Basingstoke Flog It!

There's been a market held here every Wednesday in this town for the last 700 years,

but today there's a new attraction, there's a different buzz,

because Flog It! has come to Basingstoke.

Basingstoke expanded rapidly during the 1960s,

but this marketplace is at the very heart of the old town,

which even has a mention in the Domesday Book,

which dates way back to 1086.

And over the centuries the traders have come here to ply their goods

and all the crowds - well, they've come here to snap up a bargain.

Well, here at the Anvil we've drawn a great crowd of our own

and all the people of Basingstoke are eager to trade their antiques,

and they're here to ask that all-important question, which is...

ALL: What's it worth?

They're gonna find out, because we've got two great experts -

Catherine Southon and James Lewis who are desperate to value this lot,

so let's get them inside and put them out of their misery.

And it's not long before something with a great name catches James's eye.

Bridget, David, a wonderful piece of Art Nouveau pewter work.

Is this something that's been in the family a long time?

I can remember it in my grandparents' house in the '40s.

-Right.

-1940s and I don't know where they got it from,

-but it's been around for 60, 70 years anyway.

-Yeah.

So it's likely... Well, that's almost new.

-This was probably made around 1915, 1925 something like that.

-Right.

If you turn it over, we've got a clear set of marks there -

"English Pewter Made by Liberty & Co."

And really that is the name that everybody looks for

in terms of 20th century pewter,

and then we have the number underneath that - 01130.

It's a five digit number, so it's quite a late one.

The earlier ones only had four numbers.

The most famous of the designers is a chap called... Do you know?

-Archibald Knox.

-Archibald Knox.

And everybody hopes that they have a piece of Archibald Knox.

Sadly, this isn't.

This is probably by, well it is by Oliver Baker,

a designer who studied actually in Birmingham,

in Victoria Street in Birmingham.

And did lots of wares in the same sort of style as Archibald Knox,

but had a much heavier, more masculine approach to it.

Whereas a lot of the Archibald Knox wares are embossed, some are cast,

this is very much cast, with its weight.

The Archibald Knox piece would no way be as heavy as that.

So it's been in the family for as long as you can remember?

Yes, yes.

-Isn't it something you want to pass down, generation to generation?

-No.

Our children don't want it, so...

-Why?

-Don't ask us!

-I wanted it.

David's aunt had it after his grandmother and then it came to us

and I had ideas of putting it in the fireplace with dried flowers in it.

I never got round to doing it and that was 12 years ago,

and so I think "Oh, well, 12 years, it's time to move it on."

You need to persuade your children

-to start appreciating things of this period.

-We try!

I suppose they spend their weekends with flat-pack furniture,

putting it together with an Allen key like most of my mates.

But I have to say, this for me, I love this.

The period really does appeal

and I'd like to put on an auction estimate of...

It's not going to...

I'm afraid you're not going to go on holiday with it,

it's not gonna get you very far.

It's gonna be £50 to £80, something like that,

and let's protect it with a reserve. Let's stick £40 on it.

-If it doesn't make that, we can try it in another sale.

-Yes.

-Is that OK for you?

-Absolutely, yes.

-Yep.

-Super, and you're able to come to the auction?

-I hope so, yes.

-Let's take it along and see how it does.

-Good.

-Thank you very much.

Hi, Frances. Thank you for coming along today

and bringing along these rather interesting ginger jars.

Tell me about them. Where did you get them from?

I was given them by my granddad in 1994.

As far as I know, they were an engagement present

for my nan and granddad, it must have been probably about 1930,

so that's as far as I know the history.

Now you said that your grandparents got engaged in the 1930s?

That would correspond with these, because they are Art Deco,

they are certainly Art Deco in shape and they do date from the 1930s,

so that would work rather well. Do you like them?

-Is it something you're interested in?

-I do like them.

I think they've got a nice pattern about them,

but unfortunately they're not my colour scheme any more.

I did used to collect a lot of blue.

The red took a bit of a background...

-Right, so they don't go with your decor?

-Not any more, no.

-So it's time to move them on?

-Yes.

Well, what I like about them

is that they are in lovely condition and they are glass.

I mean from a distance they may look ceramic

and indeed I thought they were ceramic first of all,

but as you see them, they are made from glass

and they look to have been hand-painted

on the reverse of the glass.

So you can see here, this is the glass on the outside,

-but underneath that, that is where they've been hand-painted.

-Right.

So they're really quite well-done and rather beautiful.

And also, they've got a lovely clear stamp on the bottom

that tells us that they were made in Stourbridge.

And the maker's mark on the bottom,

so it's really nice and clear for that period.

The lids, unfortunately, aren't in such good condition -

these white metal lids which do look a little bit tarnished.

But nonetheless, the three of them do look to be in superb condition.

-So certainly you seem to have looked after them?

-Oh, absolutely, yes.

-Now value-wise, I suggest that we put an estimate on of £200 to £300.

-OK.

Put a reserve on of £150 so they won't sell below that,

and I hope the people in the auction room will appreciate this quality

-and how they've been rather nicely done.

-Definitely.

-Thanks for coming along.

-Thank you.

Walter, a cracking chest of drawers and a nice bow-fronted one as well.

Look at that lovely sweep!

So, tell me a little bit about its history. Where has it come from?

It was my mother's and she inherited it from my grandmother.

-It's been in the family a long time?

-Yeah.

-And now it's yours?

-Well, yeah, I suppose it is.

-And you don't want this?

-No.

Why is that?

-It's too old!

-Too old!

-Too big!

-Too big!

This is the problem with fashion today.

People have got it in their minds, because it's big and brown

and not fashionable, it's horrible and not worth anything.

This is a cracking piece of kit and worth investing in.

Look at the architecture, look at the craftsmanship.

You don't find that in furniture built in the last 20 years.

-No.

-You really don't.

And look at the way the carpenter has cut the piece of wood -

that's one single plank.

That lovely variegated grain, that's called a flame curl.

That's cut for it's decoration.

-And this is circa 1840 this chest of drawers.

-Is it?

Yes, it is just before the Victorian period.

It's got some nice... decorative handles.

If you pull this out, you can see the handles have been replaced.

There would have been a very plain Cuban mahogany drawer knob there,

but somebody has updated it...

-Have they?

-With a rather fanciful ormolu piece of metal there,

just to create the look, you know, rather than get rid of it,

change the door furniture, revive its appearance.

I mean I think it's a practical piece of kit, you know.

It's a quality thing and it's been well-used, I can see that,

because it's had some damage,

someone has carted that up and down the stairs and it's fallen over.

If this was in perfect condition, you'd be looking at £400 to £600,

but because it's been terribly, terribly damaged, but well-loved,

-I think we're looking at £100 to £200.

-Yeah.

You're gonna get the lower end, because somebody has to do some work on it.

People just aren't buying them and it's so sad,

but you've pointed out why they're not buying them -

it's too big, it's too brown, it's too dark, it looks too heavy.

-That's fine.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-Any fixed reserve?

-No.

-No reserve? Just let it go?

-Yeah.

I don't blame you actually, because if it struggles around £80,

it means you've got to hire a van

and spend more money to pick it up and take it home.

-It needs to go.

-It needs to go! OK, see you at the auction.

-OK.

Alex, I'd love to think that when I'm going out with my camera

taking little snapshots of whatever throughout Derbyshire and the UK

that one day in maybe 100 years' time,

somebody will be looking through one of my albums like this.

-That's right.

-This is just a wonderful illustration really,

-of life at sea on a cruise in 1904, just over 100 years ago.

-Beautiful.

Tell me, is it a family piece or something you found?

-No, I just collect old photographs, you know.

-OK.

And I've got thousands, so...

I think the frontispiece is just super,

with this lovely sepia pen and ink sketch there

of typical Edwardian life on a cruise ship.

And then here he's mapped out the voyage, starting in Oban,

going north to Inverness and down the coast,

Aberdeen and all the way round,

Southampton, Plymouth,

all the way up the other side and home.

And if we start to look at the actual photographs themselves,

I have to say the bit that struck me, for two reasons, was Southampton.

I suppose because we're in Hampshire now,

but also I was at Southampton Uni

and this is where I used to go and eat sandwiches at lunchtime.

And it's called Bargate, and there used to be above bar and below bar

and none of these buildings were here.

It was 1960s, horrible flat-roof monstrosities

when I was at university,

but looking at that, gosh, what a place it was!

-It was beautiful.

-Absolutely beautiful.

And then if we come from Southampton we turn to Portsmouth

and there we have HMS Victory.

And, of course, unlike today in dry dock,

there she is, sitting in the water at sea.

Portsmouth Harbour, wonderful.

I mean, this really is a great tour of the ports and harbours of Britain

and it really will appeal to a photograph collector.

-Valuing such a thing is difficult...

-I know.

-It's of far more interest than commercial value.

-I know, I know.

-But somebody will love it, I'm sure.

-Of course, yeah.

And if we put an estimate of £40 to £60 on it

and a reserve of £40, would you be happy with that?

That would be perfect, yes.

-Well, let's take it along and see how we go.

-Okey doke. Thank you.

Well, we've found some cracking items

and right now it's time to put those valuations to the test.

It's our first visit to the auction room, in Winchester,

so while we make our way over there,

we'll leave you with a quick recap of all the items we've found.

What a lovely example of Art Nouveau,

and Liberty is one of the best names.

This is bound to do well for Bridget and David.

These Art Deco glass jars clash with Frances's interior decor,

but I'm sure they'll fit right in with somebody else's.

When it comes to interior design,

does anyone want brown furniture any more?

Well, I think now is the time to buy it.

And Alexander is parting with an album

from his collection of old photographs.

Will this record of an Edwardian cruise sail away? Let's find out.

For today's auction, we're in this beautiful listed barn,

where our auctioneer, Andrew Smith, will be overseeing our lots.

Boy, have we got a show lined up for you today.

I've been waiting for this moment for the last five or six weeks,

ever since we had our valuation day where we found all our treasures

that are just about to go under the hammer.

Unfortunately, one of our experts is missing.

We've got Catherine Southon, but James Lewis cannot make it today.

He's in Derby. We've got a camera on him and a phone link,

so we can get his reaction to whatever happens.

Keep watching because there's gonna be one or two very big surprises!

Right now in the frame we've got Alex and his collection of photos.

Sort of a nautical theme here,

-a cruise around the British Isles in the early 1900s.

-Yes.

Ports, harbours, shorelines.

-Everywhere, yeah.

-Are you a keen photographer?

-Oh, god, yeah!

-Yes?

For ever!

How many photos have you collected in your lifetime, do you think?

Ooh, probably 3,000, 4,000, or more.

We've got about £40 to £60 riding on this.

It's not a great deal of money,

but let's hope we get a little bit more

than James's top end of the estimate.

I'd like to see £80 to £100 on this.

Maybe it's wishful thinking, I don't know, but bon voyage!

James, what do you think? We've got a packed room behind me.

I'm convinced that this photograph album is gonna do well.

£40 to £60, maybe top-end estimate.

OK. Here we go. We're going under the hammer now.

Lot 122, various ships illustrated there.

-We have a number of commission bids here...

-Ooh, see!

-We'll start the bidding at £45.

-Commission bids, lots of interest.

£45, is there 50 in the room? At £45 and selling...

50 at the back, commission bids are out. £50 and selling. Five?

-Come on, more, come on!

-At £50 in the room now, at £50.

Any more? All done. At £50, last time.

James was spot on, he said £40 to £60. Bang on in the middle.

-Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!

-£50 is a great result.

I was obviously more accurate as a valuer on the day than I am today!

Can't fault that! If you've got 3,000 or 4,000 other photographs

and they're all worth sort of, roughly the same,

-I think you're worth a small fortune!

-Sshhhh!

I've just been joined by Frances and Catherine

and here is something for all you Art Deco lovers.

And it will set you back £200 to £300, won't it?

-You like these?

-I do, and they look fantastic here,

because they've got pride of place, they're illustrated in the catalogue,

but I made a mistake - I called them ginger jars,

but I stand corrected, they're actually tea caddies,

because of the little metal bits.

OK. Why are you flogging these?

Because they're just boxed away in the loft at the moment.

They've never been in a box! Looking at them now,

they've got a real look about them, a nice trio.

Well, we've got a fixed reserve of £150.

I think they're priced to sell.

Fingers crossed. There's three of them, £50 each as far I'm concerned.

-Let's hope we get Catherine's top estimate.

-Lovely.

-OK?

-Yes, thank you.

-Let's do it.

Lot 420, there's three Stourbridge tea caddies.

Start me at £200. £200?

Try £150 then. £150?

£100 if you like. £100, thank you, and ten.

-At £100 and ten, 110, 120...

-Come on!

-130, 140.

At £140. Any more?

Right up at the top - 150, 160.

£150, it's with me at the moment at £150 at the top. Any more?

At £150, then, for the very last time.

We sold them, the hammer's gone down.

-Right on the reserve.

-That's fine.

-They've gone.

-Yes, yes.

-It's better than having them in the box.

-Definitely.

What will you put the money towards?

Hopefully in the future I may try and start off doing a family tree

for my grandparents in their family name.

That's nice, a bit of genealogy, yes.

-So it will be put away until I'm able to start that.

-How exciting.

What a lovely idea! How fantastic!

For the next lot, it's Andrew's colleague, Nick Jarrod,

who will be conducting the auction.

Right, my turn to be the expert.

That wonderful set of chest of drawers,

the Cuban mahogany ones, they belong to Walter.

We've got the chest of drawers.

Walter can't be with us today but we've got his daughter, Hayley.

You've seen these as a little girl,

-because they've been in the family quite a long time.

-They have, yes.

-Yes, a long time.

-You may have used them in your bedroom!

We had them around.

Look, I hope you get the top end of the estimate for dad.

-He was quite adamant that he didn't want a reserve.

-He didn't.

They're just here to go and as you can see, if you look around,

we've got one, two, three, four, five...

-there's about ten chest of drawers here.

-Very similar.

It's very similar. They call it brown furniture.

They've talked the price right down,

but quite frankly, now is the time to buy them,

because they are a good investment,

so fingers crossed, somebody will pay good money for this.

Here they go.

Lot 855, the bow-front chest of drawers. Good chest here.

Start me at £100 for it. £100?

100? No?

50 then? Just to get me going. £50, no less.

£50, surely? For the bow-front chest, £50? I won't sell it for less.

£50 somewhere?

Nobody wants to buy a chest of drawers!

If nobody wants it at 50, we'll pass on it.

No? OK, well, we'll move on.

That's incredible, isn't it!

Oh, dear. Oh, well.

We can re-enter it here in another sale,

rather than you sort of put it in the car and take it home.

If he wants to sell it, let it go for £50, we can contact dad,

-he can put it in another sale coming up in a couple of weeks.

-OK.

It just goes to show, all of these chests of drawers here,

all of this furniture, nobody wants it.

-£50 is nothing, is it?

-No.

Everybody needs a set to put their clothes in at home.

Why go to the high street and spend £150 on some MDF furniture

that is gonna fall apart when you can buy

an early Victorian piece like that for 50 quid!

Ooh, I love this little pewter bowl.

It's in the Art Nouveau style and it belongs to Bridget and David here.

-Hello.

-Hello.

I've been waiting for this moment and I'll tell you what, I love this.

I think it's a gorgeous little shape.

I know, James, you really like this. It's got a fixed reserve at £40.

I think it could do a lot more than that.

I'd like it to do a lot more than that. Any change of plans here?

£40, easy.

Let's hope it makes 100.

You've heard what James has got to say, you've heard what I think.

We know what you think.

I think it's down to the bidders now of Winchester.

So let's find out what they think.

Here we go. It's going under the hammer.

Lot 750 is a Liberty & Co jardiniere.

We have a number of commission bids here...

They like it! It's got the look!

Bidding at £110, commission bid, at £110...

I knew James was being a bit mean!

120 in the room? At £110 and selling...

120, 130, 140...

-That's extraordinary!

-140.

At £130 commission bid, then. At £130, if you're all done?

£130 for the last time.

-GAVEL BANGS

-Yes, it's sold! £130!

James, brilliant!

£130, what a great price.

I'm so pleased with that.

People loved it as much as I did and that's gonna go to a good home.

What do you think about that?

That's tremendous! Unbelievable.

I was happy with £40.

-Ah! But it had the look!

-That's three times.

It really did, it really did.

It attracted people to it, so I'm ever so pleased with that.

And I hope somebody enjoys it.

Love them or loathe them, but you can't live life without them,

that's for sure, but things don't always run that smoothly, do they?

Car trouble - it always happens when you least expect it.

I don't know much about engines, but I do know a man who does.

Many organisations were born out of the love of our four-wheeled friends

and have rescued us from roadsides over the years.

One that can trace its history right back to the beginning

of the car industry is the AA, the Automobile Association.

And its HQ is in Basingstoke.

They remain one of the largest,

and even as far back as the '70s, they had over five million members.

This was when they introduced a brand new Relay service.

-Hi. What's your name?

-Steve.

-Hi, Steve. It's Paul.

-This is fantastic.

-It's excellent.

-It's brilliant. Doesn't it look American-like?

-It does, yeah.

-Built in Luton, isn't it?

-Oh, yes.

-Not built in the USA.

-No, a genuine Bedford.

-It's typical '70s. Is it early '70s?

-It is. This one is 1974.

-Right, OK.

-But Relay actually came into force in '73.

-Oh, only a year before?

Only the year before, and we had 15 of these and this was one of the very early ones that we took on.

Gosh! Do you know, I thought they'd been around since the '60s!

-No. We didn't do a Relay in the '60s. I mean then people...

-You couldn't tow people?

No. We didn't do much in the way of towing.

People never went very far then, cars weren't reliable and there was no motorway,

so everyone was pretty much local to where they lived, so it wasn't until later on that we started

towing long distances and that's when we started up the Relay.

And this was the standard issue, was it?

-Yes, one of the first ones.

-Good old Bedford pick-up?

-Yes, very noisy.

-Incredible!

-Slow, smelly, but...

-But I love it. It's in great condition.

-Oh, yes, yeah.

-Who's restored this, then?

-This was just restored by a patrol.

I mean all of our vintage vehicles have been restored and looked after by patrols.

They do it in their own time, so we use them for different events,

-charity runs.

-Have you got many more examples back at the depot?

-Yes, we've a few for you to see, from different eras.

-I'll tell you what then.

We'll load my car up, get it on the back and I'll ride in the cab with you.

-Yeah, that will be great.

-We can have a look.

-OK.

The AA was formed back in 1905 by a group of motoring enthusiasts.

Their aim was not to offer roadside assistance, but to get around the law.

These driving pioneers were constantly

being prosecuted for speeding by the police so patrolmen were sent out to warn members about speed traps.

From those early stages, the AA changed and adapted,

eventually swapping the pushbike for more mechanised forms of transport.

I love it! Hi there, hello.

-Hello.

-What's your name?

-Shaun.

Shaun, hi Shaun. I like the uniform, as well.

-That's a BSA, isn't it?

-This is.

It's the BSA M21.

And how many of these were on the road?

By 1923 we had 273 of these but we still have a couple of hundred

patrols still on pushbikes, as well, so we had a mixture of the two.

From the '50s, we started using the M21, because they came improved

-with the sidebox, which...

-You could get the kit in?

-Exactly, yes.

-That's brilliant.

It made them more versatile. They'd have had spanners, screwdrivers...

-Jacks...

-Yeah, jacks, water, first aid kits, petrol, yes.

I mean petrol was, you know, there wasn't many garages about in those days,

so it was quite a common thing for people to run out of petrol, so we carried that.

Shaun, this is in fantastic condition.

-Terrific.

-Absolutely unbelievable. It still goes like a dream, I gather.

This one we actually drove from John O'Groats to Lands End on a charity run and the only thing

that went wrong with it was the headlight fell out,

-so you can't knock that, can you!

-No, you can't, you really can't. How lovely.

So many people can remember these, you know the old bike and sidecar.

I mean this is a real iconic picture of the AA in the early days.

The number of cars on the road doubled in the 1950s and doubled again in the '60s.

With more cars on the road, the bikes were deemed unsafe and in 1961, a new vehicle came along.

It would make the world of the patrol man a drier and more comfortable place.

I love it! I had one of these.

-Did you?

-A bright red one. It must have been ex-Post Office!

-Isn't this lovely!

-It is, yes.

-Can we have a look inside?

-Certainly.

-Look at that! Even a yellow jack!

-Yes.

All original tools that we've managed to get from the patrols that have retired over the years and been

in the garage, that's an original tool box from the same era.

The fuel cans are original so we've tried to keep it as much original as possible.

-You're passionate about this one, aren't you?

-Yes, yes, we've been renovating it...

We, meaning you and a friend?

Another patrolman, Nick, he helps me as well.

He's a Mini fanatic as well so we've spent many a winter's night in the garage, stripping this one down.

Oh, it's absolutely gorgeous.

You know I remember the times that I've broken down, and it's always been a sort of a flat battery

or condensation in the distributor cap and damp leads and things like that. Is that the usual case today?

We still get flat batteries - our most common breakdown.

Leads and distributor caps are pretty much a thing of the past.

It's more hi-tech now, we've got diagnostic laptops for engine management systems,

so it's a different world to what we used to work on when we were driving these around.

I think it's brilliant that you've restored these old vehicles,

because this is what the AA was all about, you know. It's nostalgia.

You know, kids can see what I appreciated when I was young.

Well, I thoroughly enjoyed my little trip to the headquarters of the AA.

It's all very nostalgic.

It's like taking a journey back into the bygone days of classic motoring.

Absolutely love it! Now I know most of us can't afford a vintage vehicle like these stunning examples,

but the AA and other motoring associations do have memorabilia we can invest in that is affordable -

things like caps, badges and handbooks, so keep your

eyes open because the rarer it is, the more valuable it's going to be.

Well, back at the Anvil now and people are still queuing outside, so we'd better get cracking.

Roger, welcome to Flog It!

-Thank you.

-You've brought along this rather smart refracting telescope, nice pocket telescope there with

three drawers, made from brass with this nice wooden section at the base and a good lens cap.

Now tell me, where did you get this from?

Well, I was given it when I was a young child, about 55 years ago,

I was given it as a Christmas present by a family friend.

-It's a rather generous Christmas present!

-Very generous, yes.

Very kind. Why is it that you're wanting to sell it?

Well, it's something that I used when I first had it

for a few years along with my father in competition,

he always wanted to borrow it.

-Oh, really!

-But over the years, things have progressed and I've

got binoculars now and that just sits in the cupboard.

I mean you say that you used it, but it is in lovely condition.

I mean sometimes you find that these are really badly rubbed and this is often dented, but this really

seems to be in rather nice condition, so although you used it, it seems that you actually cherished it.

Yes. I looked after it, yes.

Now quite often we find with refracting telescopes, particularly pocket

telescopes of this sort of period, late 19th century, we usually find a signature on this first drawer.

We'd be looking for a name such as Carey or Dolland.

Sadly, this one isn't signed which will make a difference to the price.

I was advised, when I was given it, that it was German from the First World War.

I would say that it's actually slightly earlier than that in date,

so I wouldn't say 1914, I'd say probably 1900s, perhaps

latest 1910, but certainly not German.

It's a very typical English telescope, so it would have been nice

to have the signature along the first drawer, which would have given us a higher estimate.

With that in mind, I'd probably put a conservative estimate of about

-£60 to £80 with a £50 reserve. How does that sound?

-Yeah, that's fine.

Are you happy to sell it at that?

-Yes.

-Well, let's hope we can flog it

-and thank you very much.

-Thanking you.

Lou, I have to say, Moorcroft is not something that is a rarity on the Flog It tables,

but I have to say, when I saw these two, we had to talk about them because they are fabulous examples.

They're Moorcroft really at its best.

This was a design known as the Orchid pattern that was originally designed by William Moorcroft himself in 1937

and it was a pattern that ran all the way through into the 1970s, so it was

one of the longest-running Moorcroft designs and really you can see why, because the colours work so well.

Moorcroft did some dodgy designs in the '60s and in the '50s where

they tried to mix orange with green and blue and really it didn't work, but this wonderful sort of moonlit

-blue background really does work, doesn't it?

-It's lovely.

Are these family things or have you discovered them somewhere exciting?

-They were given to me by my grandfather.

-Oh, were they?

And I used to try and draw the flowers and things, copy them, when I was little.

-Oh, really?

-Yeah, and he always said to me, "When you grow up, you can have them"

and he died and my grandmother, every time I went to visit, she used to say "take your vase and bowl"

but I would never bring it home because I used to travel on the train and I used to think

I'll get it broken or, you know, but my grandmother died this year so I had to bring them home.

-Oh, blimey!

-But unfortunately I've got two rather large dogs,

so I can't put them out on display, they're stuffed in the cupboard and I just think it's such a waste.

Somebody should have them out on display, because they're so lovely, really.

I think even small dogs do damage, don't they?

And they would get broken and it's a shame, really.

The good thing about these is also their condition, because if you hold this up high...

-Nice ting.

-Give it a ring, and Moorcroft is prone to internal

cracks, so even if you can't see it on the outside, you can

hear it when you give it a good ring and the interesting thing is also, you've got the "WM" mark there.

This is the sign that tells us that this is by Walter Moorcroft,

not William, so here we're looking at a piece probably in the 1950s/60s.

What do you think they're worth? You've seen them on Flog It before, I'm sure!

I have, but I've never seen any this size.

Well, that's why I picked them.

-I would not like to sell them for less than £350, I really wouldn't.

-£350?

-Yeah.

I think we've been training you quite well, because the estimate that I'm going to put on these, £350 to £450.

-£350 reserve. Are you free to come to the sale?

-Yes.

We're going to go to Winchester. Ever been there?

-Yes.

-Fantastic place.

Should do well, fingers crossed.

-Hopefully!

-Good result on the day.

-Thank you.

-See you then.

Enid and Laurence, you've brought this charming pocket watch - nice half-Hunter, there.

Where did you get this from?

It belongs to my mother's side of the family.

Quite a few of the members of her family used to be in service

and I think possibly it was given to someone as a gift

and passed down through the family.

Well, you'll probably know that it is a half-Hunter pocket watch.

It's called half-Hunter because of this little window here and we open

this by pressing the button here and we can see the enamel dial which is in rather good condition.

So often these get cracked or damaged but it does look to be in

rather good condition and then we've got the subsidiary dial here, which is telling us the seconds.

So if we open the back here, we can see the movement.

It would have been nice to find a signature on the movement, but there doesn't appear to be

any sign of one there, and also it is quite a simple movement, so I don't

think the watch will command a huge price at auction, but nevertheless, it is 18 carat gold.

Do you have any idea of the date of it?

I think it's been in my family well over fifty years, I would imagine.

So take a stab. What sort of date would you say?

1920, '30s, something like that, I don't know.

-A lot earlier than that, 1907.

-Oh, gosh! As early as that! Oh, right, goodness.

It's hallmarked for that so we can say precisely 1907.

-Oh, right.

-100 years old.

It's got a nice chunky chain here as well and this lovely little propelling pencil at the end.

Is this something that you're not interested in, Laurence?

No. It's a bit of a watch, but I'm afraid it's not my sort of thing.

I'd never wear it, to be honest, and it's in a drawer, gathering dust.

So you never really look at it, or?

-No, not very often.

-Have you ever worn it?

-No, never.

The problem is today, these items aren't so fashionable.

You don't see men walking around in their three piece suits, so it's not

the kind of thing that men would wear. Have you any idea of how much it would be worth at auction?

-Not really, so.

-No idea whatsoever, no. No idea at all.

Well, the chain in itself is worth about £100 to £150

and then the watch, about £200, so I would suggest for the whole thing, round an auction

estimate of £350 to £450, and I would suggest putting a reserve on of £300.

How does that sound to you?

Fine. Could we make the reserve £350 if possible?

Yep, that's no problem at all. We'll make a firm reserve then, cos it seems you are quite attached to it.

Well, we wouldn't like to give it away.

That's fair enough. I totally understand.

-We'll put a reserve of £350 and let's hope it does well at the auction. Thank you.

-That's lovely, thank you.

So before we head off to the sale room, here's a quick reminder of what we're taking with us.

Roger got this telescope for Christmas 55 years ago,

so let's hope the bidders focus on it today.

This is Moorcroft at its very best,

and far too good to be at the mercy of Lou's dogs.

And Enid and Laurence's elegant half-Hunter watch

is a hefty 18 carat gold, so I can see this doing really well.

Welcome back to this packed auction room.

Just before our next lots go under the hammer, I had a quick chat with

the auctioneer, Andrew Smith, and he gave me his thoughts on one of our little lots.

Enid and Laurence's half-Hunter, 18 carat pocket watch.

It's got lots of quality.

It's been in their family a long time, it's been passed down through the generations.

We've got £350 to £450 on this.

-There's a lot of gold there.

-There is an awful lot of gold.

We put rather more on because just in the fob chain itself,

there's £300 to £400 worth of scrap gold.

Yeah. We've seen that on Flog It a lot, actually.

You get a lot of broken watches, they're not working, the quality's

not that good and the watches themselves are worth sort of £80 to £120 but it's always the chain...

the fob chain's is always worth £200 to £300 and you can do a lot more with the chain, I guess, can't you?

Yeah. And here the Hunter is very nice in itself.

-Do you think we could get £600 for this, then?

-I very much hope so.

This is the sort of thing which, if we have enough interest in the room, it could go for quite a bit more.

Really? Fingers crossed, then.

-Fingers crossed, yes.

-Watch this space. Time is now up.

And James is still with us in spirit.

We'll be hearing his thoughts from his sale room in Derby and first up is the telescope.

Well, this next lot was a present to Roger at Christmas time,

55 years ago, a long time.

A long time to hang onto a little Christmas present.

-Obviously meant a lot to you?

-Yes.

-Little pocket telescope.

-I was a young man.

Did you sort of walk around the house using it, playing with it?

-Yes.

-Looking out the window?

-Yes.

And you got it out the box recently, brought it along to the valuation day, met up with Catherine.

What have we got on this, £40, £50, £60?

No. I think it should do £60 to £80, I would hope.

The condition is with it, isn't it?

Absolutely! It's in lovely condition.

Hopefully the bidders aren't sitting on their hands.

I think it's priced to go.

Let's hope so.

Here we go.

Lot 765 is a lacquered brass three drawer pocket telescope.

We have had interest in this, we have had a commission bid.

I shall start the bidding at £55...

-Good.

-£55. Is there £60 in the room?

At £55, then.

At 55, 60, and five, 70?

At £65, any more? At £65 are you done?

At £65 then for the last time.

Yes, the hammer has gone down.

£65. Good result.

-I'm pleased with that.

-Good estimate. Happy, Roger?

-Thank you very much.

Right, this next lot has got the lot.

Whenever we say invest in antiques, we want you to invest in something that's quality,

that's signed, so it's got a maker's label you can identify it,

and it's got provenance.

-This has got the lot. It's Moorcroft.

-Yes.

-There's plenty of people collecting it, Lou, and you're flogging it.

-I hope so.

Why are you flogging it?

-I've got nowhere to put it.

-Oh, really!

-I've got really big dogs.

-Right.

Well, I know James fell in love with the Moorcroft at the valuation day.

We've put £350 to £450 on with James and I think that's spot-on.

Moorcroft is an old auction room favourite and it always sells well,

so £350, £400, something around there, I should think.

Well, we have got a fixed reserve now... £400...

because Lou doesn't want to take home a penny less, do you?

No. I found out the pattern is an Iris pattern, and that was my grandmother's name.

-So it tugged at the heart strings.

-Oh, dear!

-Because they've been in the family a long time.

-Yes.

You see this is what I find with all our owners they're

selling off their family heirlooms that have been in the same family for three or four generations.

But nobody wants them.

-My daughter wouldn't want them.

-I know she doesn't want

them now because she's possibly what, how old is she?

-20.

-20, yeah, but when she's 40...

-I've got more at home.

-Oh, you have?

Oh, well that's all right...

Problem solved. Let's flog it, let's get on with it.

They're going under the hammer, two lovely bits of Moorcroft.

Lot 400 is the Moorcroft Pottery shallow bowl.

We have a commission bid, so I'll start the bidding at £300.

Is there 20 in the room?

-At £300, 320...

-We need £400...

At 320, at £320. Any more?

£350 right at the back, 370.

-At £350. Any more?

-Come on, we're so close.

At £350. Last time at £350.

-£50 short.

-I don't mind.

-You fixed that reserve at £400.

-I did for a reason, really.

James would have sneaked it in at £350.

James is thinking "I told you so", aren't you?

Moorcroft is always easy to sell,

but with an increased reserve from £350 to £400,

that is gonna put all the pressure on the auctioneer,

so they're not doing themselves any favours increasing that reserve.

-It was your decision!

-I'll put it back in the wardrobe!

Put it back in the wardrobe!

-No, I won't.

-Well, you've got to get it away from the dogs.

Now I know it's an Iris pattern, I would, yeah.

-Yes, OK, hang onto it.

-Yeah.

Well, this next item has been in the family a long time, like many of our owners' antiques.

It's been passed through for many generations, but sadly

time is up for the half-Hunter gold pocket watch. Laurence, Enid,

are you feeling a little sad, right now?

Well, I'm not, but my wife might be!

-Aaah, but the money will come in very useful?

-Yes, yes.

And let's hope we get Catherine's top end.

-I hope so.

-It's a gorgeous watch.

-It is a nice watch.

I had a chat to the auctioneer just before the sale started.

He agrees with your estimate but it could do possibly £100 more.

-Ooh, let's hope so. That would be nice.

-It's working, it's 18 carat gold.

It's good quality, it should do well.

Precious metal is doing really well, right now, isn't it?

-It's the time to sell.

-Yes.

Lot 140 is the gentleman's gold half-Hunter pocket watch.

We have a commission bid and a telephone...

-Telephone...

-Lots of interest.

I'm going to start the bidding at £400. Is there 20 in the room?

At £400 and selling. 420, 450, 470, 500, 520, 550, 570...

-This is fantastic!

-600, 620.

At £600. 620? 650, 670,

690, 700.

Commission bid is out.

700 to the telephone. Is there 20?

-At £700 and selling...

-They love it!

At £700 and we are selling at £700, if you're all done.

-Yes!

-That's brilliant, thank you!

-Well done!

-That's fantastic!

-Thank you.

-Right, OK.

-Thank you.

-Big question.

-Thank you.

What are you gonna spend the money on?

-It's our 30th wedding anniversary next year.

-Congratulations!

And we thought we'd put that towards a break.

-Yeah, a holiday.

-Aaah!

-A special holiday.

-I think you should have a party now!

-Possibly, yes, as well.

-Oh, how lovely! How lovely!

-Oh, that's brilliant!

Well, the auction's still going on, but we're coming to the end of our day now.

It's been a brilliant day.

All our owners have gone home happy.

It's been a bit of a mixed bag, but I think the things that didn't sell

weren't meant to sell, so they're meant to be kept and cherished for a little while longer.

All credit to our experts, I think they've done us proud.

I hope you've enjoyed the show, so for now, it's cheerio from Winchester, until the next time.

For more information about Flog It, including how the programme was made, visit the website at bbc.co.uk

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