up, put it in a bag,

and play with it another time.

-Nothing you ever played with?

-No.

-My daughter likes chess.

-Right.

She played with it occasionally.

But they've got their own chess set now.

She got married two years ago,

so we thought it would be nice to find out anything else about it.

It's a nice example and it's quite a good piece,

-but it's not of any huge value.

-No.

We'd be looking at about £40 to £60, maybe 50 to 70 at auction.

That's wonderful.

-How does that sound to you?

-Everything helps, yes.

-It all helps.

-You had a big wedding, did you?

-A big wedding, two years ago.

-We're still paying for it.

-Are you?

Right. I'm going to do my best for you.

-I think we should put £50 to £70 on it.

-Yes.

-With a £40 reserve.

-Oh, that's wonderful.

-Does that sound all right?

-Oh, yes.

Do you fancy a game of chess before we go?

I'm not very good at chess, actually.

Right, we'll give that a miss, then.

-We'll fold it up and we'll take it to auction.

-Oh, lovely. Thank you.

Perfect. Thank you very much indeed. Thanks, Leslie.

Don't worry, Catherine, maybe you can take on David later.

Now, I've come across something that also looks like a desk toy.

But it has a very different use

and it's called an eight-day motion clock.

Right, how does this work?

-OK, well, it's an eight-day motion clock.

-Yeah.

And you just put it on anywhere and it'll settle itself

and, when it's exactly level, it'll tell you the day and the time.

So, when you first put it together,

-you alter the wheels at the bottom, so that it's completely level.

-OK.

And then it sets itself to the date and the time

and rolls all the way down to the bottom.

And then, on the eighth day,

you lift it up and put it back on the top...

And it starts on Monday again.

So once it reaches Monday a week later...

-That's right. You lift it up...

-And you put it back.

-And you don't have to wind it or do anything.

-No, it's self-winding.

-Yeah. It's clever.

-It is.

Is it something you have on display to tell you the time with?

Yeah, it's been in my dining room

since I inherited it 30 years ago, so, yeah.

And it works to this day.

And it's by a company called Dayton

and they're quite good at making clocks, apparently.

So this is a lovely little thing, actually, isn't it?

It's the first time ever seen anything like this.

There's always a first on "Flog It!"

Not everyone comes to sell. But that doesn't matter.

It's always great to get a glimpse of the unusual things you bring us.

And David's come across another curiosity

you definitely wouldn't wish to play with.

Stephan, welcome.

Now, I know very little about these items.

So, I'm hoping you're going to enlighten me.

Well, I believe it's Burmese.

My great-grandfather, who is a colonel in the Indian Army,

was in the Third Burma Campaign.

Right.

And, so, this originates from that campaign.

OK.

Now, the Third Burmese War

took place between 1885 and 1886.

Do you happen to know

when your great-grandfather was originally posted there?

Well, he was certainly out there at that time,

because my grandmother was born in Madras in 1880.

Was she? Right.

How fantastic to have this as a souvenir, if you like,

of his time there.

-But it has seen better days, hasn't it?

-It has, I'm afraid.

And, on that note,

I'm going to ask you to withdraw the blade from the scabbard.

Can just about manage it.

Right. Well done.

Unfortunately, the tip is gone.

The tip's gone, hasn't it?

What interests me in objects of this type

is the fact that, by its very nature,

it's a functional piece of kit, isn't it?

So not just ceremonial?

I think it had a functional purpose as well.

I mean, it has that sharp edge. The blade is steel.

And the blade isn't decorated.

But, having said that, the handle is decorated and so is the pommel.

You have almost like a sort of melon-shaped terminal.

Yes, the handle is lovely.

I am concerned, really, by the condition.

I mean, it really is now in three pieces, isn't it?

And the end of the scabbard is missing.

As is the end of the blade itself.

I think, if it were as it should be, we'd be talking £200, £300.

Perhaps even more.

But I think we have to make an allowance for the damage.

And I think, as a result, I would estimate it at 100 to 150.

Does that sound all right to you?

-That would be OK. Can we make a reserve, though?

-You can.

I think I'd be happy to put a reserve of £100 on it.

And, you know, one can rest assured

that this is the sort of item that will go to a good home.

It will go to a collector.

Someone who is aware, interested in British history,

-is interested in the history of Burma as well.

-Good.

-OK?

-Yep.

I'll look forward to seeing you, then, at the sale.

And we'll keep our fingers crossed. I'm standing well clear.

-Urgh!

-In.

That sword is a really precious piece of Stephan's family history.

And I think the buyers will like it, too.

Lulworth Castle could be said to mirror the Jurassic coastline.

Because the building is made up of Portland stone,

which is locally sourced.

But, astonishingly, 70% of this is chalk,

which could wash away.

But, thankfully, the limestone's holding it all together.

But there is something that I love and I want to show you

and it's on these steps here.

And here it is, look.

A little oyster fossil buried deep into the step,

which I think the builder put there to pay homage to the past.

I like that. That's a great touch.

It puts a smile on your face every time you walk up into the building.

Well, you've just seen our experts.

They've made their choices of items to take off to auction.

So, let's have a recap of what's going under the hammer.

No fossils, but plenty of history amongst our finds.

We've got Ann and Steve's 1930s Dinky toy train,

which might have an oddly miss-matched box

but, otherwise, it's in pristine condition.

Leslie's brought us a lovely travelling chess set,

but can it win checkmate at auction

and contribute to the cost of her daughter's wedding?

And then there's that late 19th-century Burmese sword

that is the worst for wear,

but should still command interest from the collectors.

We're heading to Sherborne, 30 miles from the coast,

home of one of the oldest public schools in Britain,

Sherborne School.

Old boys who attended at one time include,

Doctor Who actor Jon Pertwee,

Hugh Bonneville from Downton Abbey,

and the lead singer of Coldplay, Chris Martin.

Now, that would have made an interesting classroom.

Well, I think it's time we joined up with our old boys,

our familiar faces, the experts regularly on the show,

courtesy of Charterhouse Auction Rooms.

Let's get inside and catch up with them.

And, today, our man on the rostrum is auctioneer Richard Bromell.

£280 is bid.

Left selling at 280.

Remember, if you're buying or selling at auction,

there is commission to pay.

Now, it does vary from saleroom to saleroom.

Check the details. It's all printed in the catalogue, OK?

If you don't buy a catalogue, ask a member of staff,

because it does vary.

Here today, it's 15% plus VAT.

So, factor that in because it can add up.

First under the hammer is Stephan's battle-weary Burmese sword.

This is kind of like a really rare family heirloom, isn't it, in a way?

-It is.

-Is it something that you don't mind parting with?

No, because we don't have it out on display.

And I don't have kids of my own.

Right.

-I have stepchildren and it won't mean a lot to them.

-No.

It's quite an important thing, in its own right.

It's silver, or very largely silver, which is great.

But it is damaged.

So, you know, I think I've put a fairly realistic valuation on it

to reflect all that.

I think this is like a little window into your family's social history.

It's a cliche, but it will go to someone who will value it,

who will treasure it. And, clearly, Stephan doesn't.

So it'll go to a good home. It'll be all right, Paul. Don't worry.

OK. OK. I know. I just think the sentimental value

is greater than the military value.

It's too late now. I'll report that to my wife.

Here we go.

Lot number 713 now is a Burmese sword.

Bit of damage to the end, which is a great shame.

And £50 is bid. Here with me at £50.

50. 60. 70.

We're in. We're in.

90. 100. At £100 I have.

The bid is in the room. £100 I have.

At 100. And 10. So 110. 120.

130. On the internet at 130.

At £130 I have. It's an internet bid at £130.

And I sell. Last chance. Fair warning. Selling online at 130.

-Well, it's gone. Spot on valuation. £130.

-Thank you very much.

Well, you boys must be very happy.

Even if you're not, Paul.

-You spoilsport, you.

-No, I'm pleased it's gone.

-And thank you for bringing it in.

-It was only sitting in a drawer.

-Yes.

Thank you so much.

David's right. It's surely gone to a good home.

And Stephan's wife will be happy.

Now it's time for our sale of the travelling chess set,

brought in by Leslie.

-Who've you brought with you?

-My daughter, Catherine.

Catherine, pleased to meet you. I'm surrounded by Catherines.

-Good name.

-It's a good name, isn't it?

-I'd keep this chess set. Would you keep it?

-Well, I would.

What's nice about this is all the little pawns are there.

Because, so often, the little ones are missing

and people replace them with matchsticks or whatever.

But, it's complete. So, it should do well.

So, the big question. Why are we selling it?

Oh, because it's my daughter's wedding two years ago,

but we're still paying for it, so...

-They are expensive. They add up, don't they?

-Yes.

-Whatever you budget for, you always go over.

-Yeah, you do.

-You do.

-Yeah. Oh, absolutely.

Because it's a special day.

Let's see if we can get this away at the top end, shall we?

It's going under the hammer right now.

A rather sweet little travelling chess set here in a mahogany box.

And I'm straight in at 25.

30. 35. 40. 45. £45 I have now.

At 45.

At £45 now.

I sell. Selling at 45.

-Well, it's gone.

-Mid-estimate.

Short and sweet, wasn't it? 45.

Every penny helps.

-Every penny helps to get that debt down.

-Yes.

And we love coming here as well.

-Was this your first auction?

-Yes.

-And what did you think?

-It was brilliant. Really interesting.

It's great, isn't it? It's a feast for the eyes.

Well, I'm glad Leslie and daughter, Catherine,

still enjoyed the day here,

even if it might not make much of a dent in the wedding bill.

Now, will someone want to have fun with Steve and Ann's Dinky toy train

that brings out the child in all of us?

-It is absolutely lovely and it's in mint condition.

-Yes.

-Never played with.

-Looks like it, no.

-And boxed.

-And boxed, yes.

Gosh.

-It's got a lot going for it, hasn't it?

-It has. Yeah.

Are we on the right tracks at 180 to 220?

We've got a packed saleroom. It's rather exciting.

Things are going well.

I think it's got everything going for it.

And we've got lots of toys and models here today, too.

Let's find out what the bidders think.

Over to Richard on the rostrum.

£100 is bid here. At £100 I have.

With me at £100.

110. 120. 130.

140. 150. 160. 170.

At £170. It's in the room at 170.

On the aisle and on the right, at £170 I have seated.

And selling at 170.

Well, it's gone on the fixed reserve of £170.

He's sold at 170, just under the lower end.

-Yes.

-Yes, that's good.

-We'd hoped it might make more.

-We did.

-But it's gone.

But that's auctions for you.

One lucky person goes home

with a lovely addition to their train set collection.

Now, before Charles Darwin discovered the theory of evolution,

what did we understand about the strange shapes and creatures

in the stones that washed up on the beaches?

Well, very little.

Until one young girl from Lyme Regis made an amazing discovery.

I went along to the local beach,

hopefully, to follow in her footsteps.

About 250 million years ago, this place was already awash with life.

When these early fish and ammonites died, they fell to the bottom,

compressed and fossilised.

And, when the sea receded,

they were exposed in the cliff formations along the coast.

It's hard to imagine but, back then,

the widely held Christian belief in Victorian Britain

was that, as one person put it, all of this was formed by God.

God created the world and then the great flood followed.

Nobody realised that the strange stones

that they were looking at and holding had once lived,

let alone been parts of dinosaur remains and marine life.

Into this scene, in 1799, came Mary Anning.

She lived with her family

on what's now the site of the Lyme Regis Museum

in what was then a slum area.

And she'd regularly follow her father, a poor cabinet-maker,

down to the sea to collect fossils, which he sold for extra income.

In 1810, Mary's father sadly passed away.

She was only 11 years old at the time.

And, to prevent the family from moving into the poorhouse,

Mary and her brother, Joseph,

carried on collecting fossils and seashells

and selling them for a few pennies.

And they would spend hours and hours searching this stretch of beach

just looking for the odd thing that they could sell,

using the skills that her father taught her.

And then, one day, all the scouring paid off with one astonishing find.

Mary and her brother, Joseph,

uncovered what they thought was a crocodile's head.

Together, they dug up the rest of the body

and carried it back from the beach with the help of local men.

Mary had found an ichthyosaur,

a sea creature that had lived in these seas 200 million years ago.

When you come to Lyme Regis

and talk about Mary and her achievements,

all paths lead to Paddy Howe.

-Paddy, thanks for meeting us here today.

-You're welcome.

Now, you're a geologist with the Lyme Regis Museum,

and you've been collecting fossils and hunting for them

for 40-odd years?

-43 years this year.

-43 years. Wow!

So, tell me, what is it about this area that's so productive?

We've got a lot of soft rocks which are easily eroded.

What you can't see from the beach

is all the layers of the cliffs here actually slope down towards the sea.

So it's very easy for the tide to bring rock falls down

and to bring things out.

Mary was famous for having the eye,

knowing how to spot fossils beneath the rocks.

Paddy has learned what to look for.

And so he's collected some likely candidates to show me how it's done.

Well, you've sorted a couple out.

Yeah. These are rocks I've picked up from the stretch of beach.

This is what we look for.

OK, what is that stone?

It's called a nodule. It's made of limestone.

And you can see it's lens-shaped with this sharp edge all the way round.

Very smooth. Very grey. Very hard.

And, certainly, Mary would have been looking for these.

We break them open. And, perhaps, one in five, one in six

will have a fossil inside.

What we normally do is break off the thinnest end

to make a flat edge and then we'd work with that edge.

-And then go in on it?

-Yeah.

Shall I hold that for you?

If you don't mind. Brilliant. Thank you.

And Mary would have used the same kind of tools as Paddy uses today.

Right. And now, there's evidence of an ammonite there.

We've got the edge of an ammonite just sticking out.

-Can I have a go at that one?

-You can.

-Can I borrow your...

-You certainly can.

Your specs.

Here we go...

You need to hit it quite hard.

-Just about there, do you think?

-Yeah.

OK, so how many hours a day do you do when you do come down here?

I can be out as much as 10 or 12 hours a day, on occasions.

And Mary would have done the same?

She would have got out at every opportunity,

especially after rough weather.

Yeah. OK, ready?

-Oh, look at that.

-That's fantastic, isn't it?

That is really good.

-Isn't that lovely?

-That's beautiful. And no-one's ever seen that.

That's marvellous.

I like the fact that you've still got the two halves

and you can put it back together and it becomes like a little secret.

And this is, what, 200 million years old?

About 190.

But what's ten million years between friends?

So, tell me, have you found anything

to equal Mary's findings in your lifetime so far?

I found an ichthyosaur skeleton, which is in the museum,

which is about the same size as the one Mary found.

Can you describe that?

Ichthyosaur means "fish lizard" and they were sea-living reptiles.

They looked rather like dolphins.

You must feel almost like a kindred spirit to Mary.

You've dedicated your life, 43-odd years of it so far,

to walking up and down this bit of coastline, looking for fossils.

So, you're just like her, following in her footsteps.

Yeah, I feel a great kinship with Mary.

I'm out there all weathers, whatever the weather.

In fact, the worse the weather, the better the fossilling.

So, in the rain, in the cold. And she must've been the same.

But she didn't have the modern things we have.

The modern waterproof clothing, wellingtons, rucksacks...

All of those things that we take for granted.

What was Mary's particular skills and how did she manage that?

She was very observant, she was very determined.

Women didn't do that sort of thing at that time,

and especially working-class women.

So she found, with her brother Joseph, the first ichthyosaur.

In 1823, she finds the first plesiosaur,

the first flying reptile, the first pterosaur found outside of Germany.

And many other things besides. What she achieved was fantastic.

And, in many ways,

she helped kick-start the science of palaeontology in this country.

And, of course, it's in this country it really begins.

It's incredible, isn't it?

Oh, she's brilliant. A brilliant woman.

# Shorley Wall

# She's selling seashells on the Shorley Wall

# Where the ocean swells and leaves you small... #

Mary started to get national attention.

And, as she did, her finds shook the foundations of Victorian society.

Scientists simply wouldn't believe her because she was a woman,

and others disliked the fact that

these little creatures in these stones

really dispelled the biblical story of creation.

But Mary did have her supporters.

Some of the leading figures of the scientific community

came to see what this young woman could bring out of the rocks.

And they'd take back her finds to meetings

of the eminent Geological Society of London.

What I have here is a copy of the correspondence between Mary

and one of her great friends and patrons, William Buckland,

a lecturer at Oxford University.

And I'll just read a section out for you.

It says, "Sir, I have discovered another plesiosaur."

"The head is really beautiful

"and the lower jaw has slipped from under the upper jaw

"by which we can see inside its mouth.

"The creature is between 11 foot and 12 feet in length."

Sounds like she's describing a real sea dragon.

And the thing that I really, really love about this

is that she says "beautiful".

You see, it is a labour of love. It's not for financial gains.

She really loved doing this.

Sadly, Mary's later years were difficult,

as the demand for fossils dwindled.

She died in 1847 of breast cancer, at the very young age of 47.

During her lifetime,

her name had never been acknowledged in the scientific journals.

But, after her death,

the Geological Society paid public tribute to her.

Quite something,

given that they wouldn't accept women into the society until 1904.

And, today, the final accolade.

Mary's finds have pride of place

in the Natural History Museum in London.

Well, Mary couldn't have dreamt that her findings

would be the bedrock for the science of palaeontology. And she, an icon.

Her fossils are on display in museums all over the world

and her story is an inspiration to the next generation.

People like me and you and my son here. So, let's just quickly recap.

What do you call a fossil hunter?

-A palaeontologist.

-Brilliant!

Well, we are on the Jurassic Coast right now.

-So shall we go and look for some?

-Yes.

-Come on, then!

# She's selling seashells on the Shorley Wall... #

Right, let's look here for some fossils.

Welcome back to our valuation day venue, Lulworth Castle.

Right now, it's time to hand the proceedings over to our experts

to see what else we can dig up to take off to auction.

Catherine Southon's found something that looks like

it could have been taken from a buried treasure chest.

We've certainly got a rather chunky charm bracelet here, Sue,

with an awful lot of charms on it.

Where did it come from?

It came from my husband's great aunt.

It was passed down to my daughter.

-So it's quite sentimental, then?

-It is. I like it.

But it's not in fashion for my daughter, so...

Well, it's not, sadly, is it?

You do see quite a lot of these now being sold and,

often just being sold on their scrap value.

What's nice about this example,

is we've got a rather large number of charms.

Some of them are fairly standard,

like this little spinning penny here, which says, "I love you".

But some of them are slightly more unusual, like this little hedgehog.

I must say, I haven't seen that so often.

And the horseshoe.

Which makes it a little bit more interesting.

These are often sold on weight

but, then, people do pay additional prices for more unusual charms.

OK.

Was this given as a birthday present?

Because I can see there, we've got the key for 18.

What I remember is that her husband

used to buy her a charm for every occasion, for weddings, birthdays...

Oh, how lovely.

And they lived in London,

-so I know he most probably bought a lot of them in London.

-Right. Right.

And I suspect that a lot of them are nine-carat gold.

But he must have been buying them over a number of years,

because there's a lot of charms there.

There's 31 altogether.

31 charms? Well, that's fantastic.

Because, normally, you sort of get around eight to ten

or something like that.

So, to have that amount of charms, is really quite special.

-You don't want to sell this, do you?

-I know. I don't.

But it's been handed down to your daughter.

What's she going to do, buy a nice piece of fashionable jewellery?

No, she wants to redesign her bedroom.

Oh, how lovely.

Well, let's have a look at it. Let's weigh it.

Now, there is quite a bit of weight there. This is quite chunky.

But I'm going to look at it more closely to see carat,

because that's quite important.

OK, well, it's stamped 375.

So that tells us that it's nine-carat gold.

I would say you'd probably be looking at

somewhere between £500 to £600 in value.

-How does that sound for you?

-Sounds great.

To be honest, I wouldn't sell that for any less than about £480.

Because, really, you've got to think about the scrap value.

You've got to put a reserve on this.

So put £480 on it.

And let's put £500 to £600.

-We'll try and get your daughter as much as we can.

-Brilliant.

And let's hope she can have a fantastic room

for all her friends to drool over.

Yes.

I think those really sweet charms could attract the collectors,

even if they're not to our taste.

David's found the early 20th-century version

of satirical comedy for his next set of objects.

-Hello, Susan.

-Hello.

Now, are you interested in horses? Are you a horsey person?

-No, I'm not at all. No.

-Right. OK.

-So, you drove here today. You didn't ride?

-No, I didn't.

-OK.

Now, what I really love about things like this

is that they preserve a way of life that is gone, really,

to all intents and purposes.

We can look back at these images

and we can see what life was like in the early 20th century.

How did you come to own them?

Well, these were given to my parents by my uncle.

He was a publican in London.

And the family rumour always was

that he accepted them in lieu of a bar bill.

OK.

They're drawn in pen and ink.

And they are the original artwork for a series of Punch cartoons.

The artist, George Denholm Armour,

was well-known for depicting equestrian subjects.

And really quite well-known as a cartoonist.

They are beautifully drawn.

Punch magazine, now sadly defunct, I remember it very well,

-as I'm sure you do...

-I do, yes.

..devoted itself, really, to humour.

Now, you're familiar with these.

You must've read that inscription 100 times. Tell me what it says.

It says, "Common objects of the field or who's who in hunting."

"Captain Flatcatcher, gentleman dealer,

"family motto,

"pro lusu et praeda."

But I don't know what that means.

Well, my Latin isn't very good, either.

But, I think the point it's making is that Captain Flatcatcher

was a gentleman and a dealer.

So he hunted for fun.

But, as well as hunting for fun, he also dealt, presumably, in game.

I suspect that's what it means.

I mean, I must say, I think to today's eyes,

today's sense of humour,

some of this, it's a bit leaden, isn't it, really?

It is, yes.

But in the high-Edwardian period,

the early 20th century,

it was a very, very important medium, really,

for, you know, conveying, as we can see in these pictures, really,

the way life was lived at that time.

It was a social document, really.

I feel these are worth somewhere around about £100. £25 each.

-I'd like to suggest 80 to 120.

-Right.

I mean, it's a familiar estimate,

but I think, in this case, it's about right, really.

I'm just trying to think how many pints of beer you could get for £80.

It's about what?

Say it's £4 a pint, that's 20...

It's slightly less than that, isn't it?

-But that's about 20 pints of beer.

-Yes.

Now, today, would I rather have these four cartoons

or 20 pints of beer?

I'd have to think about that one.

Well, I think the cartoons would be better for your liver.

Yes. And they'll last longer.

We'll include them in the sale, if we may, at an estimate of 80 to 120.

Now, I mean, personally,

I would think they're going to make their money.

And I would be inclined to say let's not bother about a reserve.

Are you happy with that?

No.

-Let's have a covering reserve on them at £60.

-Yes.

OK. OK. Then we'll make sure there isn't a disaster on the day.

Yes.

We'll see who has the last laugh when they go under the hammer.

On Catherine's table,

she's found something that has put a big smile on her face.

Gay, when I saw this in the queue,

what I loved about it first of all,

before I even looked at it properly, were the colours.

It's so vibrant, isn't it?

You've got these wonderful reds and greens,

which really jump out at you.

But, then, as I looked more closely,

I could see that this scarf was intended, really,

as a souvenir, I guess, for this exhibition.

So this is an exhibition

that was supposed to be taking place in Italy in 1942.

And it never happened, presumably, because of the war.

But isn't it wonderful that they had this, probably, as a souvenir,

something that they produced.

And it shows all the transport, everyone, the whole world

coming to the centre.

Where did you get this from? Because this is a bit special.

Well, I actually bought it from a jumble sale for five pence.

-Five pence?

-Yes.

But did you buy it when you saw it, like me, because you saw the colours

and thought this is a nice, bright scarf?

Yes. Although they're bright, they're very subtle

and it's typical of that era.

So you bought it quite recently?

No, no, it must be, maybe, nine or ten years ago now.

Right. And, then, at what stage did you really have a good look at it

and see there was actually more to this scarf?

Probably straightaway.

While I was checking it through, I realised it had the 1942.

And then I thought it had more significance

and decided to just, really, keep it rather than wear it.

I wonder how many of these were actually produced?

I think there are other posters and things that come up on the market.

But not so much a scarf.

It's a difficult thing, Gay, to put a value on, to be honest.

I mean, it's in lovely condition.

Can you imagine this framed up? It'd look gorgeous.

It's beautiful, actually, yes.

There's a little bit of staining around the sides,

but nothing too desperate, I don't think.

I love this piece.

The more I look at it, the more I love it.

-I'm not going to put a big price on it.

-No.

I'm going to put £40 to £60.

-Oh, well, that's good.

-I've got a good feeling about this.

-We'll put 40 to 60, with a 40 reserve.

-Thank you very much.

-Because I don't think it should go below that.

-No.

-I think we should protect it. Great piece of history.

-Thank you.

A very unusual echo of Italy's past,

but will the marks affect its chances at auction?

What a fabulous day we've had here at Lulworth Castle,

our valuation day venue.

It couldn't be a better setting, a place steeped in so much history.

And I know our "Flog It!" crowds have enjoyed it.

But, before we say goodbye for the very last time,

I want to let you into Dorset's little secret.

Fossils are one thing,

but Dorset lies above Europe's largest onshore oilfield,

believe it or not.

Yes, the oil created by ancient organisms

that came even before the dinosaurs.

Now, that's about as old as we can ever talk about on "Flog It!"

But, right now, it's time to recap on something a little more recent,

our last items to take off to auction.

And here they are.

There's the bracelet with some standout charms,

whose value could go a long way towards paying

for a bedroom makeover for Sue's daughter.

We have Susan's satirical Punch pictures

given to a relative as payment for a bill.

But will the buyers see the humour at the saleroom?

And Gay's unusual souvenir scarf from Italy,

bought for a bargain five pence in a jumble sale.

70. At £70 still in the room.

We're back in the saleroom for our next item,

the Italian scarf bought for a song.

Sadly, owner Gay couldn't be with us today.

These silk scarves are very collectable,

-especially the top names, like Chanel.

-Oh, yes.

If we've got the Chanel name, the Hermes, Gucci, great name...

But, what I love about this, is all the transport coming towards Rome.

Lovely. The colours... She paid 5p for this.

So, whatever it makes, she's made a profit.

What's the reserve?

The reserve is £40. I wouldn't sell it. I think it's lovely.

Can you imagine it framed up?

Yes, I can. Let's find out what the bidders think.

Here we go. We need 40 quid.

Lot 252. Straight in at £20 I have bid now. At 20.

And 5 to oblige for the vintage scarf. £20 I have. And 25. 30.

-Come on ladies.

-£35 the room bid.

Room bid at 35. £40 bid on the internet. At £40. Last chance.

-Beautiful colours.

-Selling at 40.

It's gone. £40. We just got it away on the reserve.

-She'll be happy with 40.

-I think she will.

5p to £40... That's not bad.

How will those satirical Punch cartoons fare,

received in payment for a bar bill by Susan's uncle?

So why are you selling them? You said outdated humour.

Partly, yes.

But I've got no space for them at home.

I've got too many pictures already, so...

Well, the good thing is they are originals.

I mean, the comedy is there. It's a bit dated.

-I like that humour, though.

-Well, it's social commentary.

-It captures an era, doesn't it?

-Yes, it does.

Yes, that's what I think.

But, above all, I think he's a very good,

and probably underrated, artist.

Right, let's see what the bidders think. This is it.

Group of four George Denholm Armour Punch cartoon sketches here.

With me at £40 and away now. At £40. At 40. 45.

£50 I have now. At 50.

At 50. 60. It's online at £60.

60 quid.

It's on the internet at £60, I have. Can I sell?

Going away at 60. At 60.

Just... We just got away on the reserve.

Gosh, we're flying by the seat of our pants.

I'm pleased they've sold. Of course I am.

But, as we said,

-they're just not as fashionable as they were ten years ago.

-No.

The same could be said for our final item, this charm bracelet.

But we still have high hopes for it

because of those unusual charms.

-Who've you brought, your daughter?

-This is my daughter.

-What's your name?

-Gemma.

-Gemma, right, OK.

And all the money is going towards decorating your bedroom, is it?

It is, yes.

OK. Have you got it all sort of stylised in your mind,

you know what you want?

-I know exactly what I want.

-Go on, paint the picture.

It's golds, silvers and creams.

And I've got a lot of dark mahogany furniture.

Oh, quite nice, because that stands out with the creams and the beiges.

Oh, very, very nice.

-Expensive.

-A little bit.

She likes Victorian things.

I just get my grandad to go to auctions and buy me furniture.

I don't blame you, because it's great value for money

and it's not second hand or third hand,

it's, like, seventh or ninth hand.

-And I know that it lasts.

-It does.

Right, let's see if we can get the top end,

because there's a lot there.

And a lot of bids in, as you'd expect. And I'm straight in at £480.

500. 520. 550. 580. 600. 620.

-620?

-£620. It's on commission.

You're all out. The bid is with me. Can I sell?

Top end.

At 620.

So who's going to do all the decorating?

I'm talking people into doing it.

Well, she'll be able to now.

Because it is the labour costs, really.

She has got the charm to do it.

You've got the charm? I bet you have.

It's been a great show today,

with items bought for a snip showing a tidy profit.

So, if you have something at home,

however little you paid for it, bring it along

to one of our valuation days and you just might get lucky.

Join us again for many more surprises

in many more auction rooms.

But, until then, it's goodbye.