Twickenham Flog It!

If soccer is Wembley, cricket is Lords, then rugby has got to be Twickenham.

The world-famous Twickenham stadium,

home and headquarters to England Rugby Union.

Between 1999 and 2004, this place was known as Fortress Twickenham

because England had an unbroken winning streak,

proving the power of the home turf to crush its opponents.

Let's hope some of that power is in play today,

because our sell-out crowd are trying to convert their antiques and collectibles into hard cash.

And practising their passes today are our dream team of experts -

David "Prop Forward" Barby, who does come from Rugby,

and Philip "The Little Hooker" Serrell.

David and Philip are in search of items with a really good chance of doing well at the sale.

They'll value them and ask the owners if they want to Flog It!

David is first to reach the famous blue table.

Martin, are you into militaria? Do you collect militaria?

-My father collects militaria.

-Has he got a large collection?

A fairly large collection, yes.

-Are these yours or his?

-The teapot's mine.

-The tankard's my father's.

-This is the more serious one,

the German porcelain tankard.

This would've been used at ceremonial get-togethers.

And it's personalised, because we have the name Schmidt II here

and also the regimental detail.

On one side - all the regimental names -

and the various activities. Why this will sell

is because of this finial here,

which shows two military personnel either side of this gun.

And all the way round the top here we have military trophies.

It is a personalised tankard and you find quite a lot of them around.

Today we've had at least three brought in. In complete comparison,

this is the humour of the British.

Tommy in the tank. This belongs to you.

-It does.

-Why does this, which is obviously of lesser interest, belong to you?

This was given to me by an elderly neighbour of my parents

basically to play with in the garden.

Fortunately, my parents managed to intercept it before I got to play with it,

-hence its good condition.

-Weren't there tears when it was taken away?

-Possibly.

Well, this is fun. The English love of tea

and the English love of those quirky little objects.

This teapot is in the form of a WWI tank,

so I think we can date this to round about the end of WWI,

coming into the 1920s.

Underneath we should find the mark,

which is "Sadler Made In England".

Sadler also made those peculiar teapots called Tea For Two,

-which is the racing car.

-OK, yes.

Why do you want to sell these?

Well, this one is sat in the cupboard at the moment.

And this teapot, my parents have nowhere for it to go now

apart from back into a cupboard, so it's time to put them to a good home.

-If you don't use them, flog them.

-That's correct, yes.

-There's no regrets on this magnificent piece here?

-No.

When putting a price on this one, I have reservations,

because there is a fine star crack on the bottom.

So a price which would have been from £180 to £250,

we've got to take it down. I think we're looking at £120, £140.

-OK.

-The teapot...

There are collectors of teapots.

There are collectors of anything to do with WWI,

in particular Bruce Bairnsfather,

and this is very similar to his Tommy.

-I think this will do £60 to £100.

-OK.

-I suggest they go up together for sale.

The auction house may just say, "No. That's a tankard, this is a teapot.

-"We'll sell them separately." Would you object?

-Not at all.

So they may separate them. But because they're military related I'd put them in as one lot.

-That's fine.

-You'll be at the auction?

-I will.

-So will I.

What time did you get here this morning?

-About quarter past seven.

-Quarter past seven?!

-Yes.

That's what you need - patience - to come to Flog It!

-This is lovely. Tell me about it.

-It belonged to my grandad

who passed away about 20 years ago.

This was in the house and I said, "Can I have that?" to my dad.

-Don't you think the wrath of your forefathers is going to come down on you when you flog this?

-Not really.

I told my dad and I don't think he remembered it.

I think it's absolutely lovely.

It's crocodile skin. "Patience" written across the front,

so that tells us it's a card game. Here's one pack of cards

and inside we've got the other pack of cards.

What I think is really sweet... Crocodile skin here.

This is hallmarked silver.

And we've got hearts, clubs, diamonds and spades in the corner.

Here's the hallmark.

The leopard's head for London.

Then the little letter "g" tells us this was assayed in 1902.

This is a real good quality item.

It's good enough quality to be Mappin & Webb or that standard of retailer.

-Why do you want to sell that?

-It's been sitting in a bag in the wardrobe

just doing nothing and I wanted to come along to Flog It! anyway...

-Good man.

-I always watch Flog It!

-You've hit the nail on the head.

It's super quality. What the hell do you do with it unless you're an avid patience player?

Or you can sit it on a little table at home.

But there isn't that much that you can do with it.

I don't think it'll be worth a fortune. We can estimate it at £50 to £80.

And we'll put a reserve on it of £50.

If you have a good day, a couple of collectors in the saleroom,

that could make £100 plus. But let's estimate it at £50 to £80. Happy?

I am. I thought £30 to £40, so I'm quite happy with that.

-That's a result, if I've got it right. No guarantee.

-Yeah.

Rod, you must have brought this along with great care.

-Well, yes, because, being ceramic...

-Absolutely.

This is a ceramic plaque which is quite intriguing actually.

-Where did it come from?

-From my stepfather's mother's house.

-Any history? Where did they get it from?

-I've no idea.

I've asked my mum. She's still alive.

And she has no idea how they came by it.

-How long has it been in the family?

-Oh, 100 years.

-That's good.

They probably bought it very close to the period it was manufactured.

This is a ceramic plaque made by Gouda, a factory in south Holland.

The actual scene, this river or waterway,

has got "near West Oppenourt".

In the background, we've got bridges, various church spires.

Warehouses along here. So at one time it was a very busy port.

Here we have an interesting piece,

I think, intended mainly for the wealthy tourist market.

-Oh, right.

-Does that fill in with your...?

-Well, it could do, yes.

-Were they particularly wealthy?

-Not that I know of!

It never came my way, put it that way.

Right. This would've been bought by a well-to-do family

who'd have holidayed in Holland.

-Why on earth are you selling it?

-I've nowhere to hang it

and my mum has nowhere that she wants to hang it

and I'd rather get the money and help my mum in her older age.

That's a nice sentiment. And if you're not particularly fond of it

sentimentally or artistically, then buy something else with the money.

-Yes.

-I want to turn it round so that we can have a look at the back

to see whether it's been boarded or you've got the actual ceramic.

Ah, this is quite good.

Here we have the mark for Gouda. A little house or windmill.

"Zuid-Holland", south Holland, and the manufacturer's mark.

This would date it to round about 1895, 1900 period.

-Yes.

-Also,

this is well constructed.

The frame itself, with these sections to retain.

-Everything's absolutely original and it's never been out.

-No.

It's been in this state all along.

A rather nice piece of family history. Nobody else in the family wants it?

-No.

-I wish I was a member of the family. I'd have it!

Now, let's talk about price.

If it goes up for auction,

-I can see somebody paying £350 to £500.

-As much as that?

-Yes. I hope so.

-Oh!

-I hope so. Because it is hand-painted,

-it is unique, there's not another one like this.

-No.

-Painted by a competent artist.

-Yes.

So I think it's going to sell quite well.

The auctioneer may suggest putting a reserve of about £300.

-Would that be agreeable?

-Yes, that'd be fine.

I wish I could buy it but I can't.

-Thank you for bringing it along.

-Thank you.

-This is really nice, Joyce.

-It is.

-How long have you had it?

-I've had it 25 years.

My mother passed it on to me.

-But before I knew about Wemyss, I used it as a potholder.

-A potholder?

-Yes.

-The most expensive potholder in the world.

-Mm.

-Do you know why it's got three handles?

-No.

-It's a loving cup.

-It's full of grog, I hold it, pass it to you and it goes on to the next person.

-Oh, right.

-I always thought that was just for two people, loving cup.

-No.

You can have two-handled ones

but that's the origination of the three handles.

-That's good.

-You've given the game away as to what it is - Wemyss.

-Yes.

-And if we just turn it upside down,

we can see the Wemyss mark just there.

You're going to say something now, Joyce.

I was going to say, why is it impressed in the bottom of the pot?

You usually see them painted in green or black.

They were early 20th-century marks.

If I tell you... Actually, while we've got this upside down,

there's a little crack on the bottom.

-That's not good.

-Yes, I can hear it now. Yes.

If we look in the inside, you can see some crazing.

-Yes.

-Cracking in there.

-Yes.

But let's talk about the Wemyss.

Robert Heron lived in Kirkcaldy in Scotland.

And in 1882, he inherited his father's business making pots.

And he took into business a Bohemian called Nekola

and they set up in 1882 the Wemyss factory based at Kirkcaldy

and they painted or decorated wares like this.

This is a typical Wemyss pot in the style of decoration of the roses.

This is, from that impressed mark, late 19th-century.

-I love it.

-It is lovely.

-Do you know who one of the biggest collectors of Wemyss ware was?

-The Queen Mother.

-Yes.

If this was absolutely perfect, it would make well over £1,000.

And it still might.

-Yes?

-But I think we need to put a cautious estimate on it

-because of that...

-Crack.

-..crack.

So I would put £500 to £800.

-Right.

-And I think it could just top the £1,000 mark.

-That would be very nice.

-It was a dear old potholder, wasn't it?

-Yes.

-It's lovely.

-It is.

-Why do you want to sell it?

-Well, I'm not going to pass it on to anybody.

-Do you not enjoy it now?

Yes, but I could also do with the money.

If it makes £750, what's it gonna go on?

-I'm going to waste it.

-Excellent stuff! You sound like my sort of girl, Joyce.

-I'll just spend it.

-What on?

-I don't know. But I can't imagine I'm going to save it and do anything sensible with it.

I think you won't tell us.

Maybe. I don't know.

-We'll move swiftly on, then.

-Yes.

-Let's get this to the auction and get it sold.

-Yes.

Well, there are lots of ceramics in our first batch of lots.

But what a mixture of styles! A German tankard with a very British teapot.

A piece of Dutch porcelain turned into a lovely picture

and the huge loving cup all the way from Fife.

The odd one out is Keith's box of playing cards, but it's still a quality item.

For our auction today we've travelled to the Chiswick Auction Rooms, this wonderful building.

Today's auctioneer is Tom Keane.

He knows the patch so he should know what sells well.

Fingers crossed for our owners. Let's hope we get the best prices.

We've seen a lot of Wemyss on the show but nothing as big as this.

-Have you seen anything as big as that?

-Yes, I have.

-One of the big pigs?

-Pigs with ears missing.

-But not a loving cup?

-Once before, a few years ago, that sort of size.

It is very pretty. It's very bold. It's in very good condition.

It's got a value of £500 to £800.

Yeah, I think if I was taking it through the door, I'd prefer to put a £400 reserve on it.

-It looks in good condition but these are prone to damage.

-Yes.

-There is a bit of flaking here and there on the flowers.

-Yes.

To be ultra-critical...

£400 to £450. But...

-it's a tight valuation on it.

-So we won't get the £800, is that what you're saying?

I don't think so.

Attention, everybody.

Right now we've got a military tankard going under the hammer

followed straightaway by a military teapot

-belonging to Martin here. What's the military connection?

-The tankard's my father's.

Given to him by friends that were emigrating to the States.

-And the teapot?

-The teapot was given to me when I was a boy

to play with. Fortunately, my parents took it away

-and they've kept it ever since.

-Good for them. There's a lot of value there. Good condition.

We've split the lot, haven't we, David?

-We're looking for £130, £140 for the tankard.

-Yes.

£60 to £80 for the little teapot?

-Yes.

-Yes. You're looking worried. We've got a packed room.

The bidders are here.

Here we go with the first item. Good luck.

Lot 305, a WWI remembrance stein.

I'm bid £100. I'll take 110.

I'm bid 110. Anybody, 120 for it?

Straight in.

In and out for 110.

I'll finish at 110. Going.

Yes, £110. One lot down, one to go.

A military-themed Tommy in tank

green-glazed pottery teapot. No 306.

Tommy in a tank. Is that worth £50?

I'm bid 50. 55 anywhere?

55. 60. 5.

-Our mid-estimate.

-70. 5. 80.

5?

£80. 5. You're back in, thank you.

90. 5.

Goodness me!

-100.

-The battle's been won, David.

120? 120.

Bid at 120.

Anyone else? The bid's at 120.

Selling at 120.

Yes, the hammer's gone down on £120.

Combined result - £100...200. Sorry, got my maths wrong.

£230.

-Fantastic.

-That's a great result. What's the money going towards?

I should treat my parents for looking after the teapot.

-That's a lovely idea.

-Sending them away for a weekend.

-Possibly.

-That'd be nice.

-Yes.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you so much.

-It was good.

-It was.

-Fantastic.

-That was a tough call,

cos, as David said, that was the only militaria in the sale.

Right, now for our next lot -

a crocodile-skin-covered card case. It belongs to Keith but not for much longer.

I reckon this will do the £60, £70, £80 mark

that our expert, Philip here, has put on it. Why are you flogging it?

It's sitting in a bag in the wardrobe just doing nothing.

It's got a nice touch to it, a nice feel.

-That sort of thing appeals to me.

-It's a really good quality thing, isn't it?

-Yes.

-So it'll sell.

The hallmarked crocodile-skin box marked "Patience".

£50, please.

£50? £30. I'm bid £30.

32. 35. 38.

Yeah, we're climbing.

42. 45. 48?

45 bid. 48.

50? 5? Bidder at 55.

60? At £55. Finished at £55?

£55?

Gone.

Oh, hammer's gone down. £55.

-That's good.

-Not bad.

-What are you gonna do with your £55?

-I've already spent it.

-What on?

-Oh, dear!

-The mobile phone I took a picture of you earlier with.

-Oh, well done!

What about Philip? Get one of him as well.

I'm pleased about that. It's good that it sold

-cos sometimes it can go down a little bit. I'm really pleased.

-It's a tough call.

-But it's gone.

-You feel like you're letting not just the owner down but everybody at home.

-You feel bad.

I've just been joined by Rodney in the nick of time.

His lot, the ceramic plaque, is just about to go under the hammer.

We've got the valuation of £350 to £500. Let's hope we get that top end.

It's been in the family 100 years.

I think that's your heritage. Why are you flogging it?

-I just want to get the money for my mother.

-He's gonna take the money, David.

-Let's open the box!

Hopefully we shall do that. It's an interesting piece of pottery

which is then decorated. The painting is quite good.

-Fingers crossed.

-Yes.

-It's going under the hammer right now.

The oak-framed Gouda pottery plaque. Start me at £200.

Somebody bid £200?

Start me at £200. £200. 10?

At £200. Bid me 210.

210. 220. 230. 240.

250? Bid at £240.

Give me 250? £240, then?

Come on, come on.

Can't sell at £240.

-The hammer's gone down at 240. We didn't sell it.

-No.

Oh, dear. There's another saleroom and another day, Rodney.

-Yes, we'll try again some other time.

-It's got to go home with you.

-Yes.

I suggest it goes back on the wall for a little while.

-Don't try it in the same saleroom.

-No.

-For at least a year.

-Another area.

-Yes. Because some people know some items do the rounds

-and it gets a bad karma about it.

-Yes.

It's an important point.

If you don't reach your reserve, it's a good idea not to put your item straight into the next sale

in the same saleroom. The trade will spot it a mile off

and assume that lots of people have passed on it already.

Hunt out another saleroom or try again a lot later.

We've got something for you Wemyss lovers. I know there's plenty of you out there.

But if you're not in the room, you're not gonna be able to buy Joyce's Wemyss...

-it's a bucket, really.

-Yes.

It's absolutely gorgeous.

I love the rose decoration. That's the classic decoration.

The auctioneer agreed with Philip's valuation but he was being a bit more diplomatic, saying 400 to 600.

-Oh, really?

-He's got the £600 figure in, which we had,

-but we want a lot more than £600.

-I'd like a lot more. I spent £600 on my car this month.

-Have you? On what? MOT?

-MOT, tyres, battery, you know.

-So this is where the money's going.

-I'm afraid it's going to have to.

-I'd have sold the car and kept the pot.

-But you've got to get mobile.

A rare and unusual large Wemyss loving cup.

Who'll start me at £400? £400?

£400?

Bid here at £400. 20?

420, thank you. 440?

460. 480.

500, new bidder. Thank you.

520. At £500.

I think this is gonna be a slow climber.

540? No? At 520 bid. Five people bidding.

I'm bid at 520. Are we finished?

Finished? 520.

-He's sold it for 520.

-Oh, well, there we go.

-Never mind.

-Your lower end, Phil.

Well, it's done what it's done and I felt it might have made a bit more

but you don't know whether you're hitting a dealer who's buying it or a collector.

You really want two collectors, that's what gets you premium value.

-In any case, the place to sell a Wemyss pot...

-is up in Scotland.

-Well...

-You know.

-Or in a specialist sale.

-Yes.

-A ceramic sale where the elite will find it.

No, in a way, I disagree.

If you put it in a sale catalogue and your Wemyss pot was on the front cover,

it's on the internet, and today that's what you need to do.

-I don't think you need to sell it in Scotland. But you need to make sure your collectors are there.

-Yes.

Never mind. At least I've got some money to pay my bill.

-Oh.

-It's recouped the car costs, hasn't it?

-Yes.

Well, a mixed set of results from the sale so far.

There's plenty more to come but now I'm off to get my hands dirty.

Now, this is something I've always wanted to do -

take part in an archaeological dig. It's so exciting.

You never know what you'll reveal. For the last three years,

archaeology students have taken part in a midsummer's dig

here outside Syon House. This lasts for five weeks.

They're hoping to reveal the remains of the medieval abbey

which lay on this site 600 years ago.

Under royal patronage, the abbey grew quickly

and by the time of Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530s

Syon Abbey was one of the largest in the land.

In charge of this summer's dig is Harvey Sheldon.

Harvey, hello. I know you're hard at work. Sorry to disturb you.

-Hope you're not digging your own grave!

-Not yet.

What have you discovered about the abbey so far?

Well, it's a very extensive abbey.

There seems to be a very large abbey church

which was first found three years ago,

underlying the lawn over here

and possibly running under what became Syon House.

Why three years ago? Why wasn't this project started earlier?

-Was it only discovered three years ago?

-The abbey was known to pre-date Syon House.

What wasn't known was exactly where it lay.

We're here to find out more about the church

and to look at the extensive monastic complex which lies to the south and north of it.

I guess a lot of the walls have been robbed by the Georgians.

The walls could've been robbed at any time since the mid-16th century.

We've been trying to find dating material to tell us when that happened.

-Can we take a closer look at the dig?

-Sure.

-I'll have to use my imagination but you can kind of talk me through what's happening with the walls.

-OK.

What are we looking at here?

The base of one of the monastic buildings

which appears to be tied in to the southeast corner of the cloisters.

So this could be one of the major structures.

What's been left here are the stone foundations, which are pretty deep,

and the bottom courses of the bricks.

-It's been robbed down beneath floor level.

-It is very wide.

What's this section here? We've got a right angle here.

-Yes. This looks to be the southeast corner of the cloisters.

-Right.

Coming through here and across there.

Then you would have in front of us here...

This is probably the cloister passage coming down on the eastern side

and then turning along here.

And this is probably the corner of the eastern wall.

-So we might be in one of the cloister passages.

-Why is that so low?

That's when we run into problems caused by activity in later periods.

You can see a bit of the wall and another bit down here.

We seem to have a large cut for a feature that related to the formal gardens of Syon House.

It's a lot of hard work, Harvey.

Can we have a look at some of the small artefacts you've found so far?

-Sure.

-Come on, then.

Gosh, there's lots in this tray.

That looks nice. It's been worked, it's been fashioned.

Is that the surround of a window?

Yes, it's probably part of a window.

It comes from the northern trench

where we're dealing with finds that relate to the demolition of the abbey,

probably in the later 16th century.

Yeah. Yeah. And what's that?

That's a bit of window glass.

-Ah!

-Difficult to see it.

Medieval glass doesn't survive terribly well.

But that's, as you see, a nice flat glass.

-That would come from the windowpane.

-And what's nice is

you've drawn that to its exact size and taken all its data.

-And this will be logged and stored?

-Students and staff will work on the finds

as well as undertaking all the records on the excavation.

Then this will go into what's called a post-excavation stage

-where it will be assessed.

-Where do you keep the artefacts?

We do this excavation with the Museum of London so they will go to the Museum of London.

-What's this? A little pin or nail?

-A pin.

There are a number of burials on the site,

disturbed through the demolition of the abbey and the gardening.

Sometimes we get things like finger rings and sometimes these pins,

which are probably to hold together a shroud.

Lovely.

-And here, what, floor tiles?

-Yes. All the floors have gone.

They've been robbed away.

But this may be from the Low Country, glazed floor tiles.

Probably from the abbey church.

Lots of important finds turning up all the time.

What's the significance of this dig?

It's an important abbey.

It's the only Bridgettine foundation known in the medieval period in England. It's on royal land,

founded by Henry V, in the year of Agincourt,

relocated on this site by his infant son, Henry VI,

and it survives until the dissolutions of Henry VIII in the late 1530s.

-That's some history.

-Yes.

-That's got provenance.

It's a major royal site.

This is three years' work. Let's hope it goes on for many more years.

You never know, who knows what you might find?

Lorraine, this is quite an unusual object for a lady to possess.

-Where did you get it?

-It's my mother's.

I've brought it in today for her.

She got it from my grandfather

who was in the Hong Kong police force.

-Oh.

-We think that's where it came from.

I wonder if it was confiscated.

-Possibly.

-It's quite intriguing.

All will be revealed.

What I like about it is it's Japanese. Date-wise it's...

what I'd term Meiji period,

so we're looking at about 1860, 1870, that sort of period.

It's called an inro.

This was, initially, for a Japanese gentleman

of quality, of some standing,

to put his personal items in these sections,

which are all interlinked by this silk cord.

Each compartment would've contained things like snuff...

or other objects he would need in his travels round town.

-Right.

-And to secure all these little compartments

was this ivory bead, which would slide up and down.

That's beautifully carved

in the form of a jackal with a human skull.

At the far end, we have this little carved red lacquer,

-which is called a netsuke.

-Yes.

The main ingredient is this piece here - the inro.

It doesn't contain personal items that you would need during a day-to-day existence.

But these are rather erotic elements that you'd expect to find, let's say, from ladies of the night.

-Right.

-Was it ever explained to you as a youngster?

No. It's only just recently turned up.

-Oh, right. Was it found in the back of a drawer?

-My mum had it in her knitting box.

When she was in hospital, we were looking for something and one of the children found it.

And said, "Oh, look, Mum! What's this?"

I'm going to open a few of these compartments.

In each one it shows a couple in the form of an embrace.

-Yes.

-And others, as we go down the boxes, in greater elements of embrace.

But they are all beautifully carved in ivory and then hand-painted.

Intriguing, delightful... quite valuable,

because items of this sort of erotic nature do command high prices.

I think at auction... How much do you think it's going to be?

I've got no idea. I wouldn't even like to guess.

I'm going to sort of...

-hazard a guess at somewhere between £800 and £1,200.

-Oh, my goodness! Really?

That sort of price range. Still want to sell it?

-Yes, please.

-Right. Why is your mum selling it?

Just because it's been in the family such a long time now and...

it's going to be difficult to pass it down to one or the other of her children

-so the best thing to do is sell it now and she can see what becomes of it.

-That's a good idea.

Frank, is this yours?

No, it's my mother's actually.

So this is your mum's.

-You inherited it.

-Indeed.

And now it's gotta go.

Yes. My two boys would not appreciate it somehow.

Do you know, this, I would guess, dates to somewhere between about 1955 and 1965.

Yeah, absolutely.

And the thing is, you know, that age was the age

-of fur coats and gold charm bracelets.

-Sums Mum and Dad up.

-Does it really? You know...

And now... That was... If you weren't that well-off, you had a silver charm bracelet,

and if you were really well-off, you got a gold charm bracelet. And you would have had an expensive mink

-and now...fur coats, no-one wants them.

-No.

Charm bracelets, no-one wants them.

And you've got all sorts of little charms on there

-from a little Chinese junk to maracas...

-Yes.

We know what it's worth, cos we've got a £1 note and a 10 shilling note -

-that's £1.50 in today's money.

-Absolutely.

-It makes me feel old, cos I can remember £1 notes and 10 shilling notes.

-So can I.

This is sweet, cos we've got a little clam shell that opens up and there's a photograph holder inside.

I think that's really quite sweet. The sad thing is

-it's all hallmarked gold...

-Yeah.

-You know...

I suspect that someone might take the charms off and either melt them or sell them separately

and sell the chain separately. Value...

it's not gonna be that great.

I think we can put an auction estimate on that of £200 to £300.

-Yeah, fine.

-Is that all right?

-Splendid.

-A reserve, I would say, of about £150. £150 fixed reserve.

-Yeah.

I think it'll sell, but whether someone will buy it and wear it, I don't know. What do you reckon?

Well, I'd like to meet the person that's gonna wear it!

-If it makes £200, what will you spend the money on?

-Well, Mum was a really party-goer.

-Was she?

-So we'll...

-So you're gonna have a party?

-Well, no, we'll take the boys out and have a meal...

-Lovely.

-..And a few beers.

Well, let's take it to the auction and hope you have a bit of...

there you are - good luck.

-Joy, what a super needlework box!

-Thank you.

-This is Anglo-Indian. How did you come across this?

-I found it in a car-boot sale.

-Really?!

-Yes.

Where?

Hounslow.

-About 17 years ago.

-17 years ago?!

-Yes.

-You've looked after it.

-It hasn't been out of the box since I brought it home!

It hasn't been out of the box?!

-So you put it in a cardboard box when you bought it.

-And it's just been in there.

-Under the bed? In the cupboard? Never used?

-No, I just thought it was pretty, so I bought it.

Oh... Do you know what it's made of?

-No.

-It's ivory and horn. And it really is the most exquisite embroidery box

that I've seen. It's sort of a colonial Regency piece.

-Yes.

-It's early 1800s.

It's absolutely divine. Look at the shape.

-I know.

-The work involved. And you've got the original key,

which is good,

with a bit of ribbon, so you won't misplace it.

It is striking. It is so decorative as well -

black, white, black, white, coming out from the centre finial.

Shall we see if it's as good on the inside as it is on the outside?

Opening up now.

-That weighs a lot as well.

-It's very heavy.

I'd imagine the whole box... We'll have a feel of that in a minute.

-Look! The amount of work that's gone into it.

-They'd not do that now.

-No.

Look at the little bun feet as well.

Separate compartments for cotton reels,

pin cushions,

obviously little sections here for buttons and things.

Sequins. And you never ever used this?

-No.

-So you don't sew, then?

Oh, I do, but I didn't use that.

-No, it's too heavy.

-Why did you hang onto it for so long

-without looking at it?

-I'm a hoarder.

-A bit of a magpie? Have you got lots of other things like this?

-Not like that.

What's this?

-Secret letters.

-Do you keep secret letters there?

-Yes.

-Yes?

You said you'd never used it!

Look at that. It's in immaculate condition.

-One of the bun feet at the front is slightly loose...

-That's right.

-..but apart from that...

-It always has been.

-..it's 100% right.

-Little handles here. Does this lift up?

-Yes.

And there's a...like a false drawer in there.

How old do you think it is?

-Early 1800s.

-No?

-Yes, no later than 1820. 1830...

-Gosh!

-..at the very latest.

-Good heavens.

It's so well built, but look at the amount of ivory and horn there.

-How much did you pay for this?

-£4.

Well... Shall we add an 0?

And then add another 0.

-That's £400.

-No?

-Base level.

-Yes.

-I think we could get the £600 mark.

-I hope so.

-On a good day. I'm going to say £400-£600.

Are you? And do we put a reserve on that?

I think so. I think we put a reserve of £400 on it.

Yes, please.

It's been a good investment, hasn't it? £4 to £400.

-Mind you, it's taken you 17 years to amass.

-Yes. Still...

-Still...

-It was worth it, wasn't it?

-I think so, yeah!

Well, we're off to the saleroom again,

and we've had to be very careful which bits of Lorraine's inro we've shown you.

The contents really are naughty! Frank's bracelet

is out of fashion, but gold will always sell.

And what can I say about Joy's sewing box?

It just bowled me over.

Auctioneer Tom Keane is fairly impressed too.

Tom, this brings back memories of the valuation day,

just seeing this here. I fell in love with this.

It belongs to Joy. It's an early 19th-century sewing box, Anglo-Indian, as you know.

But what you probably don't know

is that she got this for £4 in a car-boot sale.

-Good result.

-Very good result. I've told her, auctioneers estimate £400-£600,

but I've said this has got to do around the £800 mark.

The reserve's a sort of dead-cert reserve, if you like.

That will definitely sell for £600 plus, and hopefully,

-it'll make over the thousand.

-I'd like to think that. In the good old days,

-you could get £2,000 for something like that.

-Those were the days!

But the nicely fitted interiors - this isn't fantastic.

One with more compartments would make £2,000,

£1,500 even today. But this one's a little bit behind that,

but £600-£800 easily.

Or it could be a good trade buy.

It needs a little bit of TLC but there's money to move that on.

There's plenty in that.

We've just been joined by Lorraine in the nick of time.

We're selling a Japanese inro, valued by David at £800-£1,200.

It's signed as well. A bit of your family heritage being flogged off.

You could do with the 1,200 quid, and I don't blame you, actually.

Good luck, fingers crossed. Good luck, David, as well.

-I hope it's the right sale.

-So do I.

A rare 19th-century Japanese five-compartment lacquered inro.

£500 for it. For the inro,

£500. I'm bid £500.

Take 50. £500. 550.

-600. And 50.

-We need 700 reserve.

-At £600.

650? You're saying no. £600.

650 or not? No further interest?

See me again afterwards. At £600...

-That's not sold.

-He's put the hammer down. Not sold on 600.

We fixed that with a reserve of 750 and I think you've done the right thing.

Yes, we need to put it into a sale where there's other Japanese artefacts

-and other inro.

-At least it's not a chest of drawers.

-No.

-At least you can get it home on the bus, if you came by bus!

Frank, good luck on this. We're just one lot away. We've got a charm bracelet. Local interest here

because it's from Harrods, London. We're just down the road.

We've got all sorts of things on there - buses, £5 notes.

-It really is chunky, isn't it?

-Yes.

-Why are you flogging this?

-I've got two boys so I can't pass it on.

-And they don't want that. They want the money!

-£200-£300. Let's hope we get the top end.

-Yeah.

Traditional gold charm bracelet, festooned with charms.

Start me at £100, please.

I'm bid £100 for the charm bracelet. 110? £100 I'm bid.

110. 110. 120.

130. 140. 150. 160.

170. 180. 190.

200? It's nearest me at 190.

Will I see 200 for it? I'm bid 190. Selling at 190.

The bid's here at 190. Are we all done?

-He's sold it.

-Yeah.

-190. Straight in there. No messing.

-That's OK.

-That's just a sign of something that's completely unfashionable today, isn't it?

-Yeah.

I think people are frightened to wear things like that because there's a lot of violence about,

and that's a lot of money to have on your wrist.

But it's gone. And your sons, will they split the money or are you going to keep some for yourself?

-We might go and have a meal somewhere.

-I don't blame you, actually.

Thank you so much for coming in.

Right, it's now my turn to be the expert

-and the nerves are setting in. We've had a lot of highs and lows here today.

-Yes, you have.

-This has got to be a high one, hasn't it?

-I hope so.

-This is the most gorgeous,

-exquisite sewing box. It has attracted attention.

-Has it?

-Yes.

The auctioneer agreed with me, it is worth £800 if two people get stuck in,

-so we're going to get the top end.

-I hope so.

-He also let me into a little secret.

There's a couple of commission bids left on the book

which means they do want it.

-So it's all down to the bidders in this saleroom. Good luck, Joy. This is it.

-Thank you.

Early 19th-century, Anglo-Indian bone and ivory horn sewing box.

Fitted interior. Got a telephone bid as well. Good telephone bid,

so we start at £400.

I'm bid £400. A start at £400.

410. 420.

Who shouted 600? Thank you. Why not? 600.

-Someone's just beefed it up to 600!

-620?

650. 680.

700. 720. I've got four or five people wanting to bid.

720. 750. 800 over there.

-£800. 850.

-They're keen! They love it!

Do you want to shout again? 900 there. 950.

1,000. 1,100.

1,200. Yes or no?

-1,200. 1,300...

-It's getting exciting. It's getting hot.

1,400. New bidder in the room.

1,500 on the phone. Still five people bidding.

-1,600.

-1,600.

-No?

-Who'll give me 17 for it?

1,700. 1,800. 1,900.

2,000. 2,100.

2,200. It's against you.

Might as well. There's enough bidders. 2,200. 2,300.

He said no. 2,200.

Are you in or out? Over there at 2,200.

No? All done at £2,200, then.

Finished? You've got it.

-Well done!

-Thank you, Paul!

they gave you a round of applause!

£2,200.

I just don't believe it!

Honestly. That's not... Whatever anybody else says, I really don't believe it.

I'm so pleased with that for you.

What are you going to put that money towards?

Well, I was going to start off by buying a laptop,

-but I don't know what I'm going to finish off with now!

-You'll get a laptop for £600-£700.

-Then you've got more money to play with.

-Yes.

-Phew! What an exciting moment!

-I don't believe it.

-That's Flog It for you.

-Thank you, Paul.

What a lovely end to a fantastic show here in Chiswick.

If you've got any antiques and collectibles that you want to flog,

bring them along to one of our valuation days.

You'll get details on our website.

It could be YOU standing in the auction room

-the next time!

-Thank you, Paul.

-Bye for now.

For more information about Flog It, including how the programme was made,

visit the website at bbc.co.uk/lifestyle

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd 2006

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