Dudley Flog It!

If I was to show you this fossil and ask you where

today's show is coming from, you might think along the British coastline.

I'll forgive you if you did because, today,

Flog It! comes from the heart of Black Country. Welcome to Dudley.

The Wren's Nest, here in the heart of Dudley,

is one of the most notable geological sites in Britain.

And in 1956, it was declared the first national nature reserve for geology in the UK.

A reported 700 different types of fossil have been found on this site,

86 of which have never been found anywhere else on the planet.

Now that's absolutely extraordinary!

We're not in Dudley today on the lookout for fossils.

Oh, no, we're here to hunt down some antiques. And I tell you what, even if they're only 200 years old,

they're still going to look brand new compared to this.

And at the Dudley Concert Hall, the crowds are busy making their way inside.

And our experts Adam Partridge

and Thomas Plant are all ready digging around to see what they can uncover.

It's Adam who's unearthed the first item to take off to auction.

-I know you're Dot because I remember seeing you this morning.

-You did.

And it was a great experience meeting you then and it's really

nice to have you back at the table with your Worcester vases.

Oh, you are nice!

-You can see straight through it.

-I can, yes.

You've got a lovely pair of Royal Worcester vases.

Can you tell me how you came to own these?

Yes, a gentleman gave them to me.

I used to go into his mother when I was a district nurse and he gave them me when she died.

So, very nice to be given these.

Were you familiar with the vases before?

-No.

-So you never said, "Ooh, I love your vases"?

Oh, no, no, no.

-No hints there.

-Oh, no, no.

-They just ended up with you.

And what do you think of them?

Oh, yes, they're lovely.

So why are you selling them?

I thought somebody else might appreciate them.

Oh, come on!

That's what I've heard said on Flog It!

Well, that's what everyone says, so let's have another reason, Dot.

Why are you selling them?

Um... Well, I don't do anything with them.

You can't really put flowers in them.

-No.

-They're not a great deal of use, are they?

They're very pretty to look at for the collector.

You're not a collector of fine china and things.

-No.

-Do you collect anything at all?

-Spoons.

-Souvenir spoons?

Yes. Any spoons.

How many have you got?

-About 300.

-Yeah. See, when I first met you this morning, I had you down as a stirrer!

I guess we'd better talk about your vases.

-We're very much alike.

-I think so - although you've got more hair.

-Yeah, that's true.

-These are Royal Worcester as you can see from the mark on the bottom.

Puce-coloured mark of the Royal Worcester

and then we've got these five dots,

a star and then another five dots, which is how we date Worcester.

And the star with ten dots is 1926.

Now they're mirror image, so they're clearly a pair...

One of them's signed... Here's the signature there.

M. Hunt, that's Millie Hunt.

A well-known paintress of roses... were her speciality.

They usually specialized in various roses or flowers or animals or whatever it might be.

Condition's pretty good. The only thing I've noticed, a tiny, tiny little chip just there.

Very minor but it would need to be pointed out.

So, any idea what they're worth?

No.

No, no idea at all?

-No idea at all.

-Have a guess.

-No.

-You're not having a guess.

-No.

-I thought you were fun.

No, cos I don't think you'd come up to £2,000.

-No, £150-250.

-How much?

150-250.

-You're joking.

-No.

-Is that good or bad joking?

-Good.

Oh, good.

I thought you were suddenly expecting loads and loads.

-No.

-No, they should make £150.

-Really?

-Yeah, that would be the reserve I'd put.

-Oh, lovely.

And if they don't make that, you can take them home again.

-Thank you.

-I think if they were absolutely perfect,

they would probably make the top end £250.

Dot, it's been really nice to talk to you and very nice to meet you.

-It's been very nice to meet you.

-Stop it! That's not true, is it?

-It is true.

-You're desperate to go, I can tell.

-No, I watch you on telly and it's very nice to meet you.

-OK.

You look much younger than you do on telly!

OK, can we up that valuation or is it too late?

Now you've said something pleasant, we could make it higher!

Lynette, this is a gorgeous little tortoiseshell box.

Can you tell me how you came by this?

It was on a bric-a-brac stall and he wanted £50 for it, he wouldn't come down.

And I think the reason he couldn't sell it was because all along the top here was covered in pink...

it looked like nail polish.

But being a girl, I knew that it was lipstick.

It was lipstick!

So that's why. He said I could get £100 but for this pink

which came out with a nail brush.

And how long ago did you buy this?

-It'll only be about two or three months.

-Oh, is that all?

And you've brought it along cos you want to flog it?

Yes, well I wanted to see you. I didn't think we would see you.

Oh, how lovely. Technically, actually, it's not made of tortoiseshell, it's turtle shell.

-Is it?

-Yes.

-I didn't know that.

-Yes, it's turtle shell.

-Is it worth anything?

-I'm going to get to that.

-Thank goodness this is early 1900s because you can't trade in turtle shell so.

-But it's all right now?

-So, anything pre-1945 you can.

-Yeah.

And I would say this little jewellery box, this little

table-casket is sort of

1910, 1920. So we're lucky there.

Yeah, how much?!

It's Anglo Indian... I'm getting there!

It's Anglo-Indian,

made in Ceylon...

Sri Lanka now... but it was called Ceylon.

I didn't know that.

-Look at the work that's gone into that.

-I love it.

-All of this open fretwork, that's all in ivory.

-It's beautiful.

And I love the little lion-claw feet. It stands quite proudly, very colonial.

So typically English but made in Sri Lanka.

And it's in perfect condition for its age.

It's still got its original lining.

It's horrendous, though.

I like that 'shabby chic' look.

Imagine if that was bright red or bright blue.

-You'd think it was a repro.

-Yeah, exactly.

Just using your technical jargon.

It's got its original lock and escutcheon and hinges.

-I haven't got the key.

-I was just about to ask you that.

This would make a lovely little jewellery box.

It's gorgeous and it's got the look. It's very feminine.

And it'll make money?

Will it? How much?

-OK, OK, I'll put you out of your misery, shall I?

-Go on, go on.

I think we could double your money. With two people getting interested in this it could do £200.

-Ooh, excellent.

-So that's a good investment for £50.

Yeah. Cos it's in beautiful...

-It's like you, it's in beautiful condition.

-Oh!

You want to see me first thing in the morning, I can tell you. Mr Grumpy.

I'm going to say to you, yeah, let's flog it.

Let's put it into auction with the old auctioneer's cliche, OK?

-We're going to put it in at £80-120.

-And see what happens.

Fixed reserve at £80 so it doesn't go for any less, OK?

And I think this should do £150-180.

That's excellent because I want to go to London.

-Do you? What for?

-Just to have a look round.

To go and see a musical, how about that?

Well, anything like that, yeah, and perhaps to go round Harrods...

Buy something expensive.

-Buy something expensive!

-Depends how well it does.

Let's hope we make your shopping day for you.

-Yes, please.

-I hope you get a good day in the capital and do well with this.

-Yes.

-Thank you for bringing this in.

No, thank you. I've really enjoyed it.

Hello Jill, Tania.

-Thank you for coming along.

-You're welcome.

You've brought this rather fantastic deco figure.

-Who owns it and tell me the story behind it.

-Well, it's mine.

I've had it for over 25 years.

It was given to me by my daughter's father. That's all I know about it,

And is it on display at home?

Yes, I have it on the fireplace.

Do you like it?

The figure's nice, yes. I like her.

I'm not that bothered about it, though.

A little bit of scratching... Has it always been like that?

-It's always been like that.

-Yes, this is quite soft, this marble here.

It looks like something's knocked against it.

But she's rather elegant, isn't she?

-She is.

-A lady of high fashion.

I love this coat she's wearing with this frilly collar round here and this great design.

It's lovely, isn't it? Very pretty.

Really handsome. Tania, do you like it?

Yeah, it's nice. I remember it when I was a kid and I'd lean my Barbies up against it.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Well, I've just had a quick look at her and had a good look over.

she's great quality and I thought she was going to be a Spelter.

But I had another look and there's some rubbing of the paint.

She certainly looks bronze from here.

Have you always known her as being bronze?

Well, I wasn't sure.

Sounds like bronze and certainly I can see that coming through.

She is rather handsome, sitting there.

What I like is she's got these lovely, elegant legs.

-They are, definitely.

-And her arms are lovely and thin.

She's looking... She's obviously

contemplating a recent love or something.

-I don't know!

-Is it like an Art Deco?

Absolutely. It's probably made between the 1920s and the 1930s.

Up towards about '38, '39 and then obviously things stopped because we had the war.

-I think it would have been one of a pair and they might have been book-ends.

-Book-ends?

-It's very heavy.

-It's very heavy... have your row of books...

and then you have another one.

That's why she's sitting there thinking, probably.

But you've just got the one, which could go against the wall.

We've got the mark... can you see that mark there?

-Oh, yes.

-A bit indistinct because the painting has gone over it

and got in the way but that is the foundry mark or the designer's mark.

-I've never noticed that.

-It's great, isn't it?

So why are you selling it?

Well, I've had them over 25 years and I just don't want it any more.

You don't want it any more?

-No.

-So, the all-important question is the price.

I mean I think she's going to make about £100, maybe a bit more.

Very fashionable, quite desirable in today's market.

However, being an auctioneer, I want to be cautious and I want to use my favourite estimate...

-our favourite estimate is £80-120. Is that all right?

-That's fine.

-So are you guys going to come along?

-Yes.

-Both of you?

-Yes, we will do.

We're having a great time! We've been working flat out.

We're halfway through our day so it's time for our first visit to the auction room.

We're going to leave you with a quick reminder of what our experts have found.

Dot thinks her Worcester vases are pretty but impractical, so it's definitely time to flog them.

I hope this little casket makes Lynette at least £80

as she's desperate to get down to London for a shopping spree.

And the Art Deco figure would probably sell better if it was still part of a pair.

But it's so stylish, I'm sure it's going to be the star of the saleroom.

We've left Dudley and we've travelled to Stourbridge

to Fielding's Auction House where we're selling our lots.

Will our experts Adam Partridge and Thomas Plant be on the money?

Or will our owners be taking their items home?

You see, that's the beauty of auctions... anything can happen.

And do you know what? I can't wait for it to start.

And the auctioneer flogging our items for us today is Nick Davies. So, let's get things underway.

First up is the pretty pair of Worcester vases.

They belong to Dorothy here.

-Not much longer, though.

-No.

You can wave goodbye to them.

Adam's got £150-200 on these?

-I think so.

-We'll get that top end.

Dorothy's just come back from Scotland.

She's been on a spending spree with one of her friends.

-Have you?

-Yup.

-What have you been buying?

-Whiskey.

-Whiskey!

..which is a pair of Royal Worcester posy pottery vases.

And we have bids I believe.

The bid's telling me £150 on a commission, straight in at £150.

Do I see £160 in the room, anywhere?

£150 on a maiden bid commission.

It's on commission.

First and last at £150 and on a commission, £150, all sure?

Well, straight in and straight out.

Had a commission bid on the books, no-one here to bid it up.

But we've done it anyway!

-No, I'm fine.

-Lucky we put a reserve on them.

Yes, yes. It is.

Otherwise we could have been less than that, couldn't we?

Yes. That's fine, yes.

-He's a canny chap, you see.

-He is, yes.

A lot of experts would have said, no reserve.

Let them find their own level.

No, no, Adam didn't do that.

I wouldn't want Dot asking me if they'd made £80, that's the thing!

I've got to protect myself as well as the object.

You know what it is? The little box, the ivory and tortoiseshell box.

-Yes.

-Going under the hammer.

-Yes.

Hopefully we'll get more than the top end of the estimate.

-Yes, please.

-Yes, please, lots more, yeah?

-Yes, please.

-I can't work magic!

The auctioneer didn't pick me up on it.

He didn't talk about the valuation so he kind of agrees with it.

I hope you're right.

You... You're cheeky, aren't you?!

-You're going to say something to embarrass me.

-No, I'm not.

No, I'm just happy to be here and I want you to do your best.

We are doing our best.

Right now we're going to flog Lynette's box!

and I can open this one at £75.

I'll look for £80 in the room.

Is anybody coming in at £80?

There's no interest at £80 I'll pass this by.

No-one coming in for the turtle-shell box at £80?

Are we all done, then? No interest at £80? No?

No. Aah!

-That's miserable, isn't it?

-I'm so...

-I was so confident that would sell.

-And me.

I thought I'd pitched that just right.

It's good quality, it's good condition.

-I know, I know. I'm sorry.

-I'm so sorry. I've let you down.

No, it doesn't matter.

I love it anyway, I'll take it back home.

And also, I've had this wonderful day with you. I've enjoyed it.

So, every time I open it, I'll just think of you, which is great.

Jill and Tania's Art Deco figure, just about to go under the hammer.

I think you've picked the perfect expert because this really is your field.

-Yeah, the Deco is.

-The Art Deco. £80-100?

-Bit more?

-Maybe a bit more.

-£150?

-I'd say we get it away first.

-OK.

OK, why are you selling this? Cos this is your inheritance.

-Yeah.

-Don't you like it?

I'm never going to use it. It's not really my sort of thing.

-Just don't like it any more?

-No.

-I've had it years, so I just thought...

-Flog it!

-Yeah!

-Let's do it. This is it.

-The Art Deco, there she is...

as illustrated and described in the catalogue.

Lot 662 we're bidding on. Where do you start me on this one?

£75? £75.

We're in, £75.

£80. £85.

You're out. £80 at the back.

£85, and £90? And five?

£100? £100. £110?

-It's good.

-£120?

-£130? £140?

-Ah, fantastic.

£150? So it's now at £140. At £140 it'll be.

I'll open it up.

£140, bidding in the room at £140.

Are we all sure and done at £140?

She looks good and they love her.

-£140, the hammer's gone down.

-That's great.

-You'll settle for that?

-Yeah!

-Is that lunch out for the two of you?

-Definitely.

-And some new shoes, I bet.

-Yeah.

Oh, good. New shoes, brilliant.

Just down the road from the auction house is Solihull, the home of a true British icon.

The Land Rover can be classified as one of Britain's motoring success stories.

Originally built as a basic utilitarian vehicle for working on the land.

At 60 years old, it's survived the ups and downs of the British car industry

and has developed from being a tough workhorse into the ultimate off-roader...

even sparking the move into the luxury four wheel drive market.

So, what's that workhorse like to drive?

Well, the man who knows all about it is behind the steering wheel in that Land Rover.

Roger Craythorne has led the demonstration team here for 25 years.

He even shares his birthday with the vehicle, so he's got a wealth of experience.

Let's flag him down and have a chat.

Roger, it's great to meet up with you.

I can't wait to get into one of these later on and go for a drive.

But tell me about the conception of the Land Rover, its early days.

It started immediately after the Second World War,

and unless you could export your vehicles, it was very difficult to obtain steel.

The British Government would only allocate steel for building vehicles if you could export them.

The Wilkes family were very involved with the Rover company...

SB Wilkes was the Managing Director and his brother was the technical director.

At the time, he owned an ex-World War jeep and he thought that he could do a better job.

He thought, if I can build something better than the jeep, I can export

that and then we can get enough steel to start building Rover cars again.

The Land Rover was only developed originally as a stop-gap...

but of course it very quickly took on.

In the first year alone, we built over 1700 vehicles.

This one's a '49 but '48 was our first year of production.

This one here was owned by the British Army, originally,

when they first bought them in 1949.

But they were successful from the moment they were released on the market?

It was successful because, although we have a fondness for jeeps, the jeep only had a three-speed gear box.

This had a four-speed gearbox. It also had permanent four wheel drive

when it was first launched and the jeep had selectable four wheel drive.

I think that's one of the reasons the Land Rover got so popular so quickly...

-because the vehicle generally didn't get stuck and didn't get trapped.

-What about this one?

The vehicle very soon became very popular and some people suggested that we should

have vehicles with a little bit more power.

To make it perform a little bit better, we went from a 1.6 litre engine to a 2 litre engine.

But also, at the same time, we decided to go to selectable four wheel drive.

OK, we're sort of getting up to the '60s there, aren't we?

-That was the Series three Land Rover. This was launched in 1971.

-Oh, was it?

The vehicle was in production right up until the '80s, when we introduced the Defender with coil springs.

Tell me a little bit more about your role in the company.

Well, I started, like most engineers here, as an apprentice

and fortunately qualified just at the time when the Range Rover was conceived

and was selected to work on the Range Rover development programme.

A lot of the work that I was given during that time was developing the off-road

credentials of the vehicle, making sure the vehicle was as capable off-road as current Land Rovers.

-Yeah, and we've got one there.

-We have, yes.

Can you remember this particular model?

Oh, yes. I mean this is a four-door Range Rover.

We actually started off with two-door Range Rovers.

This one is in lovely condition and it's part of the Land Rover Experience fleet here at Solihull.

Tell me a little bit about the course.

The site is around 300 acres and we've got 15-20 acres of off-road driving...

with approximately 10-15 kilometres of track.

What is it about off-roading that you love?

Well, you can take these vehicles where other vehicles can't go.

The fact that you have the confidence

to drive over terrain that most other vehicles...as I say...

can't traverse.

What makes a good off-road driver? What are the pointers?

Somebody who's got a good feel for vehicles, understands the geography

inside and outside, can read the ground ahead of them...

probably only 50-100 metres, where normally when you're driving

on the highway you've got half a kilometre ahead of you.

And it's having an appreciation of the environments around you...

you just definitely wouldn't damage that environment in any way.

If you're a good off-road driver, you've got care for the environment, care for the countryside, along with

your experience that you gather from years of off-road driving.

The most important thing is not to drive too fast, to understand where your steering wheels are pointing

and to generally be in the right gear for the right object or incident that's in front of you.

And don't put your thumbs right around the steering wheel.

-And don't put your thumbs round the steering wheel, no. You've done it before!

-I want to have a go.

Roger's let me loose in a brand-new Land Rover to attempt part of the off-road course.

I'm very excited but slightly apprehensive, as I don't know what Roger has in store for me.

But I'm about to find out.

-Where do I go now?

-Up the stairs here, so...

-Oh, wow... look at that!

So, second gear, just a little bit of acceleration.

OK. I wouldn't want to tackle this without you.

That's wonderful. Brilliant.

How about that? That was the elephants footprints!

This car can do absolutely anything.

The only thing that's missing is a button to push, wings would come out and we could fly.

-What's next?

-We're going to go for the collapsing bridge next.

-The collapsing bridge. OK, here we go.

Wow.

Oh, that's fantastic.

That's not for the faint-hearted.

The horizon disappears right in front of you.

Big thanks to Roger for such an adventurous day out.

No wonder Land Rover has survived 60 years, it's just fantastic.

It's going to go on into the future.

It's a great British icon. And, by the way, I stalled then.

Let's start up.

I couldn't get it right first time.

Back at Dudley Concert Hall, Thomas is pulling a few strings with his next valuation.

-Sandra, thank you very much for coming.

-OK.

Tell me, when did you get your Muffin the Mule?

Muffin Junior, shall I say?

I was roughly around seven years old.

It was a present from my auntie...

who sadly has passed away some time ago, now.

Obviously it was a television programme at the time.

A sort of puppet toy was something new, so it was quite interesting.

When you got it, you were seven. What was the excitement?

Were you thinking it was a really nice present to get from your aunt? Cos it would've been quite expensive.

Well, in those days it was probably about... Oh, I dunno...

four and six, something like that, old money?

So it was quite a big present to get.

You must have been so good because you kept it in its box with the original tissue paper.

That is brilliant. And throughout your life, it's been with you.

Well, when you were my age...at that time...you were brought up to keep things really nicely.

You played in your old clothes, you didn't play in your best outfit.

So, you know, you were taught to look after things. They didn't come easy.

-Absolutely. You took it from your home today and brought it here?

-Yes.

-Where was it at home?

-Tucked away in another cardboard box.

-And when was the last time you looked at it?

-About a year ago.

-You saw one of these sell at an auction, did you?

No, I actually saw the advert for it in the newspaper cutting when there was a toy auction at Birmingham.

And I thought, I've got one of those upstairs!

Was it a Muffin Junior or was it Muffin the Mule?

-It could have been Muffin the Mule.

-What was the extraordinary price it sold for?

-£1,150 I think.

Must have been the one in the show.

Obviously, it can be quite emotional when you come along to the auction and see it sell.

-But it will probably go to somebody who would display it.

-Yes.

If you are an uber toy collector and you love these kind of things,

-they'll actually hang it in the cabinet, put the box next to it and it'll be amongst friends.

-Yes.

To be honest with you, I haven't seen one in this condition.

It's super. I love the box, the paint is so fresh.

When I'm thinking about estimates, I would actually push the boat out

and say this is worth £100 to start off with.

The estimate should be reserve of £100 to £100-150

-and I expect it to make mid that estimate, maybe even a little bit more.

-Right.

-But we won't stop it if it goes on.

-OK, that's fine.

-Will you be happy to see it at the auction?

-Yes, absolutely.

-We'll look forward to seeing you there.

-OK.

-Good morning, George.

-Good morning. How are you today? Not too bad.

-Good. You brought in some medals here.

-Looks like you've had a distinguished military career.

-Yes, the relations.

-Are these all from your relations?

-Yes.

-Why are you selling them?

Well, somebody else could be looking into it.

-Where do they live at home? Do they stick in a drawer, or...?

-Yeah, usually, yeah.

When people ask about them, I get them out and show them.

So it's not a particularly sad occasion for you getting rid of these things?

-Not really, no.

-Cos sometimes you wonder why people sell medals and things.

But then there are collectors that like to...

True, show 'em off. You know, like, other people can look at 'em.

It's only friends of mine who've looked at 'em.

I could put 'em on the telly and show everybody in the world, really.

First of all we've got World War I.

This is a death plaque or a memorial plaque, bronze, given to people that were killed in action.

Yeah, that's what they say.

"He died for freedom and honour".

-That's it.

-And this is dedicated to Arthur Webster. Who was Arthur Webster?

I'm not certain, like. I think it's one of me old relations or what, I don't know.

Right, distant relation. Right, OK, so it's not your granddad.

-I can remember him, no.

-So you're not a Webster?

-No.

And you've got the original card envelope which it was in. A lot of them retain that.

And then we've got these two medals and, if we have a look on the side, they're to Arthur Webster as well.

-You can see that he was Private Arthur Webster of the Leicester Regiment.

-Yup.

And he was obviously killed in action and that's all you get to show for it.

So, this is where your main value is, here.

They're standard-issue medals, so they're not extremely valuable.

With the plaque and the medals, these are probably worth £60-80,

maybe £100...something like that.

Then you've got these medals.

This is a World War II medal and then you've got the 1939-45 Star,

the Atlantic Star with the France and Germany bar there.

France and Germany, yeah.

-Africa Star there.

-Africa Star.

-And the Italy Star as well.

So these are all fairly standard medals, here. I would suggest that we sell these as a group,

this being the main focus of the group, also these to go with it.

And then probably put an estimate of £100-150 on the lot.

-Yeah, fair enough.

-Is that OK with you?

-Yes.

Well, I'm going to be travelling back down here for the auction. I look forward to seeing you there.

Mary, thank you for coming today. Why don't you tell us where you're from?

Originally, I'm from Holland.

We could tell that by the accent.

-I was afraid of that, yes.

-No, don't be afraid.

It's very lovely, it's charming. Where in Holland?

Nearby the airport, Amsterdam.

OK, well I've been to Amsterdam once and I had a very good time.

-It was a long time ago on a school art trip.

-Ah, only the art trip?

-Yeah, it was an art trip.

-Ah, OK. I won't say anything more.

-Nothing untoward went on.

No stag do's or anything like that.

I was 16-17, so, you know.

-Long time ago, then?

-Yeah, thank you very much! Long time ago.

But we're digressing.

Tell me about these pieces.

This watch was given to me by my ex-husband and now late husband when I became 21.

And this one I got from him when we had our wedding anniversary.

They're both gold and they've both got diamonds in.

What we've got here is we've got this very nice 18 carat gold

cocktail watch, or dress watch, set with 29 diamonds around the outside.

There's probably just over two carats of diamonds in there.

Um, but what dictates this is fashion, isn't it?

-And the world we live in today, we don't wear things like this any more.

-No.

I like the way they've got this sort of engine-turn design on the strap.

With the links,

they're so amazingly done.

But the fact of the matter is, when we look at things like this for auction,

unless the diamonds are over a carat individually, the value is based on what they're actually worth...

to buy trade, so to speak. And then we take into account the actual gold weight of the actual strap as well.

So, realistically for auction, that watch is probably worth between £500-700

and I think I would advise you to put a discretion reserve at £500.

It's worth that just as weight.

-OK.

-So we've done the watch.

-All right.

-I've had a good look at this bangle.

-It's lovely. It's 18-carat gold, isn't it?

-Yeah.

Do you like wearing it?

Yes, but I nearly lost it twice, so.

Really? And that must be a really scary moment.

Did this come from Antwerp?

-Yes.

-Yeah, I thought so because these stones in here are lovely.

-Specially made for me.

-Was it?

Obviously, when we're looking at diamonds, we're looking for the four Cs - cut, colour, clarity, carat.

OK, the carat we can sort of discount because it's a bracelet, they're not massive around it.

Cut is modern brilliant which means it has 58 facets round the stone.

The colour is whether the colour of the stone draws colour, takes in a bit of yellow or if it's white.

Best diamond is always white. The clarity...if there's any bits of carbon inside.

These stones hit every single mark on the colour and the clarity

and the carat, it's just wonderful.

They are brilliant - brilliant white and almost flawless.

I would say it's a similar sort of value to the watch but I think

if we put it in at 4-6 with a fixed reserve at £400, we've got a very good chance of getting it away.

-OK.

-Are you happy with that?

-I'm happy with that.

Why are you selling them?

Well, I have to move house... I had to move house last year

and I put my money into that house.

But now I'm forced to do it again

and that's the reason I have to sell them.

-Well, let's hope we can do our very best for you.

-Thank you.

-And I hope to see you at the auction.

-I will.

That's all from our valuation day, so let's head off to the auction room for our last lot of sales.

Sandra's kept this Muffin the Mule puppet in such good condition, it's going to be child's play selling it.

George doesn't know who Arthur Webster was so has no sentimental attachment to his seven medals

and he's happy to let someone else have the chance to appreciate them.

And finally, the diamonds in the watch and the bangle are of the highest quality.

Thomas thinks they're going to draw in the bidders and make Mary a tidy sum of money.

Before Nick gets back on the rostrum, he shares his thoughts with me about George's medals.

Inherited through the family, he got them 30-odd years ago.

We've got £100-150 on them.

No problem. You've got two different types of medals here

relating to the First World War and the Second World War.

In the First World War group here, you've got your two...

your Civilisation, your British War medal...

-and a death plaque.

-Right.

Both medals will be named round the rim and when the medals' names

match the death plaque, you know you've got the correct group.

These were awarded to Arthur Webster who lost his life in the First World War. This is what the family got.

They never named the Second World War medals

so you can't get the history of the soldier like you can with the First World War medals.

-That's what people like, all the - research where he went to fight...

-Rank, regiment...

You can get rank, name and number off these medals.

That's fantastic, isn't it, to know, really.

I like them and personally I think they're highly underrated.

OK, value the First World War medals. Those two.

That pair there is probably worth around £60-80.

The plaque's going to be worth probably around about £80-100. You're probably around about £150.

Top end of the valuation already.

I think from our generation who've never been through a war,

it's a great thing to show respect and look after these things for people who've looked after us.

OK, what about the Second World War medals?

Second World War...more common.

You've got your different stars, so you can tell where the gentleman served.

This little group here is probably worth about £15.

-Is that all?

-£15-20, that's all.

-Really?

-That's all they're worth.

-That's absolutely nothing.

-It isn't

For somebody that fought for their country and probably lost their life.

Exactly. And hopefully there will never be another world war again, so this will be the last set of medals.

-So, fingers crossed, we're looking at £200 here.

-Possible. Possible.

It's now time for Nick to start selling.

The first item going under the hammer is Muffin the Mule.

We've seen these on the show before but not in such good condition.

This Muffin the Mule belongs to Sandra, with its box and original tissue paper.

-Yes.

-Fantastic condition. Did you ever play with this?

-Yes.

-You were just very careful?

-But only in the house.

-Only in the house? Well, it's a great example.

I think you're spot on with the valuation.

I think we should sell it, definitely, at £100.

-The box is museum quality.

-Oh, wow.

There's a few marks on the mule but the box is just pristine.

Muffin the Mule in its original box.

Excellent condition, still has its original tissue in there as well.

I can open at 90 and I look for £100 in the room.

Has to be £100 in the room. 100 I'm bid, thank you. Do I see 110?

Gentleman's bid in the room at £100, £110 anywhere else?

-It's going to be a single bid then.

-It's in the room.

-On Muffin the Mule at £100. All done.

-Got it away.

-Got away, £100.

-Just! We did it, Sandra.

-Very good, yes.

-That's OK, isn't it?

-Fine, yes.

-You didn't want it any more?

-No.

-Are you sad? A bit sad?

-Well, a little bit.

-It was just sitting upstairs.

-You've got all those wonderful memories though.

-That's it.

We've just joined up with Mary in the nick of time.

-Your lots are just about to go under the hammer, divided into two.

-Yes.

-We've got the cocktail watch coming up first with a valuation of...?

-Five.

-£500-700.

I had a chat with Nick the auctioneer, and he thought the estimate was a little bit punchy

because he thought ladies won't want to wear a cocktail watch any more.

-Well...

-But it's all about style, isn't it, really?

-And if you can carry it off, I think it's a winner.

-Absolutely.

And if you think about it, there's 40 grams of 18-carat gold... £400.

-Yeah.

-There's 20 diamonds round the outside.

Even if they're £10 a diamond, £200.

They're actually £25.

So, broken down, which is horrible to say, it should be the money.

-We'll have to wait and see.

-Should be.

-And the second lot is the bracelet which you've had a long time, the bracelet?

-Very long time.

He also thought that was slightly punchy but you just don't know.

-It's a very attractive bracelet.

-I like that as well.

Here's the 18-carat ladies wrist watch with a diamond surround.

We can open this one at £450. I look for £450 in the room.

-Anybody coming in the room at £450?

-Cor! That's a good opening.

The ladies watch, is there any interest at £450?

If there's no interest at £450, we'll have to pass this by.

-No interest? We'll move on.

-They all sat on their hands.

-They did. Sorry.

We need to see them in the air.

-Yup. But they didn't.

-They didn't, did they?

Um...there's not a lot of other jewellery here, so maybe it's been overlooked.

Could be. You never know.

One more lot to go, the bracelet. Fingers crossed.

Bangle, diamond-set, C-scrolls to the end.

I can open this one at... I look for £360 in the room.

Is there anybody coming in at £360 on the bangle?

Is there any interest in this at £360?

Last time I'm asking. If there's no interest, we'll move on.

No? No interest?

-Sorry, Mary. Tried our best.

-You did.

There is such a lack of jewellery here,

it didn't invite the silver trade or the jewellery trade to come out.

I'm very sorry, Mary.

Maybe bring it back here when they have more of a silver sale.

-I'll try.

-OK.

-Thanks very much anyway.

Our final lot going under the hammer is George's seven medals and death plaque.

We've got a valuation put on by Adam of around £100-150.

-Had a chat to Nick the auctioneer just before the sale started.

-Yeah?

-It's good news. He's spot on.

-Have they gone up?

-They have a bit!

He sort of separated the First World War medals from the Second World War medals.

The First World War ones with the death plaque will do £150 and the others an extra £30-40.

-Yeah, so we might get a couple of hundred pounds.

-Yeah. Fingers crossed.

You just don't know what's going to happen. Lots of history, though.

I've had 'em 40-odd years?

-Is it...?

-Upstairs in the wardrobe.

-Is it sad to let them go?

Not really. I don't look at 'em that much.

-Somebody says there's a sale in Dudley, Flog It and...

-Bring it on.

The good thing is that medals always go to people that really prize them and treasure them.

And hopefully, these will find a good home.

A lot of bids of interest. We have to open at £200, is that correct?

How about that for an opening shot? £200!

Do I see £210 anywhere in the room? £210 anywhere else?

At £200, all the commission bidders out. All done and finished at £200.

-£200, fantastic. George, you've got to be happy with that?

-Yeah.

-What are you going to spend the money on?

-The same thing.

-What's that?

-Sinead.

-That's what we're spending the money on!

-What's your name?

-Sinead.

Oh, that's a lot of money.

Spend it wisely.

-You made her day!

-I'm pleased about that.

We've come to the end of the day.

The auction's still going on. Everyone's gone home happy.

It has been a mixed bag, though. We've certainly toughed it out.

I hope you've enjoyed watching today's show. So, till the next time, it's cheerio from Stourbridge.