Kidderminster Flog It!

Today, "Flog It!" has travelled to a Worcestershire town famous for its carpet production.

Indeed, this product is so world famous

one of its legendary clients is the Eiffel Tower.

So, where are we? Well, Kidderminster, of course.

Kidderminster became first known as a wool-making town

back in 1334, and it was known for its Kidderminster stuff,

which is a kind of heavy cloth

used for wall hangings and furniture upholstery.

But when William Brinton opened his first factory here in the town in 1785,

the production of carpet-making soon took over

the manufacturing of woollen goods.

The industry from that date to this is so connected to the area,

that the free local paper, first published in the 19th century,

was named after the shuttles used on the carpet looms.

Today, we're at Kidderminster Town Hall.

We've got a queue already lined up

and here are our experts, Mr Philip Serrell and Kate Bliss.

There's no time for reading the paper, you've got to get foraging.

Well, it is now 9.30. I think it's time to get the doors open and get the show on the road, don't you?

Let's Flog It!

While Phil and Kate start to look for treasures,

here's a little look at what's coming up on today's programme.

There's a serious lack of love for some of our owners' items.

-Do you like them, love them, loathe them?

-Loathe them.

They're not my thing at all.

I felt I ought to give it to him and then I thought,

"It's not really his taste."

-Right. Not quite his style?

-No. No.

But will the bidders agree when we take them off to auction?

Yes. The hammer's gone down.

-I think your dad knew what he was doing.

-Wow.

And back at the town hall, Philip has found his first valuation.

-Robert, how are you?

-Fine, thank you.

-You've brought some old dogs along.

-Yes.

-How did you come by these?

-My wife's uncle collected them.

-Yeah.

-He was a photographer with the cruise liners.

-Yeah.

And he used to pick up these in different parts of the world.

And we found these in a box.

I think they're lovely.

They're very reminiscent of those, sort of,

Black Forest and Bavarian bears...

You know? You get these bears, that size, holding little Vesta cases, holding a little matchbox...

even up to almost the life-size examples that support a hall stand,

-they can be worth thousands of pounds.

-Yeah.

We've got a bit of damage. We've got a three-legged dog,

cos he's lost his right front leg and a tambourine.

-Right.

-This little chap here...

he's lost his right tambourine.

-I guess that might have been a drum at some point.

-On the top, yes. Yes.

I love the one on the skis.

-I think that's brilliant.

-Yes.

And that's almost got a bit of a Jack Russell look,

-this mandolin player.

-That's right. Yeah.

I think these are probably from the Black Forest area.

Rather than 19th century,

-I think they're probably early 20th century.

-Right.

And I don't think that they're perhaps yet as collectable

as the Black Forest bears but I think they're great fun.

-Yes.

-And I think they're going to have a bit of demand, these.

How many have we got? One, two,

three, four, five, six, seven,

-eight, nine, ten, eleven.

-Yes.

-OK.

In terms of value, I think we've got to put what we call

-a come-and-buy-me estimate on these.

-Right.

-OK.

And that's an estimate to really entice people to get interested.

And I think we can put £30-£50 on them.

-Right.

-I think we can put a £30 fixed reserve on them.

-Right. Right.

-And it wouldn't surprise me

if they went and made between £150 and £200.

-It wouldn't surprise me.

-It wouldn't surprise you. No.

-Do you like them?

-I do.

-Why are you selling them?

We've got so much of this sort of thing at home and we came from

Devon on a five double-bedroom house to a two-bedroom town house now.

So we've got so much stored away in the attic and loft,

everywhere, that we decided to start clearing stuff out.

So that's why they're here.

-This is the start.

-This is the start!

Well, let's hope it's a really good start for you, Robert.

Let's hope it's a really good start.

Chris, tell me about this lovely little figure.

-It was given to me as a present when my son was born. And he's now 31.

-OK.

So it's been sitting in a cupboard for 31 years.

And I felt I ought to give it to him and then I thought,

-"It's not really his taste."

-Right. Not quite his style?

No. So when I saw "Flog It!" was on, I thought, "Right, I'll bring it."

-You've brought it to the right place.

-Good.

What can you tell me about it?

All I know is, it's Royal Worcester.

And I think it's FD... Freda Doughty?

That's absolutely right. Yes.

-You've looked on the bottom, I think.

-Yes.

Cos inside here, we have the Worcester mark

and underneath, it's titled October.

Why is that, do you think?

-Logically, it's months of the year, something like that.

-That's right.

-And he was born 1st October.

-Good choice then.

-Absolutely.

Well, you're right, also, about the modeller because she is titled here.

-F Doughty.

-OK.

At the Royal Worcester factory,

there were two main modellers of figures and they were sisters.

-Oh, really?

-One was called Dorothy Doughty

and she is very well-known for modelling birds.

-Her sister, Freda, concentrated on children.

-Yeah.

And she, I think, modelled children beautifully.

And she produced these little figurines

-in a number of different series.

-Yeah.

-Some were titled with the months of the year, just like yours.

-Yeah.

She did the days of the week...

Figurines representing countries...

-Yeah.

-Different series. And this is exactly what we've got here,

signifying October, with squirrels.

-Seasonal little boy running around, there.

-With the squirrels.

So perhaps not suitable for your son today.

-No.

-But there are plenty of collectors

-that it would be suitable for.

-Oh, really?

And selling it on its own, without the rest of the series, is absolutely fine

because there will be a number of collectors who perhaps have this one missing from their set.

-Got you.

-We hope so, anyway. Hope they're at the auction.

-Yeah. Brilliant.

-So what about value today?

I've got no idea.

Well, they're a fairly standard price, I have to say, at auction,

-as long as they're in perfect condition, and yours certainly appears to be.

-Yeah.

So I would say between £30 and £50.

Brilliant. Would you put a reserve on this or something?

I would. Yes. Just in case the right person isn't there on the day,

I would suggest a reserve of £30.

-OK. Yeah.

-Does that sound good?

-That sounds fine. Absolutely.

So who will the proceeds go to... you or your son?

It'll have to go to my son.

And seeing as I'm saying it on television, I'll have to do it.

-Lesley, how are you?

-Very well.

-Are you a Kidderminster lass?

-Yes - born here, now live in Stourport.

-I was born in Kidderminster.

-Yeah. I didn't know that.

-Yeah. Well, there's a reason why I've chosen this.

-Yeah.

I don't pretend to be a glass specialist,

but Will at Fieldings,

he's got more about glass than most people know.

I can tell you what I think it is.

How long have you had it?

It's been in the family since I was born.

It was my granny's present from my granddad when they got engaged.

-When would that have been?

-Well, I don't know when she got engaged but she died in 1971, aged 87.

So it would have been about 1910...

-1910, 1920.

-It's got to be somewhere around...

Let me tell you what I think it is.

I think this is a really sweet little opaline glass basket

on the inside, with this sort of multicoloured dash on the outside,

with gilt here. Um, it's Victorian.

I would say that it's sort of probably about 1880,

1890, there or thereabouts.

I think this is British.

OK. I think it's possibly English.

-Right.

-We've got Kidderminster.

-And the next great glass port of call is Stourbridge.

-Right. Yeah.

OK. And that's 15 miles up the road.

-Yes.

-So it's not beyond the wit of man

-for this to have come from one of the Stourbridge factories.

-Right.

-OK.

-Possibly Richardsons, who knows.

-Yeah.

-But the auction sale room is in Stourbridge and Will will know.

I just think it's a sweet little bit of 19th-century decorative...

You could almost imagine this

with the aspidistra in the corner of the room, can't you?

-That's right. Yes.

-I just think it typifies that period,

that sort of late-Victorian era.

In terms of value, I'm going to be really mean,

OK? I'm going to put £30-£50 as an estimate on it.

-Right.

-And a £20 reserve.

But I think that it's going to the best place that it can.

Yeah. That's great, then.

-All right?

-Yeah. That's fine. Yes.

-Good stuff.

-Thank you ever so much.

What a wonderful venue we have today. I'm so proud to be here.

But we've only got this for one day.

The Who played out there, The Rolling Stones, Donovan.

And of course, we do have...

George. Take it away.

THEY CLAP IN TIME

That's enough, George. Well done. Well done, mate.

We'll come back to that later on,

but right now, we've found our first items to take off to auction.

Here's quick reminder in case you've forgotten what they are.

We'll see you at the auction house.

Robert is downsizing so his 11 wooden dogs

are going under the hammer with Philip's estimate of £30-£50.

Another £30-£50 valuation was put on the Worcester figurine

that Chris was given when her son was born 31 years ago.

It's not really to his taste but he could have a decent cash gift

from his mum if it hits the high valuation.

And what are the chances of this?

Another £30-£50 valuation was given for the glass vase

that's been in Lesley's family since before she was born.

I'm keen to see if Philip is on the nose with his valuation,

so I'm going to have a quick chat

with our man on the rostrum today, Nick Davies.

Nick, I know absolutely nothing about glass

and I know this is the best place to bring it to,

and Will has got a great reputation with glass.

This belongs to Lesley, and Philip's put around £30-£50 on it.

It dates, as you know, to the early 1900s,

and it's got a lovely tortoiseshell finish and...

it's absolutely immaculate. You'd think it'd been made yesterday.

Well, that's the bonus with glass.

It's notoriously impossible to repair,

so the condition's paramount with anything like this.

And you're right, we're in Stourbridge, right in the heart of the glass industry -

what's left of it - and this type of thing's typical of that period.

It's not an unusual piece, but it's a nice, tidy example of its period.

1880 to about 1910.

-They started life with the dregs of what was left in the factory.

-Leftovers.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-End of the day, it was called.

-End of the day glass.

-It was a bit like the weights, wasn't it?

Exactly the same. And the workers started making things

and selling them in pubs and places like that.

This is nice cos it's got a little bit of a fall in it

so you get that gold lustre under the tortoiseshell.

But they sold so well that they actually started making them proper in the factories.

So it's something we see quite a bit of,

but for that sort of price, it shouldn't be a problem.

And the good news is, that's going to find a home locally again.

I'd like to think so. We get a good following for glass round here.

It might go a couple of miles down the road, probably where it was born.

Yeah. And we're right on the money. No big surprises.

It's about right. It's where it should be.

Let's see if Nick and Phil have got the price right

as the glass basket goes under the hammer.

Fingers crossed. There should be a lot of local interest with this one

-and I think Philip's spot on with the valuation.

-Am I?

Yes, cos I had a chat to Nick earlier

-and he agreed with the value.

-Oh, right.

-Yeah.

-Good.

-So that's good.

I really like this.

I love the tortoiseshell finish but I think what puts me off

-is that sort of wavy edge.

-Crimped border.

-Yeah. Not keen on that.

-It's a bit pretty, isn't it?

Bit too pretty, but hopefully it's going to find a new home right now. Here we go.

Where can we start this one?

£30 for it. Nice good example of Stourbridge glass. £30 for it.

Anybody coming in at 30? 25 to move it, then.

No interest at 25. 25...

Thank you. 28 anywhere else?

Cheap for a piece of Stourbridge glass, isn't it?

30 anywhere else? At £28, gentleman's bid.

28 - all sure and done?

Just at the lower end. I guess a lot of people

might have a lot of this stuff.

It was made out of all the waste glass.

You knew that, didn't you?

-No.

-Yes. All the leftovers.

I read about the aventurine bit where it was the mistake made,

they tipped fleck stuff into the molten glass.

That's right, little bits of metal.

I think, for a bit of 19th-century Stourbridge glass, that is...

I mean, they'll have done their job getting the money for it,

-but I just think the market's not that dear for those, is it?

-No.

Maybe it's a great thing to invest in now because a lot of people don't value it.

Have to start saving up, Paul.

Not that much money either!

Going under the hammer now is a bit of Royal Worcester.

It's an October figure and it belongs to Chris -

-October because her little lad was born in October.

-Absolutely.

So have you got any other kids? Got an April or a November?

-No. Just the October.

-And how old is he now?

-He's 31.

-He's a big boy now, then.

-Certainly is.

-It's going under the hammer.

Let's see what this lot thinks, shall we? Here we go.

Royal Worcester figure. Where can we start this one?

£30. 30 for October.

Come on. Come on. 30 quid.

-That's nothing.

-32 anywhere else in the room?

Seems cheap. 32. 35.

38, seated. 38. 40.

42. 45.

So it's no. Thank you. £42. 45 anywhere else?

-Big estimate there.

-£42 for October. Are we all done?

-Yes.

-Well done.

-Good.

-Mid-estimate.

-Right.

-That's a good price.

-£42.

-It's certainly good.

-That's a treat for him.

-Does he come home much?

-Oh, yeah.

Has he still got lots of stuff at home? Has he still got a bedroom?

-He's got an attic full.

-I have, actually, at home.

-We might be seeing you again then perhaps.

-Absolutely.

Right. Next up, I could say, "Who let the dogs out?"

Well, it was Robert, because there's 11 of them.

They're 20th-century Black Forest.

-I love chip carving.

-Yeah. They are nice.

Philip's put a valuation of £20-£40 on.

That's a cheeky little valuation for not a lot.

They'll do all right. They'll do all right.

Here we go. Good luck, Robert.

Black Forest carved figures of dogs playing instruments

and skiing. There we go. Get it all here.

These are fun.

-I think these will do well.

-Yeah.

25 or not. Thank you. 28 anywhere else? 28. 30. 32. 32.

It's with you now, sir. 35 anywhere else? At 32, standing in the crowd.

35 right in the distance.

Testing my eyes again. 35. 38.

And 40. And 2. 45. 48.

And 50. And 5. 60. 5. 70.

That's nice.

65 in the crowd with the glasses. 65. 70. He's back again at 70.

And five, shakes his head. 70 with the cap in the distance.

At £70. Are we sure and done at 70 now?

Yes. Hammer's gone down, £70, for a dog orchestra.

That put a smile on our face, Robert. Thank you so much

for bringing them in. They were fun.

-Yes. Yeah.

-And hopefully, they've gone to a good home.

That concludes our first visit to Fieldings.

We are coming back later on in the show

so fingers crossed for one or two big surprises from this sale room.

Look at it. It's packed full of history from all over the world.

But right now, I'm going to show you a very important piece of British history

that's tucked away just down the road.

Here, at Moseley Old Hall, behind the internal Tudor oak panelling,

lie a number of secret hiding places.

These were originally built to conceal priests,

who were being persecuted at the time.

One of these hiding places helped shape history.

It was the Battle of Worcester, 1651.

The very last battle of the English Civil War

and Cromwell's army had defeated the Royalists.

King Charles II needed a place to hide from Cromwell's men.

When the King arrived at the house,

he was offered dry clothes, food and a proper bed.

He was hidden in the priest hole for two days whilst planning the route for his escape.

The King spent the night underneath these floorboards,

the priest spent the night on top, so if Cromwell's troops came round

and found the priest,

they would have thought they'd got a great result.

Unknown to them, but the King was underneath.

But the good thing was, nobody was found.

On his restoration to the throne in 1660,

not forgetting the help he'd had,

King Charles gave Thomas Whitgreave, the owner of the house,

an annuity of £200 a year -

a very large sum of money in those days.

This old place in the history books ultimately led to the survival

of the hall and the interest of one gentleman - William Wiggin.

William purchased the hall in 1939 but after he died in 1962,

his family sold the building to the National Trust

for just one pound so they could continue the restoration work.

However, Moseley Old Hall isn't the only legacy William has left us.

His family were the first to introduce and make

stainless-steel items, in the world.

I'm here with Nigel Wiggin, who's the grandson of William,

and I've got to say, your grandfather was quite a chap.

Yes. He did his contribution, but he was basically an industrialist,

-developing Old Hall stainless-steel tableware.

-Yeah.

There's a lot here in front of me.

I'm just seeing the sign Old Hall.

Have you named the stainless steel after the house we're in?

No. It's a fortunate coincidence that the Old Hall name

originally came from an old Salvation Army mission hall,

that we moved the business into in 1901.

William's father and his eldest son, both called James,

started J and J Wiggin, a blacksmith business, in 1853.

They made mostly belt buckles and stirrups for the horse-drawn community,

but after the First World War,

William decided to diversify and move the company forward.

He'd heard about Staybrite Steel.

It was a complete new material that didn't rust -

prior to that, all steel had rusted.

He bought some Staybrite from Sheffield

-and we started making bathroom fittings.

-Did it take off?

-It did.

-Big time?

-It did. Yes.

It got us a very good hold in the market place

and that is the earliest product that I've got,

made out of stainless steel, or Staybrite.

The real start of tableware is 19...

-Teapots, I guess.

-Teapots.

-Everyone wants a cup of tea, don't they?

-Yes.

And the person who realised that was my grandmother.

1928 was their silver wedding.

This is William and Nellie.

And they were given a lot of silverware for their silver wedding.

And my grandmother suggested to my grandfather

that he might like to give her a hand with the cleaning.

And the response to that was...

"No, I don't feel as though that's something that is a man's job."

And as a result of that,

my grandmother came up with the amazing idea...

"Why don't you make some silverware out of Staybrite?"

And that started the world's stainless-steel tableware industry.

Nobody else had thought of it.

The toast rack was the very first item that we did make.

-And you've got that here, haven't you?

-We've got it here.

-Which one is it?

-It's this one here...

-OK.

-which is as far as we are aware, the world's very first item

of stainless steel tableware - this little toast rack.

This started the whole industry off.

To begin with, the public associated steel with construction

rather than tableware,

so the first sales were nothing to write home about,

until the 1930s,

when Old Hall undertook a huge advertising campaign.

Nellie, once again, made a massive contribution

with another bright idea.

And she said, "You must make a teapot...",

-which again we've got on the table in front of us.

-And it's that one there.

It's this one here. That is 1930.

I suspect about that, though, was that we couldn't make a teapot.

It's such a difficult metal to work with and a grandmother came up with

an idea which is based on this shape here.

And the answer is, you bend it round like that.

And there's your spout.

It needs a disc in the bottom.

It needs a handle on. But that is how we...

A single piece of metal, basically?

..A single piece of metal and that is exactly how that is made.

Do you know what they say, which is totally right?

-Behind every good man there's a good woman. She was the brains behind you!

-She was on the ball. Yes.

The company grew from strength to strength

until the Second World War started,

when the factory was turned over to ammunition production.

But then, when the war was over,

in the 1950s the Old Hall brand took off again.

Up to then, the Wiggin family had designed

everything themselves, but we were not designers. We were engineers.

1955, we took on board

a student from the Royal College of Art called Robert Welch.

Now, he was studying to be a silversmith,

but his thesis, in fact, he chose for design in stainless steel.

And he contacted us for help.

When he got his degree, we asked him if he'd like to be

-our consultant designer.

-And he started designing for you.

-And he started designing...

-Is this his work?

This is so recognisable as different to the Wiggin design.

-Yes. It's so obvious.

-This is Robert Welch design. This is '64.

I've got to say, this is fabulous.

Well, it is the most collectable item.

I think, when we closed down in 1984, we'd made about 1,500 of these.

-So there aren't many around.

-That's a collectable, then.

That is undoubtedly collectable.

All our 200 members in the Old Hall Club

would really love to have one of these tea sets.

Only perhaps 20 of them have got one.

You mentioned the Old Hall Club, you've got members,

-what's this all about?

-This is the Old Hall Collectors Club...

-OK.

..which, for my sins, I am running. 200 members.

Mostly in the UK but all over the world.

Mostly...

the wedding present of the '60 people,

cos Old Hall was the wedding present of the '60s.

I mean, I think that's an accolade, you know,

the wedding present of the '60s. It meant every couple had one.

-You can't go wrong there.

-No. No.

No. It was on everybody's wedding present list

and depending on how lucky you were, was to what you got.

What was the demise? What happened?

Cheap, imported stainless-steel tableware...

foreign...foreign.

Nothing like Old Hall in terms of quality.

But about a third of the price. We started having to shrink and shrink.

By the time 1984 came, our 500 employees had shrunk to 65

and we couldn't carry on operating, so we had to close the works in 1984.

Which was a sad day for you.

The worst day of my life, Paul, there's no doubt.

Well, at least you've got the club to sort of fall back on now.

-Exactly.

-Your passion carries through to all those members

-and you're still out looking, you're still out buying this stuff.

-It's popping up at car boots.

It's popping up at charity shops,

collectors fairs, which cost you a bit more expense.

If that popped up at, say, a collectors' fair,

what would you pay for that, that set?

They pop up so infrequently...£250.

-It's a lot of money, isn't it?

-£250.

Nigel, thank you so much for sharing your life story with me,

-and it's a great family you belong to.

-It's a pleasure, Paul. Thank you.

Welcome back to the Town Hall in Kidderminster and, as you can see,

it's still jam-packed full of people, which means hundreds of antiques still to look at.

Let's catch up with our experts.

-Brian, how are you?

-I'm very well, thanks.

-Are you a Kidderminster man?

-No.

I'm a London guy, but I live in Kidderminster now.

And what about these? Where do they come from?

Well, they've come from my dad's mother.

And she was a London lady.

She was born in Mitcham.

-And she was a bride, a mother and a widow, in one year.

-Really?

-She lost her first husband in the First World War.

-Oh, that's sad.

-But my father was the second husband.

-So when would she have bought these?

She bought them in 1908, something like that.

Do you like them, love them, loathe them?

-Loathe them.

-You loathe them. Really?

Yes. They're not my thing at all.

I'm not really into antiques.

One of the things that interests me about things

that people get left, that get handed down to the next generation...

-There's this big thing, the vases, they're in the wardrobe, they'll be yours one day.

-I know.

And this sort of asset, this family heirloom,

-can become a huge liability, can't it?

-Absolutely.

But somebody will appreciate them

and I'm sure my mother would want that.

This type of decoration, this stoneware,

it screams out at you that it's Doulton.

-I mean, they started... Slaters started making these in 1871.

-Right.

And it's interesting that you referred to the First World War

-and that your grandmother's first husband bought these in 1908 to 1910.

-I think so.

Cos they're Slaters Doulton.

And interestingly, the mark on them would have dated from

about 1886 through to 1914, the beginning of the First World War.

-That's about right, then.

-So that's the back end of the period.

And this design on here is done by when the clay is wet,

there's lace put on there and pressed in.

Oh, right.

And then the lace is pulled off and it gives you this

-wonderful body on here, which is then decorated and fired.

-Right.

And in terms of value, it isn't huge.

-I think these could have been worth more, ten or 15 years ago.

-Right.

-I would put an auction estimate on these of £60-£90.

-Right.

I'd put a fixed reserve on them of £50, which is nothing.

-You have a real good day, they might make you 150.

-Oh, that's fine.

But I think that you've got to put what we call

-a come-and-buy-me estimate on them...

-Right.

because they're not fashionable.

-That doesn't surprise me.

-They're just not fashionable

-How will you wrestle with your mum's conscience?

-I won't worry about that.

I'm sure she will be pleased that somebody finds them attractive

and what we planned to do is give something

to the grandchildren, for the future.

So my mum will at least give something to her great-grandchildren.

-She'll rest happy then.

-She will.

-Let's hope they do really well for you.

-Thank you very much indeed.

June, you've got three very different

silver-looking pieces here.

-Have they all come from the same place?

-No. No.

We inherited that from my uncle.

-Right.

-And these came from an old lady that we used to look after.

-When she died, we had them.

-So why have you brought these along today?

We just haven't got room.

They're just stuck in the cabinet and might as well sell them.

-Not something that you use every day?

-No. They're rather nice,

but we don't use these.

What do you like about them?

That one's very pretty, I think.

-Yeah.

-And I like the line of that.

-It's just smart.

-It is.

Well, I think you've hit the nail on the head. It is a smart piece.

Let's start with this one.

Nice clean lines. And if I look at it closely,

you can see the hallmark quite clearly on the side here.

This dates it exactly to 1919.

So we can tell that it's George V period.

But it is of an earlier Georgian style

which often was replicated in the George V period.

And I particularly like these lovely scroll-cast handles.

Do you know what it was used for?

Well, we were led to believe it might be a sugar bowl,

-but I really don't know.

-Well, I can see exactly why you might think that.

It does have the look of a sugar bowl about it,

-but I think this is more of a presentation piece.

-Really.

And the blank sides lend themselves

-to perhaps a presentation inscription.

-Yes.

And there's quite a bit of silver in there.

It's quite a heavy piece which you wouldn't necessarily find

in a sugar bowl as much.

So that's what I think that is. Now, this is something quite different.

There's a lot going on. We've got engraving.

We've got embossing... You see these clusters of fruit and flowers,

stand proud on the side of the piece?

Now, what do you think this was used for?

Well, we thought it was a spice-shaker,

or a sugar-shaker, I'm not sure.

That's right. You're absolutely right. Used to sprinkle the sugar.

And this isn't English.

-No?

-The decoration is very much in the English style,

but if we look closely, there's no English hallmark.

What we've got instead is a mark just here...

-do you see that?

-Oh, yes.

-in a different-shaped cartouche.

-Yes.

That tells me that it's Dutch.

-Right.

-But in date, it's around 1900, perhaps slightly earlier.

So completely different from your standard George V trophy piece.

Yeah.

What about this? This came from a different place.

-That came from my uncle.

-Do you know what it's used for?

It's a wine coaster, isn't it?

It is a wine coaster or a bottle coaster, as some people call them.

With this lovely mahogany turned wooden base there.

I would say this dates probably from the Edwardian period,

certainly early 20th century.

And this is different again.

Although it looks like silver, it's silver-plate.

And I think this is really a smart piece.

-Yes. So do I.

-You've got the fruiting vine standing proud

all the way around the edge, and it's in super condition.

Where have you kept this?

Oh, kept it in a box since I inherited it,

but I don't know where Uncle kept it.

-And have you polished it much?

-No.

No. Only polished it to bring it.

Well, I have to say that's a good thing because with silver-plate,

too much polishing will wear the silver away.

I don't think Uncle polished it much.

-Not in danger of that.

-No. No. No.

Although silver-plate isn't selling particularly well,

although it depends on the piece.

This is one of the more commercial items.

And I think at auction you could estimate this

quite safely at £30-£50.

-It's quite a commercial piece.

-People still use them, don't they?

Yes. They do. Absolutely. Yeah.

-I've got one at home that I use.

-Yes.

These two pieces I think would go well together in a separate lot.

And I think if we said an estimate of 100-150 for the two...

and perhaps a reserve of 80,

which means that they wouldn't sell below that.

-Does that sound OK to you?

-Yes. OK.

You couldn't put the reserve at 100?

Put the reserve at 100? I think you could.

They ought to fetch that.

What about splitting the difference and saying 90?

-All right.

-Well, a reserve of 90 then.

-Lovely.

And that one, I think it should make £30... certainly.

-Oh, hope so. Yes.

-Excellent.

-Well, thank you for bringing them along.

-It's a pleasure.

Do you know what time it is?

No idea at all.

-I'm always late wherever I go.

-Well, you shouldn't be with this lot.

Where have they all come from?

They're part of my father's collection.

-Part?

-Yes, he's still got some others but we brought along

what we thought were the most valuable or interesting ones today.

Well, I've had a bit of a look through them,

and it's interesting how these things fluctuate,

but in my view, the most valuable single one

-is probably this one here.

-Right.

You know why that is, don't you?

-Gold content?

-Absolutely right.

It's 18-carat gold.

And at the moment, gold prices are through the roof, so whilst

it's quite battered, the gold content in there I would guess...

-That's going to make you £120 just on scrap gold.

-Right.

And perhaps a year, 18 months, ago, that might have been £30 or £40.

So the value of these things have gone up in their gold content.

This one fascinates me, because do you know

-what that type of pocket watch is called?

-Half Hunter.

-Why?

Cos you can see part of the year display with the cast closed.

Absolutely right. A Full Hunter is where

the case is closed on both sides.

-Right.

-And a Half Hunter has this little subsidiary bull's-eye here,

with the numbers around the outside, so you can see the time.

I mean, I think these are lovely.

You know what this is called?

-An Albert.

-Why is it called an Albert?

-No idea.

-Prince Albert.

-Right.

He always wore a chain

and this would have gone through the waistcoat.

And your pocket watch would have fitted on there.

-Yes.

-And then you'd drop your pocket watch in your waistcoat.

What's interesting with this one - it's gold coloured.

I want the auctioneers to do a check on that. If that's gold,

-that in itself could be worth £100-£200.

-Right. Yeah.

How long has it taken your dad to buy these things?

Well, he'd been collecting them since he was a child.

He started getting enthusiastic about collecting again

about 20 years ago and adding sort of like one every month or so.

Did he ever spend a lot of money on anything?

Not as far as I know. I mean, I don't think he ever came back and said, "Oh, this has cost me £200."

I think he was always...

-Always five and tens.

-Yeah.

I think 40 was probably about as near as he ever paid.

I think his £5 and £10 have stood him in good stead.

I think...

as a collection, it's probably going to make at auction

between £300 and £500, possibly a little bit more.

-Right.

-Given that's the broad parameter...

I'd like to suggest that we ask the auctioneers to lot it up

as they see fit and sort the reserves out

that fall into that guideline. How does that sound?

-Yes.

-Are you happy with that?

-Yeah. That's fine.

-More importantly, what will Dad think?

I think he'd be pleased with it,

-cos he did leave them all to the grandchildren.

-Yeah.

And with 15 grandchildren, it's very difficult to sort of like say, "Well,

"you have this one, you have that one."

-15 grandchildren.

-That's right. Yes.

-How many children did he have?

-Four.

-Four.

No need to ask what your hobby is, is there?

Let's get those watches and our other items

over to the auction room in Stourbridge.

And here's a quick recap of what's going under the hammer.

Brian's hoping that the pair of Doulton vases

that his mother loved so much,

but he loathes, will go to someone who appreciates them

as much as she did.

Joan's silver sugar-shaker and trophy

have been put into the auction with an estimate of £100-£150.

And you get two for the price of one with Joan.

She's also brought in this bottle coaster to our valuation day,

which has gone into the auction with an estimate of £30-£50.

Now, I think this could be a very interesting lot.

Philip initially valued this collection of watches

at £300-£500, but he's left it up to the auctioneers

to divide them up and set reserves as they see fit.

So, I'm keen to find out if this is something auctioneer Nick Davies

thought it was best to do,

or leave the watches in one big lucky-dip lot.

Nick, can I sell you a watch?

THEY LAUGH

Yeah.

This collection belongs to David,

and Philip's put a valuation of £300-£500 on this.

A good mix. I mean, some great examples in there.

I think there's the odd Verge.

There's an 18-carat gold one in there.

-I saw that. Collection of keys.

-Some keys.

-50 quid alone there.

Yeah. Keys are fine.

Yeah. I mean, what do you want, a starter collection?

It's a very good starter collection, actually, isn't it?

The valuation of £300 shouldn't be a problem at all.

OK. £500 we're looking at the top end. I think it could do that.

I think somewhere in that region wouldn't surprise me.

I don't think it will be a problem at all.

Did you think, when these arrived,

about splitting them up, dividing the lot up?

It did cross my mind, but my argument was,

you could split them up into groups of five, maybe?

You're still going to have bad ones and good ones.

Also, probably the same people are going to buy them anyway.

-Right.

-So let's really give them something to go at,

let's have a fight over it.

I'd agree with you. I would really agree with you.

Makes a change for me to do something right.

We'll find out later if the bidders are going to fight over

the collection of watches.

But first, it's one of our other lots.

Well, fingers crossed, Brian, they should go, because it's a pair.

Can you remember what we're selling? Yes. It's the Royal Doulton vases.

We've got a value of around £50-£80,

but I think they might just do £100.

-Let's hope so.

-I think,

a little bit of foresight, a little bit of money, you would go round the

country buying up vases like this because in five, ten years' time,

they've got to be worth more.

-Yeah.

-Really got to be.

Cracking condition. It's not up to us any more.

We can talk till we're blue in the face, but it's down to this lot, this packed sale room...

they'll decide for us. Here we go, Brian. Good luck.

A late pair of 19th-century Royal Doulton pedestal vases.

-They're a fine chinaware example. The man's telling me...

-60.

£60 straight off on a commission.

-With Will at 60. Do I see 5?

-Straight in.

At £60, the maiden bid on commission. And 5. And 70.

And 5. And 80.

You're out. 75 there. 80 nearest me.

80. 85 behind.

85. And 90. And 5. 100.

We got that amount.

So it's no. Thank you. £100 nearest me. At £100.

10 anywhere else, I'll open it up.

For £100 for the vases. All done.

That's more like it, isn't it?

-100 quid.

-Really pleased with that.

-Well done.

Well done. Don't forget,

there's commission to pay, 17%.

-Yeah.

-That's fine. That's fine. OK.

-Anything else you're going to pull out and sell?

-Next time round.

It's now Joan's turn to have all her items put under the hammer and put to the test.

We've got some silver coming up in two lots.

It's a great time to sell silver, that's the thing, cos precious metals are up.

So fingers crossed, these should do well.

Yes, the value really is in the lovely little sugar-shaker.

-But we'll see what they make of it.

-Yeah.

-Yeah. Good luck.

-Thank you.

Time to wave goodbye,

cos it's definitely going to sell. Here it is.

Moves on to the interesting Dutch silver caster,

together with a little twin-handled trophy.

-And I can open at £85. On a commission at 85.

-85.

90. And 5. You're out. £90 then. 95 anywhere else.

-£90 then it'll be.

-Come on.

-And the trophy at £90. All done.

-I want more than that.

-He sold it, though.

-It just got there.

Just did it. Here's the second one.

Bottle coaster. Great condition. Really clean.

£30 straight off on a commission.

Do I see 32 anywhere else? 32. 35.

38. And 40. 2. 45. So it's no. 42, gentleman standing in the room.

45 anywhere else?

At £42. Are we all sure and done?

-Sold as well. I liked that as well. That's a useful thing.

-Yeah.

Actually, that's quite indicative of the market, showing those

three items, because it's the bottle coaster that's the most commercial.

-That's the one piece that people will use today and that's what sold best.

-Yeah.

But at least we got rid of them all for you.

-Yes, which is what you needed.

-Yes.

Well, time is definitely up. No. Don't run to the kitchen and put the kettle on.

Time is up for David's collection of watches. There's a lot of them.

We've got £300-£500 resting on this, put on by our expert Philip.

-And these were Dad's.

-That's right.

There's a lot there. I had a chat to our auctioneer just before the sale started.

He agreed with you, Philip, and he said he didn't want to split them up because it's too difficult to.

There's some good ones and some bad ones. And the bad ones will struggle.

So you have to put them with the good ones and it'll devalue them. So, job lot.

They'll go to a watch repairer, a horologist or a collector.

And there are a couple of crackers there and I like the keys as well.

-Yes. I think it's a nice collection altogether.

-That's right.

Hopefully, it will appeal to someone and do well.

Yeah. Fingers crossed. We're going to find out.

Last lot of pocket watches and fobs and keys and you name it.

There's an 18-carat gold one and all sorts of pieces.

-Lots of bids and lots of excitement.

-That's good.

-We open at lot estimate of £530.

-Straight in.

Straight in at the top end. 530.

550. 560. 570.

Bidding in the room over there.

590. 600. 620, madam. 640.

660. 680. 700.

720. 740. 760. 780.

Time goes quickly, doesn't it?

820. 840. 860.

880. 900. 920. 940. 960. 980.

1,000. And 50. 1,100. And 50.

1,200. And 50.

1,000. And 50. 1,400. And 50.

1,500. 1,600, may I go?

It's so quick to get there. Time flies.

1,800.

-Anywhere else?

-Yes.

-1,800 is back.

-1,800.

2,000, sir.

1,900 we're at. 2,000 anywhere else?

-At £1,900 for the collection of watches.

-1,900.

1,900. Are we all sure and done?

-Yes. The hammer's gone down.

-I think your dad knew what he was doing.

Wow. Yes. Well, he started collecting as a boy, didn't he?

How many brothers and sisters have you got?

-Three sisters.

-Three sisters.

-Yes.

-OK. So that's going four ways.

And then there's 15 altogether, the division, cos of the grandchildren.

Right. OK.

I'm pleased we got nearly two grand.

Hey, you must be so pleased with that.

You must be over the moon. Thank you for bringing that in.

What a wonderful moment to end on.

If you've got anything like that, we want to see it.

Bring it along to one of our valuation days.

Sadly, we have run out of time from Stourbridge, so until the next time,

where there's plenty more surprises to come on "Flog It!", cheerio.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]