Malvern Flog It!

Welcome to Malvern, famous for its ancient hills and beautiful clear spring water.

Today, Flog It is drinking up the atmosphere as we head into town.

The magnificent ancient Malvern Hills and Malvern pure spring water

go hand in hand, really, because let's face it,

without the hills there wouldn't be any water

and the hills are a mind boggling 600 million years old

and they consist of a very hard rock formation which have formed into a network of fractures

and the rainwater runs down through these fractures and eventually out into a series of springs

which are dotted all around the town.

Now, because of the unique hardness of the rock in the Malvern Hills,

the spring water is quite pure actually, which is good news.

Not a lot of minerals filter into the water and the great news is,

if you're a local, you don't have to buy this stuff at the supermarket, it's absolutely free.

Just queue up and help yourself and get fully refreshed,

but I'm going to now join up with our experts over at the valuation day

and see what antiques and collectables are springing up over there. Join me later.

And this is where we're valuing all the antiques and collectables today, the Malvern Theatres,

which host many different events throughout the year from pantos to musicals

and even highbrow theatre, but topping the bill today for one day only

the fantabulous Adam Partridge and the glamorous Kate Bateman.

Well, it is now 9.30, it's time to get the curtain up,

get everybody in the seats and let's start the show.

Our team of experts are raring to go. Leading the way are Adam and Kate.

Adam's first-ever job was as an auction porter.

Since then, he's risen to the dizzy heights of owning his own saleroom in Cheshire.

-Do you do any needlework yourself?

-No.

-She can't even sew a button on!

-Really?

-Shocking.

-We've got something in common there then.

And Kate nearly became a ballet dancer, but instead fine art and antiques won her heart

and now she runs a successful saleroom with her father in Lincolnshire.

Show and tell, what have you got at the back here? Oh, pictures!

While everybody's getting seated, let's have a sneak preview of what's coming up on today's show.

A father and daughter team bring Kate a curio.

You just basically focus it so your eye focuses

and then look through here and it actually looks like the girls are, like, standing out at you.

And I'm lucky enough to stumble across a real treasure.

And I'm very envious, June, very envious.

But, first, Adam is curious to see what Richard has in his Moroccan red leather box.

-Can you open it up for me, please?

-Certainly, my pleasure.

-There we are.

-You've got a lovely silver jug.

A lovely silver tankard there. A christening tankard.

Can I take the tankard out?

-Sure.

-Let's have a look at it.

It belonged to my step-grandfather, so my father's stepfather.

It's an interesting link because it's been in your family for a long time then, hasn't it?

-Since a couple of generations at least.

-We see these initials and monograms

on lots of pieces of silver and you always think I wonder who owned that, but you can actually tell us.

So what are the initials on here?

Well, we have four initials. My step-grandfather's name was Edward Graham Frazier Thompson.

He sounds like a dashing character just from the name! What can you tell us?

I suppose his major contribution was he was a pilot during World War I,

and a reconnaissance pilot, a specialty.

-We have some old photographs of his where he has actually photographed the trenches...

-Oh, really.

..and some of the artillery placements and things of that nature.

He actually even went on to write a book about his experiences as a pilot under the pseudonym Spin.

-Really?

-So if anybody comes across...

-There we go.

..an author named Spin, that was my step-great-grandfather.

Your step-great-grandfather.

These photographs of the trenches sound fascinating.

I mean something like that, that's more personal to me, whereas this is not necessarily of sentimental...

-Yeah.

-..or important history, family history.

You've helped answer my question -

isn't it a shame that you're selling it? But now you've explained that...

I have so many other memories.

Well, it must have been quite an affluent family, because this is quite a posh...

I don't know too much about the Thompson family.

-Do you know when he was born?

-I couldn't tell you that, even.

-So...

-Well, the hallmarks on the cup may help.

-Right, yes, I was wondering about that.

Typically late Victorian in its packaging, late 19th century, and then we've had a look at the marks.

We've got the M and W of course for Mappin and Webb, the Sheffield crown,

the lion, of course, and that date letter is for 1895.

-Right, OK.

-So, christening mug we may presume he was born in 1895.

So, it's a lovely object, but I think the story really makes it

-because commercially it's not hugely valuable.

-No, no.

-Any ideas yourself?

I was thinking anywhere sort of between £40 and £80.

Bang on, Richard, well done. Absolutely great.

I think that on its own, 40 to 60. With the box, it might improve it to 60 to 80.

-Fine, yeah.

-Put a reserve there at 50,

stop it from underselling because it must be worth £50.

-So, thank you very much for bringing it.

-You're very welcome.

As silver christening mugs go, that one's a real beauty. A good find.

But there's still plenty of people to see.

What have we got in here?

Oh, you've got...some pets in there!

-Yeah.

-You've got your cat, a little pig.

Kate is examining a stereoscopic viewer belonging to father and daughter James and Molly.

-I've brought a stereoscope.

-Did you inherit it, or you bought it?

I bought it from a house sale in Aberdeenshire about 30 years ago.

Can you remember what you paid for it all those years ago?

I just can't remember. It...

I didn't have a lot of money at that time, so it would have been very little. £15, £20 I suppose.

-Oh, that's quite a lot back then, I suppose.

-I just can't remember.

Trip Around The World Through The Stereoscope.

We often see the cards loose, but you have the box as well,

made to look like a book. And if we open it up, we've got all of these cards.

Do you know how it works?

Yeah, well, this is my favourite one. The two little girls.

-OK.

-So, if you put it in here

and then you look through this bit,

so then you just basically focus it

and then look through here and it actually looks like the girls are standing out at you.

-So it's 3D.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, and you have to adjust it to get it to work.

Yeah, so your eyes focus to it.

You've got a lot of very interesting different views. So I presume you've looked through all of them?

Yeah, there's some fantastic images of the Boer War, the San Francisco earthquake,

and just various pictures from around the world.

That is quite sweet that one, with the girls at tea, that's quite cute.

Girls today do still have dollies' tea parties, but it's a bygone era.

-Look how they're dressed with perfect dresses and little bows in their hair. It's really sweet.

-Yeah.

Any ideas on price?

Well, I wasn't sure.

-About 80 to 100?

-It's hard to know. You've got a whole mixed lot.

Maybe put it slightly lower, 60 to 100, a slightly wider estimate for the auction, maybe a £50 reserve.

Yes, that's fine. 60 to 100 estimate for the catalogue. Yeah.

I think it should go. It's one of those things, there are collectors out there.

It'll depend if they're interested in the particular cards you've got.

Apparently you're getting the money when it sells, is that right?

I'm going on a ski trip next year with the school, so it'll go...

The money will go to, like, the hat and the salopettes to go...

OK. An expensive business, then!

We might be able to get you one ski pole or something, but we will try!

-That's a really good thing to aim for, so hopefully it will sell.

-Yes.

-Send you off whizzing down a mountain! Thanks very much.

-Thanks.

Now this is the bit I love about Flog It, dipping in and out of the crowd, joining up with them

and having a chat to people like June who have brought in something that I recognise instantly

because it's a Robert Lenkiewicz, it's a watercolour.

I had the good fortune of filming at the Plymouth Museum recently, the Lenkiewicz retrospective,

and I was thoroughly impressed and I learnt a lot.

I'm very envious, June, very envious!

-How did you get to own such a wonderful thing?

-It was in 1978,

-I was travelling with my late husband, who was also an artist, to sell paintings in Cornwall.

-Right.

And we stopped at the Barbican...

-In Plymouth.

-At Plymouth, and we met Robert Lenkiewicz, spent the day with him

and he was telling us all about his work and his books and his writing.

Oh, I wish I'd met him, I really do.

-And we also met Diogenes.

-Yes, the tramp that...

-the down and out that he used to paint.

-Yeah, yeah.

I like the works that he did, the social history aspect of Plymouth. He embraced down and outs -

-at one stage he had about 20 living in his studio!

-I know.

£25 you paid for this. £25!

Do you know what it's worth today? Is that what you're here to ask?

-Just as an enquiry, just to see.

-OK.

Because it holds great sentimental value for me.

If you put this into auction, it would have a price tag of around £3,000, possibly £4,000.

I think if you had to buy it in a gallery, maybe just over that.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-It's got very happy memories for me.

-Well, it's put a smile on my face.

-Well, look, enjoy it. Put it on the wall.

-Thank you.

-And thank you so much for bringing it in.

You look really colourful, as well. In fact, you match, look at that!

-I look like him, do I?

-No, no, no! You've got the same lime green.

Same figure, as well!

That really was a real treat.

I just can't believe some of the things that turn up at a Flog It valuation day.

Adam is chatting to Maxine who's brought in her ten Wedgwood plates with a nautical theme.

-Is shipping in the family?

-My father was a sailor. He was a captain on oil tankers out of New York.

-Were these your father's plates?

-No, he bought them for me as a birthday present.

-OK. What every girl wants!

Yeah, well, he didn't have any sons, he had four daughters.

So, birthdays, we'd have plates or ships in bottles or something with...that had a nautical feel.

And I suppose sometimes that was nice

-and sometimes perhaps you'd have liked...

-Oh, no, I liked it, yes.

-Is this your father's address in New York?

-Yes. He was living in New York

so he wrote to Wedgwood in England to see - he'd heard about them, I suppose -

to find out how much it would be to ship them and how much they were and, in 1969, they were £11/11s.

"Sailing ships and clipper ships in fine earthenware by Wedgwood."

So they did two sets, they did a set of 12 of sailing ships

-and a slightly smaller set for clipper ships.

-Yes.

-So, it was a set of 12?

-Yes, and unfortunately two got broken. The cat knocked them off the dresser.

They're a printed design on an earthenware plate.

-So they were of a mass-produced type.

-Yeah.

They were all designed by a chap called George Whales.

-Really nice things for the collector because all the information about every plate is on the back.

-Yes.

So we could pretend to be great experts here

and say, well, the Mayflower...

"The Mayflower brought the pilgrims to Plymouth.

"Based on the model built in 1922 by Anderson for the Pilgrim Society in Plymouth."

-So, you can learn from your antiques, as well.

-Yes!

-Did you ever have them on display?

-Yes, I had them on a Welsh dresser.

I've recently moved now to a smaller house, no dresser, so...

-The dresser's gone.

-So they're just sitting in the cupboard, which seems a shame, really.

Now, to value. I'd like to think they'd make £100 plus.

Oh, that would be good.

I think perhaps we should go with our old 80 to 120 estimate.

The auctioneer's favourite, which is around the £100 mark,

-and then pop the reserve in at about £80.

-Yeah, that'd be great.

-Does that sound all right?

-Yes.

Maybe put a little bit of discretion on there in case it gets to 75.

-You don't want them going for nothing, do you?

-No.

-OK, thanks for coming.

-Thank you.

We've found our first three items and we're taking them off to sale

at Philip Serrell's Auctioneers and Valuers in Malvern.

Same town, just different weather!

Before we see auctioneer Philip Serrell in action,

I want to hear his thoughts on Richard's christening mug.

I like this a lot and I think this is tremendous value for money.

It's a silver christening tankard with original Moroccan red Mappin and Webb case.

-Great name.

-£60 to £80. If you...

If you had to buy a christening present today,

something like that by Mappin and Webb, that's £300 to £400, isn't it?

-All day long.

-Yeah.

-All day long.

I think the case is worth 100 quid, isn't it?

-I think it'll go into three figures.

-Good.

-Not wildly into three figures.

You get the expression mint and boxed

-which, as you and I know, always refers to toys.

-Yes.

But in this instance it's just...

-It's just the whole package, you know?

-It's so right.

-It's so tactile, isn't it?

-Yeah, it's just lovely and I think it's...

That on its own probably isn't worth 100 quid,

but put the whole lot together and it's just really, really lovely. So I think it'll do well.

Well, I certainly hope Philip's right and that Richard's christening mug will fly away.

We'll find out shortly.

As well as the mug, we've got Maxine's ten plates, two short of a dozen thanks to her cat!

Let's hope that doesn't put the bidders off.

James and Molly also have high hopes for their stereoscopic viewer.

Let's find out now how it does as it's the first of our items to go under the hammer.

Is there any more at all for it?

I have £100.

Did you not want to persuade Dad to hang on to them and not sell them?

-Well, we've had them a long time.

-Yeah, we need the money.

-What's the money going towards, then?

I'm going skiing with the school, so to get a new hat or something like that.

Oh, are you? Sounds really exciting. Are you on study leave right now?

-Yes.

-So that's why you're here.

-Yeah.

-Yeah. And what do you think of the auction room?

-Good.

-It's

-jam-packed. It's exciting.

-Full of electricity and excitement.

-Yeah.

-Kate, feeling any pressure?

-No, none whatsoever.

-None at all.

Good luck. Let's hope we turn that into a couple of hundred. Here we go.

Great things these.

The stereoscopic viewer, lot number 310. There we are. Bid me.

50 or £60 to start. 20 I'm bid.

At 20. And five. 35.

-There we go.

-40. Bid five.

50. 50 bid five. Anywhere five? 60.

Five. 65. Any more?

At 65. Your bid, sir, at 65. 70.

Five. 80. Five. 90. Five.

This is more like it.

95. 100, is it? 100. 110 now, sir?

At £100 only. At 100. Any more?

110. 110.

Fill it up, sir, at 20 now. At £110.

And I sell then at £110 and done.

Oh, I'm ever so pleased we got 110.

-Brilliant!

-Well done, Kate.

A lot of these images find their way back to the States

-because the Americans love buying these. I hope you enjoy the trip.

-Thank you.

Well, that might get two ski poles or something!

I don't know the cost of things, but that sounds like a good sum.

Wow! That got us off to a very good start.

Let's hope the result is a taste of things to come.

Next it's Maxine's Wedgwood plates.

They've got our valuation of around £100, which is good!

-We've got the old 80 to 120, haven't we?

-You have, yes.

However, I'm not very confident.

-Aren't you?

-I'm sorry.

-Adam should know.

-I've got a gut instinct.

-They are a bargain if someone picks them up for £10 each.

-We might just get them sold.

OK, OK.

Wise words. Here we go, Maxine.

Good luck, Adam.

A set of ten Wedgwood plates.

Start me off for them. The ten Wedgwood plates.

£100 for them.

£50 for them.

-£20 for them.

-Oh, no!

There's no hands going up.

At 20. 20 bid. And five. 25. 25.

30. 30 bid. And five. 40. 40 bid.

At £40 only. At 40. 40 bid.

At 40. Five.

50. 50 bid. At £50 only. And five.

60. 60 bid. Five. 70. 70 bid.

We're looking at £80 with discretion, aren't we?

Any more at all?

At £70. At 70. Is there any more?

At £70. Any more at £70.

No? I'm sorry, I can't do those.

Sorry, Maxine.

Are they going home or will you leave them for another sale?

I might leave them.

You're selling them because you sold your Welsh dresser...

-That's right, so I've nowhere to put them...

-Yeah.

-Leave them with Philip and see what happens there.

-Yeah.

That was disappointing. So close!

Hopefully Maxine will have better luck on another day.

Next, it's Richard's silver christening mug.

This should do well.

-I hope it does really well.

-I hope so too.

-Because in a way you shouldn't be selling it.

-No, I have a lot of other items that belonged to my step-grandfather which are more personal.

-OK.

And this will actually help to maybe refurbish the photo album that I have of his.

-Oh, brilliant!

-It'll contribute to his legacy even further.

OK, we're going to find out what the bidders think right now.

Silver's up in value, let's hope it's working for us now. Here we go.

Lovely christening mug in its little leather case.

Mappin and Webb, bid me for that. £100 to start me.

Come on, Philip.

Give me 50 to go, someone. 50 I'm bid. At 50. 60. 70. 80.

Good, it's gone! Quickly as well, how about that?

-They like it.

-110 with me. At 110.

-110. 110.

-More than double.

If you're all out in the room at £110. The bid's with me.

At £110. And I...

20. Hello! At 120. 120. 120.

The bid's just there at £120 only.

Any more? At £120 and I sell then at £120 and done.

Superb. That's real quality and well worth £120.

What can you buy in a modern jewellers now for £120?

-You wouldn't catch me in a modern jewellers!

-No.

But what could you buy? Nothing.

-Not much.

-Nothing as good as that.

-A battery powered clock, probably.

-At best.

-At best, yeah.

-Certainly nothing of this quality.

-I hope that can, you know, give you the chance to compete that album.

-It certainly will.

-Go a bit further than that I think.

-That's a good price.

-Yes, thanks.

Good result. I love it when things sell well over the estimate.

It shows there's a real market for them.

Later, Adam finds an item which is bound to get a good return.

-So it cost you how much?

-£2.

-£2!

We can improve on that.

Stick a couple of noughts on that.

It's this eight mile ridge of some of the oldest rocks in Britain

which give us spring water that's world famous for its purity.

I've come here to find out more about the unique relationship

between the town of Malvern and its refreshing spring water.

It's the cold water that sprouts from the fissures in these hills

that's made the fortunes of that town.

You could say, in fact, that Malvern was built on water

and the development of two very different water-related industries.

Now, in both cases Malvern was the first place in the UK to start both of these industries.

The first sounds a little bit like a form of medieval torture - the cold water cure. More about that later.

The second business to put Malvern on the map was the commercial bottling of its spring water.

The lucky locals have always been able to pop along and collect their water for free

because there's around 100 wells and springs all around this area, but what about people further afield?

How could they get to drink some of this refreshing water?

Well, the answer is crystal clear -

look at that - bottle it and sell it to them.

And this is where water was first commercially bottled.

The Holywell Spring.

Strangely, this water has been so highly valued not for what's in it, but for what's not in it.

And it's this same pure water that, back in the Victorian era,

enticed many visitors to Malvern when the cold water cure arrived.

Argh!

The cold water cure, or hydrotherapy, was an alternative treatment which two doctors -

Dr James Wilson and Dr James Gully - brought to the town in 1842.

To find out exactly what the terrifying sound of the cold water cure is,

I've come to meet up with retired GP and Malvern resident Dr John Harcup, who's a bit of an expert.

And I'm meeting him in the building which began life

as Britain's first purpose-built water cure establishment.

John, we're sitting in the bow window of the original building where all this treatment went on.

Yeah, it is, and you can see the bay window where we are.

Incredible, absolutely incredible! And that's a lovely view, as well.

What was this cold water cure all about?

It was a Victorian health package. It was very popular.

Everybody was woken between five and six in the morning, stripped naked,

wrapped in a cold, wet sheet for an hour.

So, people from all over the country would come here to this building...

be woken up at six in the morning!

Yes.

It wasn't a good start.

No, a wet start and a cold start, but you relaxed. It was amazing the effect of the cold wet sheet on you.

Then you were unwrapped by your bath attendant

who popped you in a shallow bath and poured cold water over you and rubbed you down with a rough towel,

it was called a friction rub, and you went up the hills before breakfast...

drinking at every spring.

-You must have been exhausted by ten o'clock in the morning!

-Yeah!

And then after you'd been here for about three weeks, you were fit enough to have the douche, which...

-This is the big one!

-This is the big one, yes.

Water falling 20 feet from a pipe 2½ or 3½ inches in diameter for about three minutes.

And about 150 gallons of water fell on you at that time.

Gosh! If that's freezing cold, that would have hurt.

Yes. In winter, you got icicles coming down

and people were scored by icicles and there was blood on the floor, as you can imagine.

-But no complaints, everybody loved it.

-Oh, yes.

It was a social occasion, to put it mildly.

What sort of ailments was this cure going to solve?

Well, rheumatism and gout were premier things.

-Yeah.

-Neuralgia, TB.

Virtually everything, you know?

You name it, we can cure it was the motto here.

-It's fascinating, isn't it?

-Absolutely, yes.

It was amazing who came here -

Charles Darwin, Florence Nightingale, Alfred Lord Tennyson came here.

-Some big names.

-Yes.

Tennyson said he was half-cured, half-destroyed by the cure.

-Wow. In your expert opinion, obviously, it does work.

-Yes.

In the context of Victorian medicine, this is the important thing,

because treatment was so bad in those days.

How long did you have to be here for, then?

Well, about three weeks, three to four weeks.

I mean, Darwin came for three weeks and stayed for 16

and he got on so much better.

He was depressed and he was...

He went back to Down House a new man, basically.

He was writing a book on barnacles and he went back to the barnacles.

Yeah, I don't know about 16 weeks here though!

-One day with that cold water!

-Malvern grows on you, so you'll stay!

So, there you have it, some British towns are built on coal,

some on steel and some on the farming industry, but the majestic town of Malvern is built on water.

Back at our valuation day, there's still a huge queue

and the great thing about my job is I never know where the next antiques will be lurking.

-Oh, my gosh, look at this!

-This is...

And some items are just too big to fit in a box.

It's so nice to see furniture brought in to Flog It

because you do have to make a bit of an effort to get this in the car.

That's why we always get lots of ceramics, but whoever brought this,

I'm going to go and shake their hand because this is what we need to see - more furniture.

Please bring us in more furniture.

Adam's talking to Simon who's brought along an item that we see often on Flog It.

Yes, it's a piece of Troika!

This is quite an interesting one for a number of reasons.

Firstly, because of where you got it from.

Well, a car-boot sale, yeah.

Not a bad little earner, there.

-And did you recognise it as a piece of Troika?

-No.

-Basically, we just liked the look of it, the bits and bobs on it and...

-Do you still like it?

I don't know, I've gone off it a bit now. It's...

We'd seen the markings on the bottom of it. I'd never heard of it.

I thought, "Yeah, somebody's written that on in marker pen."

-Well, it does look like that, doesn't it?

-It does, yeah.

-Look at that.

-Kind of crude, isn't it?

-Yeah.

Pretty... Pretty good condition, isn't it?

I've noticed one little bit of damage, where is it? There.

A little bit of a chip, there.

But that's nothing too major.

-So you're going to sell it, take the money.

-Yeah, take the money and run!

-It cost you how much?

-£2.

-£2.

We can improve on that. Stick a couple of noughts on that.

-That's not bad.

-This is what is called the large rectangle vase.

On the bottom, you've got that decorator's mark there, which is RGB for Roland Bence.

Roland Bence was one of the main men at Troika.

He was the manager there for all of the '70s.

He is one of your premier names. So not only have you chanced upon a 2 quid vase worth 200 or 300...

-I've got the main man on it, yeah.

-You've got one of the main men.

-I think we should put it in at 200 to 300.

-Yeah, sounds good, yeah.

Put a reserve in of £180. If it doesn't make that,

-it's worth hanging on to.

-Yeah.

-Well done.

It just goes to show that quality kit is still out there

waiting to be found if you have the time and the patience to look.

Right, next it's Jim who's brought along a collection of First World War postcards.

So, what's the history here?

They belonged to my wife's uncle who was a private in the Medical Corps

and he served on the hospital ship, the Letitia, and they went all around the Mediterranean.

-During the First World War?

-During the First World War.

And this is basically postcards to and from him and his wife.

We've seen lots of First World War postcards, especially in the embroidered silks,

for the guys to send home to their wives, but these are slightly different.

You've got more topographic scenes.

He obviously was travelling, going all over the place.

He's in the Middle East here.

He's at the Sphinx in the Pyramids.

It's like a diary of his journey. Has he written messages on the back?

-He has, yeah.

-Oh, how lovely. Is it something you really want to sell?

Basically, it's lying in the bedroom, we don't look at it that often.

We'll maybe go and see our grandchildren, perhaps buy them a present out of it.

Oh, well that's a nice idea.

-Yes.

-This is nice. That's George IV, isn't it?

Yeah.

It's personally addressed to him.

"With our very best wishes for Christmas, 1914.

"May God protect you and bring you home safely. Mary and George."

Oh, that's lovely, isn't it? That really does complete this book.

I'm pleased that's on the last page.

Well, look, if you're happy to let this go and you want it to go...

-Yes, we do.

-Let's price it to sell.

-Let's put 100 to 200 on it.

-Yeah.

Fixed reserve at £100 because you're not going to give this away.

-No.

-You'll have to keep it otherwise, but on a good day I think this boat will float.

I just loved Jim's postcard collection.

Fingers crossed it's going to do well.

But before that, Kate's valuing the biggest lump of gold

I've seen in a while, and it belongs to husband and wife Bill and Jan.

-How have you come by it?

-It was my second cousin's.

-She was very, very elegant.

-We remember Frances very well.

We can remember her smoking Woodbines out of that.

-Brilliant.

-But we have other things that she's left to us, so we would like other people to enjoy it.

Well, it's a classic case of very elegant Roaring Twenties gold,

set with what looks to be rubies.

If we open it up, what have we got inside? There we go.

So it is hallmarked gold and the hallmark's Chester and it's 1923.

So, exactly that sort of Roaring Twenties.

You would have had very small, thin lady's cigarettes in it,

possibly with a holder.

But it's a lovely thing. You're not keen on keeping it?

Not particularly.

Well, gold prices are quite high at the moment and you've got the inset rubies to add a little bit of value.

You've also got machine decoration on the top and then this Greek key pattern along the edge.

So it's a very attractive thing. Any ideas on value?

-No.

-No.

Your estimate for the auction would be maybe between £550 and £650,

something like that, which for quite a small thing is quite a high price.

-It is indeed.

-Is that the kind of figure you'd be happy with?

-Yes, certainly.

-OK.

What sort of reserve would you suggest?

I would say just below that, so maybe a 450 reserve.

-Sounds very good.

-A lovely thing to have been passed down, isn't it?

-Indeed, yeah.

-Let's hope it sells.

-Oh, yes. Thank you.

-OK.

Well, that's our final items ready to take off to auction

and going under the hammer is Simon's Troika vase which he paid just £2 for at a car-boot sale.

Next it's time for Jim's collection of inherited World War I postcards to find a new home.

Finally, Bill and Jan's elegant gold cigarette case with inlaid rubies

will be testing the current gold prices.

We're now back at Philip Serrell's auction rooms in Malvern.

Let's find out how much profit Simon will make.

I think this is a great lot, Roland Bence.

-What's great is it was bought for £2 in a car boot.

-Yeah.

It is unbelievable, isn't it? I would love to have a bit of time to go to a car boot once every...

-You and me would never get anything.

-You'll never pick a bargain out.

-They'd put the price up, wouldn't they? Good luck.

-Thank you.

-And well spotted. Here we go.

The Troika vase, hugely popular.

Bid me.

£50 I'm bid. At 50. 60. 60 bid.

70. 80. 90.

100. 110. 120. 130. 140. 150.

160. 170.

Yes? 180. At 180 bid seated.

At 180. At 180. At 180. At £180 only. Any more at all?

We're struggling at 180 right now.

I can't believe that.

-£180 and done. Thank you.

-Just!

-I thought it'd do better.

-Yes, so did I.

-But, it's gone. That's the main thing.

-Yeah, it's gone.

-It's gone.

-And it's an improvement on the two quid.

-A vast improvement.

Yeah, big improvement. Are you back at the car boots at all?

Oh, I might have a pop round to see if there's any more out there!

-And what will you put this money towards?

-Something for the kids.

-How many have you got?

-Three.

-Go on, name check them, what are they?

-Brandon, Harrison and Roly.

-OK. Enjoy the money.

-Thank you very much.

-Well done, Simon.

We just got Simon's Troika away. Still, it was a very good return on the £2 he paid for it.

Now for Jim, the owner of that brilliant postcard collection.

Hopefully, for not much longer because this lot should put their hands up and bid.

I see you've brought the wife along. Hello.

I know you're getting really excited because you want to see your daughter out in New Zealand.

Well, I hope we get you there.

I hope this is part of the airfare. I don't want to let them down.

I hope it's not return to sender, it's going under the hammer now.

Lot number 300 is the Victorian postcard album. Bid me for it.

Where do you want to start me?

Give me £100 to start straight off.

100 I am bid. At 100. And ten now?

100. 100. £100 for the postcard album.

At 100. 100. 100.

It's your bid, sir.

At £100. The maiden bid's got it at 100.

I'll take ten anywhere.

At £100 only. At 100. At £100.

And I sell then at 100 and done.

Yes, we just got it away within estimate, £100,

but I guess it's better than nothing.

-That'll cover the airport tax.

-Just about!

Well, I think some lucky buyer got a real bargain with those postcards.

Now it's time to see if Bill and Jan's gold cigarette case will tickle the bidders' fancy.

We've got some real quality going under the hammer right now.

It's that gold cigarette case. Absolutely love it.

We're looking for top money here, somewhere around £500 to £600, Kate.

I hope so. Gold's high though at the moment, so fingers crossed.

And these are real collectables. They look great in display cabinets.

All the waiting is over because they're going under the hammer literally right now!

Lot number 466 is the nine carat gold cigarette case

and I'm bid £400 for that. 410.

420. 430. 440. 450.

£450 bid.

Come on, Philip, work 'em!

470. 480. 490. 500.

520. 550 on the net, is it? 550.

£100 over the reserve already.

580, is it?

Is there any more?

At £550 and I sell, then.

-At 550 and done.

-He's selling. Yes.

-Yes.

-Very nice.

-That was short and sweet, really.

-There was a lot of competition straight away, wasn't there?

-Yes.

Smoking is not so fashionable.

-Why have you decided to sell now, though?

-Oh, I don't really...

-We wanted to come to Flog It, didn't we?

-Did you, really?

-Yes!

-You could have come just to say hello!

-Well, we could have done, yes.

-I'm glad they didn't though!

-Jolly good.

-We've enjoyed it.

-I hope you've had a great day here.

-We have indeed, thank you, Paul.

-We have, we've enjoyed it.

-And you got a bit of spending money now.

-Oh, yes.

-Cheers. Thank you very much.

-Yes.

Oh, thank you!

Well, that's brought us to the end of another show.

As you can see, people are still eager to bid.

There's plenty more lots going under the hammer, but all credit to Philip Serrell, he did us proud today.

It's wonderful being back here in this lovely old saleroom in Malvern.

Now, if you've got any antiques or collectables you want to turn into cash we would love to see you,

and hopefully we're coming to an area to do a valuation day very near you soon so keep an eye out for us.

So, until then, from Malvern, it's cheerio.