Cardigan Flog It!

I'm here enjoying the magnificent Teifi Valley in

glorious Pembrokeshire, near the borders of Ceredigion and Carmarthen.

Today, Flog It comes to you from beautiful, magnificent West Wales.

Flog It comes from Rhos-y-gilwen Mansion, a beautiful historic house that's recently put itself on the map

as one of South Wales' most exciting music and arts venues.

Its newly opened Oak Hall incorporates

state of the art technology so it has something for everyone.

And what a turn-out we've got! Thank you so much for turning up today.

All of these people have one thing in common which is they all want to sell

their antiques and they're all going to ask that one important question later on to our experts which is.

ALL: What's it worth?

Exactly, and when you've found out and if you're happy with the valuation, what are you going to do?

-ALL: Flog it!

-Let's get on with the show.

And providing those antique valuations are our

faithful team of experts, headed up by the enthusiastic Mr Charlie Ross.

Oh, gosh, isn't that great!

Life in the Suffolk Regiment Recruits Physical Training.

You wouldn't get me doing that or indeed Paul doing that.

I don't think he'd be any good at jumping over a vault!

How does he know?

And the astute Christina Trevanion,

who caught the auctioneering bug as a ten year old watching a family friend on the rostrum.

I like that. You've got some great car boot sales around here.

I'm going to have to come down here more often. And what have we got here?

Don't tell me...

-it came from a car boot sale?

-No.

Oh, fantastic!

Later in the show Charlie discovers a very scratchy problem.

Frankly, it looks as if they've had a Brillo pad at it.

-Any ideas he said looking at you!

-Not me, not guilty.

And we get some lovely surprises.

Ooh, that was a surprise!

350.

Charlie is first at the table with Julia.

Let's find out where her three jugs come from.

Julia, there's really quite a story isn't there behind these three jugs. How did you get them?

-I bought them at a car boot sale when I...

-There we go!

-Yes, sorry.

-Where?

In Exmouth in Devon, so they've travelled a long way and I've brought them home.

And what did you know about them when you arrived?

All I knew was that they were Welsh china and that was about it, really.

-How did you know that?

-Well, mainly because of the back stamp on the...

-On the bottom?

-..on the small jug there.

-Yes, yes.

-How long ago did you buy them?

-A couple of years.

And you recognised them then, or did you recognise them being Welsh when you got them home?

I recognised the back stamp....

And also this colour I recognise

-from other pieces of Llanelli china.

-What a clever girl.

-And what did you pay?

-Not very much.

No, come on, I want more accuracy than that.

£3 each.

-Nine quid the lot?

-Yeah.

-Well, you know one of them is damaged?

-Yes, but that's all right for £9!

I know. I was only pulling your leg!

They are fantastic.

Now they were made from a period from 1847 to 1850,

only a three year period with that back-stamp of Cymru, Swansea.

-Does that make them worth more?

-Well, of course it does, even more than nine quid!

-Oh, great.

They've got a typically Welsh decoration there, haven't they,

a bit like some of the gaudy Welsh decorations?

-They're not particularly pretty.

-I don't like them at all, to be perfectly honest with you and

when I saw them across the room to begin with I thought they were Staffordshire,

but of course if they were, I think they would be worth...

And the middle one has got a crack...

I think they'd probably be worth £30 to £50 the lot on a good day with the wind behind you.

-Right.

-But because of what they are,

I'm going to stick my neck out and say I think we'll go with £200 to £300.

-Right.

-Reserve 200, a little bit of discretion just in case he gets very

close, because you would rather sell them that not, wouldn't you?

-At the right price!

-Well, of course it will be the right price.

-Lovely.

-Fingers crossed.

'That's a wonderful story. Rare Welsh pottery finding its way home all the way from Devon.'

-How are you being looked after today?

-Very well.

-Are you having a good time?

-Yes.

Have you had good news or bad news?

We haven't had any news. No news?

-No news.

-No, not yet.

-Fingers crossed for good news, that's all I can say.

'The good news is that the sun has come out so I've popped out to enjoy

'it with Hilary and Michael, who have a rather interesting sketch to flog.'

My day just gets better. Not only am I having a marvellous time in the Oak Hall and

found some fabulous things to take off to auction, but the sun has come out so I've came outside.

I've persuaded Michael and Hilary to join me, and their wonderful

Conte crayon study by Augustus John, so how good is that!

A Welshman, born in Tenby in 1878 which is just down the coastline isn't it, Tenby?

-Indeed it is.

-It doesn't get much better.

-Local interest, that's what it's all about and one of my favourite artists as well.

-Mine too.

-Do you know, in the 1920s he was considered to be England's leading portrait artist?

-He was, was he?

Yeah, he even paints Dylan Thomas.

-Really?

-Yeah! So, tell me the story.

You own an Augustus John.

LAUGHTER

Well, I just saw it at auction and liked it so I thought I would buy it

and I was very lucky, I did manage to get it.

It's been sitting in the lounge ever since, staring down at me.

He did many pencil sketches and crayon sketches.

It's quite loose, it's a study and I don't think it got any further than a study.

I think this is an experimental doodle, really.

Signed "John", which is wonderful. He'd just sign things bang in the middle "John".

Literally there. It was never in the corner.

It was always sort of right on the image. Why are you wanting to sell?

Originally I just wanted it valued but I thought well,

if it's a worth a few bob, I might sell that and buy something else.

-OK.

-I just sort of...

-Trade upwards?

Well, trade up or trade sideways, just a general rollover.

I don't collect anything particular,

just what is catching my eye at the time and it may very well be her time to go.

-How much did you pay for this one?

-200.

-I think you got this at a very good price.

-Oh, right.

A very good price, and that was how many years ago? Five years ago?

-About four or five years ago.

-Five years ago.

-There's some interesting provenance on the back.

-Yes, there is.

-Can I just take this again.

Now here, look, this is from the collection of Admiral Caspar John,

-the artist's son.

-Another John?

Yeah, and this was given to him in the mid 1930s, so that's nice, isn't it?

Well, I think with the provenance, with the renewed interest,

-I think if you put this into auction, you should double your money.

-That would be nice.

And if you're willing to give it a go, we'll put it in with a valuation

of £300 with a fixed reserve, so it won't sell for anything under 300.

-That would be fine.

-So you're still in profit, but hopefully it will go up to the £400 mark.

That would be nice! Jolly good. Let's hope so.

'Fingers crossed it does the business.

'Next, Margaret with some reminders of the '60s and '70s that have caught Christina's eye.'

You're really taking us back to the Swinging '60s here.

It feels like I've got Austin Powers sitting on my table.

You've got the most wonderful collection of handbags. Where has it all come from?

Well, most of them I acquired in a

trunk from my late husband.

It was given to him to dispose of.

Right. Have you ever used them?

This one I have, yes, sorry, this one I have and I used it at

-quite a grand ball in Brighton.

-Ooh, fantastic!

Maybe I'm glad to get rid of the memory because I insulted...

Who was not a peer of the realm at the time,

but I did call him a stuffed shirt, so he got my husband nearly sacked.

OK. Let's have a chat about this one.

This has got the most wonderful label inside it.

It says "Saks Fifth Avenue"

which is one of the most luxurious stores in New York and

it's fantastic, I love it, and to have come from such a luxury place, it's the most wonderful product.

You can imagine somebody going to New York, picking this up as a souvenir of their wonderfully

glamorous trip to New York and tripping back down Fifth Avenue and this one here, this one is Italian

and I think this is quite 1960s-1970s,

very clean lines here and there's use of this new material.

It's quite Perspexy, and just real glam, isn't it?

It oozes glamour with a nice original strap to it as well

and with this one as well it's nice that you've got the original chain.

This is enamelled in cream as is the bag as is the clip here, or the frame, and it's great

that they are in really good condition because to a costume

collector that's very important, and handbags are a wonderful thing to collect.

They don't take up too much space and also, if you're very careful, you can use them as well.

I could use this happily today and it wouldn't look out of place, it's fantastic!

So, Margaret, why are you selling your collection? What has prompted you to bring them here today?

Where I store them in the box room, my chimney is giving trouble and it's

getting damp so the condition might deteriorate and that is the reason.

They are getting back in vogue but they're not going to be valuable

because people who are collecting handbags are collecting them because

they're still affordable. But I think at auction if we were to put these forward to auction,

we would be looking at putting them probably as one lot.

It would be best to sell them all together and I think we're probably looking somewhere

in the region of maybe £30 to £50 for the group, something like that.

-How do you feel about that?

-I'd like £30 in my pocket.

-OK, all right.

-Then I could give it maybe to charity or something.

-OK, well that's a nice idea.

-My sons would have dumped then, anyhow.

Well, hopefully two people will like them as much as we do and they'll go for more.

-That will be fine by me.

-Excellent! Thanks so much for coming in today.

Thank you, and I really enjoyed today. It was fun!

-Oh, good.

-Good luck.

Well, we have been working flat out and it's time to put those valuations to the test so while we make our way

over to Peter Francis Auction Rooms in Carmarthen, we're going to leave

you with a quick reminder of all the items going under the hammer. Take a look at these.

Bought at a car boot sale in Devon,

Julia's three Swansea jugs are now back on home territory.

Let's hope Hilary and Michael's little sketch is by Augustus John.

If it is, then it's as good as sold.

Finally, Christina's find,

a selection of vintage handbags.

They're a little bit of a departure for Flog It so it will be interesting to see how we do.

It doesn't get much better than this.

The magnificent, stunning Welsh countryside on a sunny, fresh morning.

We're here in the historic town of Carmarthen to put our valuations to

the test and they're going to be going under the hammer in that building over there on the

banks of the River Tywi, Peter Francis Auctioneers.

This is where they either sink or swim.

We have two auctioneers on the rostrum today. Nigel Hodson...

Selling I am there 30 now.

..and Geoff Thomas.

In the room at 80. 130.

'Nigel is starting us off

'with the sale of Margaret's collection of handbags.'

Your handbags are just about to go under the hammer.

There are eight of them, 1920s right up to 1970s.

-Did you have a favourite amongst them?

-The favourite I kept!

-A-ha, ha!

-And she's using!

Wise! Have you got it here today?

-No, no.

-A nice little lot, though, a mixed lot hopefully we'll get around

40, 50, £60, you just don't know, do you?

Yes, and vintage textiles of course are really coming back into fashion

-so let's really hope that we get some fashionistas here today that want them.

-Something for the ladies!

-Absolutely!

-Here we go, this is it.

Assorted handbags and evening bags.

Handbags and glad rags, here we go.

Some in the Mary Quant style, the black and white,

very well-recognisable black and white chequered bag there.

A little bit of interest with me 30, 40.

-At £40.

-Ooh, brilliant!

-Bid with me on the book at 40.

Here to be sold. 40.

May I say 50 on the bags there? At 40 with me, 50 a lady's bid.

I have 60 on the book. 70 do you want?

At £60, on the book at £60.

Five if it helps you, it goes at 60, will be sold. Five do you want? £60.

Margaret, that's fabulous! £60!

-That's great!

-Hey, well done!

-Fantastic!

-That was a tough call.

A hard thing to put a price on.

Yes, it is, it really is, but there we go.

-You've got to be happy with that, surely?

-Extremely happy, yes.

Excellent. I'm pleased.

Double the reserve. Good result!

'Next it's Hilary and Michael's little sketch which

'appears to have some provenance, but the big question is, is it right?'

It's my turn to be the expert and I've been waiting for this moment,

ever since I met Hilary and Michael back at the valuation day on that lovely sunny day.

The weather has really done us proud here in Wales.

You can't beat it. Beautiful countryside and lovely weather.

Augustus John, local boy, Tenby, you got this in a sale room five years ago.

-Roughly.

-And how much did you pay for it again?

-£200.

-Let's hope we can double that £200.

-That would be nice.

-I had a chat to the auctioneer yesterday.

-He agrees with me, the image is not brilliant is it, let's face it.

-No.

It's a study, it's a rough sketch.

He's slightly dubious it might be a forgery,

but in my opinion if you're going to forge something, you're going to do a half-decent job, aren't you?

What you're looking at here is something that's interesting,

something that's been owned by the family and it's a rough, rough study

by Augustus John but it's still worth buying into at the lower end of the market.

Let's just hope the bidders here fall in love with it like you did five years ago, and we've

got a bit of competition because this Augustus John is worth £300 to £400 of anybody's money if it's right.

The Augustus John female reclining nude.

There's been some developments on this

picture since it was catalogued and since it was entered in the sale.

Some doubts have been expressed as to

whether it is by Augustus John irrespective of the fact that there

is some suggested provenance

and unfortunately I am going to have to say in the manner

of Augustus John and really leave it to you to make up your own mind

and what may I say. In your hands, what is it worth?

What do you say, £500 for it?

£500 for it?

£300 then to put me in.

£300 for it. £200 to start me, then.

All quiet. £200.

-No opening bid? £100 for it.

-He won't get an opening bid.

No? Well, I'm not surprised and I'm sorry to have to do that

at that stage but we will pass it by and perhaps the thing to do would be

to make some further enquiries

as to see whether we could get a cast-iron attribution.

-You paid a lot of money for it.

-That's life.

I'm sorry. Going back on the wall.

-Oh, definitely!

-Yeah, back on the wall.

-I like her, I don't care!

-Good, good!

'Well, the bidders didn't seem convinced today but I think Hilary is quite pleased to be taking it home.

'Nigel's colleague, auctioneer Geoff Thomas, is now on the rostrum to sell

'the three Swansea jugs that Charlie spotted.'

Julia, that's what I call a good day's shopping,

buying Welsh jugs in Devon, down in the West Country for £3 each.

They're going in the sale today with a value of some £200 to £300.

-Since the valuation day you put that valuation on, you've dropped the reserve down to £100.

-Yeah.

-You just want to let them go.

-Yep, let them go.

You brought them at the right place, at the right time.

-Let's hope so.

-I hope so as well.

The condition is there, the buyers are here.

-Yep.

-Let's find out what they think. Here we go.

We have a graduate set of three Swansea pottery jugs.

Got 360. What about these? Start me, what will you give me £100 away.

£100. £80.

£50, £50 only £50 bid at £50.

At £50 I've got 50. 60 is it now?

At 50, 60, 70, at £70 bid.

At £70, £80 now is it?

As at £70. Are you all done then?

£80 in the centre. At £80 I'm bid.

At £80 bid. £90 is it now?

At £80 bid, £90 is it. At £80 are you all done then,

they'll go then, are you all done at £80.

Oh, he's let them go at £80.

-That's fine.

-Are you happy?

Well, I'm not unhappy!

It's been a good day. Well, at least this one has gone.

Hey, it's still a great return on what you paid for them.

-Oh, of course, yeah.

-And that's what it's all about.

Recycling antiques. It doesn't get greener and it doesn't get better.

'Not only that, they're back home in Wales.

'Time now for me to leave the auction behind and explore a little local history.'

Cardigan is a delightful little town in the far west of Wales, lying on the River Teifi.

There's been a settlement here for the past 900 years

during which time it has of course had its ups and downs.

It once boasted the most splendid medieval castle

but all that remains now is this outer stone wall,

seemingly held up by these rather ugly rolled steel joists

stopping it from caving over into the road.

But it remains remarkable for being the first castle to be built in stone by a Welsh prince.

Therein lies a tale.

The Prince was Lord Rhys ap Gruffydd.

He's still thought of by many as the greatest Welshman who ever lived

for his part in defending Wales from Anglo-Norman invaders.

By the time we join the story, he had cut a deal with King Henry II.

His new stone castle was to be one of the main administrative centres for South Wales.

His son, who had been held captive at Henry's court at Aquitaine in France was to be released

and returned to him so by the time the castle was completed in 1176, Rhys had a great deal to celebrate.

He through the most incredible housewarming party, possibly

borrowing the idea brought back from France by his son at the Court of Aquitaine.

At the party, he set up a contest between poets and bards and another between various classes of musicians.

He honoured the victors by seating them at his table and bestowing them with gifts.

The occasion as generally accepted as the first national Eisteddfod.

An event which still happens annually and is the lynch-pin of Welsh culture.

So this castle is central to Welsh history and culture.

It's just such a shame that it was largely destroyed by Oliver Cromwell's army

during the Civil War. But in 1808 it had a second, more delicate, flowering...

in the form of Castle Green House, an elegant Georgian villa built inside the walls of the old castle.

It survived well until the mid 20th century when it became derelict.

The hole has been a blight on the town for years but there is new hope.

The local Cadwgan Building Preservation Trust has come up with a restoration plan.

It is now submitting a Heritage Lottery Bid and is striving to match the amount themselves.

'Jan Tucker from the Trust is going to tell me more.'

So how did Castle Green House get to be in this state in the first place?

Well, the Woods Family bought it in 1940 and came here. I don't think...

They had lost quite a bit of money before they came here

and just generally it has gone down and down, and down.

When was it last lived in, then?

The house, probably about the '80s, 1980. We don't know what happened to the father.

The mother and Miss Wood lived here then for quite a while and they were

burning the floorboards, the panelling, everything to keep warm.

Mrs Wood actually died in the bedroom up there and Barbara Woods

never went back there again and just slept downstairs the whole time.

-She just lived here on her own with 20 cats, I think.

-Really?

-Yes.

And what did she do for money, then?

-Just sort of begged and borrowed?

-People in the town were looking after her.

One gentleman was very, very good to her and eventually he brought a caravan in here for her to live in.

'The council bought the property from Barbara in 2003 and she was able to escape the caravan and

'end her years living comfortably in a local residential home.'

So obviously the scaffolding is up now. Can we go in?

-No, I'm sorry.

-There are no staircases I bet, the floorboards still.

The staircase is in a very bad state. In actual fact a bit of it has fallen off

because it's open to the sky up above and also they've been in and found a lot of asbestos

-in there, so I'm sorry, Paul, we won't be able to go in.

-Oh, dear!

-And I've found that you've got some endangered species living in there.

-We have, we have.

Some very rare bats in the cellar.

We have, we have. Greater Horseshoe bats, Lesser Horseshoe bats.

I hope they're paying their rent, contributing towards the maintenance!

It would be nice if they did because we're only looking for about £4 million.

Are you? Is that the project budget?

Well, we've got £4.5 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

-Right, OK.

-But we have to match-fund that and so we have to raise this money somehow,

the Trust have to do this so we've had quite a lot of events to date,

but we've got a long way to go.

'The exciting plans for the new site include a circular performance space to be known as the Eisteddfod Garden

'and a brand new restaurant overlooking the river.

'Weddings and events for all ages will be held at the castle

'so once more it will be back in its rightful place

'at the heart of the community.'

-What about the house, inside?

-The house is going to be an interpretation centre telling the

story of the culture and heritage of Wales and we're going to be doing master classes here.

Anything to do with the Eisteddfod and that can be anything from jam-making

to playing the harp, to singing...

Exactly what was happening here in 1176, possibly.

-Sounds really exciting and keeping all this traditions alive.

-Yes.

-And hopefully we'll be back here with Flog It for a valuation day.

-Thank you.

'At Rhos-y-gilwen Mansion the team is still in full swing.

'Christina is very impressed by a pair of plates belonging to Rosalind.'

-So Rosalind, I saw you in the queue with these.

-Yes.

-And I fished you out of the queue.

-You did.

Because I got very excited when I first saw them.

These pair of plates here as well, you've got two, this pair.

Have they been in your family for a long time?

-Well, they've only been in our family for about 30 years.

-Right.

They did belong to the family of my aunt's husband so they're

not directly associated with my family,

so they're not of great sentimental value.

-And where do you keep them now?

-Well, actually my sister in law had them.

-I think they were just in a cupboard or somewhere.

-In a cupboard?

-So you don't have fruit in them?

-Nothing.

OK. Well, I'll tell you why I got quite excited about them

is that these really do represent a fantastic period in English pottery, they really do.

They are English, well I think they are English, tin-glazed earthenware.

This is the pre-cursor to porcelain, this is the pre-cursor really to pottery.

It's really the earliest form of pottery that you can get.

I think it dates to about the mid 18th century,

so we're looking at about maybe 1740 to 1760, so they're 250 years old.

That's pretty fantastic, isn't it?

The style

was originally started in Delft.

Now the Delft workers originally saw all sorts of things coming in from China, being imported in,

all these wonderfully big chargers with these polychrome...

When I say polychrome I mean a lot of different coloured patterns...

..coming in from the east and they tried to replicate them.

They couldn't replicate them in porcelain so they developed this

tin-glazed earthenware which is all we had available to us at the time.

We didn't know the sort of magic recipe of porcelain so we couldn't develop that, sadly,

-and then they decorated them in these wonderful patterns.

-It is nice.

It's lovely, isn't it, with these... we've got three colours here.

We've got this wonderful russet colour and then the olive green and the blue as well,

so it really is, it's just magic within this ogee border here, obviously hand-painted.

-Yes.

-I think they're fabulous, I really do.

I think this damage isn't going to affect the value hugely.

It is lovely to have a pair, even though one is damaged. It's great to have a matching pair.

-Do you like them?

-I do like them but we're not using them.

We don't have them displayed and the main thing is that they haven't come directly in the family

because we don't sell anything that's sentimental.

They're about the only thing we've got!

OK, all right. I think at auction if we were to offer them,

we'd probably pop them in at maybe £300 to £500 and see how we got on.

-Really!

-What do you think?

I think that is fantastic!

That is absolutely fantastic!

Wonderful! Well, I think we'll try them at £300 to £500 with a reserve of £280 and see how we get on.

Fingers crossed they'll do well.

-Wonderful! Wonderful!

-Thanks so much for bringing them in.

-Thank you very much, that's great!

Ooh, that was a surprise!

'I'm not surprised Christina picked them out. They're stunning!'

FIDDLER PLAYS MUSIC

Join in, everyone.

Yes, well done!

It's marvellous to be here in Wales, it really is!

Now Kath, with a charming Art Deco piece.

Well, Kath, what made you bring this in today?

Well, it was an item that we nearly didn't bring in and we just remembered I'd got

it in a box in my wardrobe and we put it in the bag to bring along, just to see what it was about.

And it's always been in your wardrobe?

It has been since I've had it, yeah.

So, how did you get it? Did you buy it, or...?

No, I had it from my grandparents because I used to collect frogs and there is a little frog on it.

-So you used to collect frogs?

-Yeah.

Because it had a frog on it, they gave it to me, so it came on...

-Did you like it or you just took it on sufferance?

-No, I do like it, I do like it, yes.

Have you any idea where it was made?

-Well, I think Germany.

-Yes.

-And that would fit in.

-What would give you a clue?

-The "WMF".

-WMF", exactly,

yeah, there is it as clear as anything, "WMF".

-Do you know what WMF stands for?

-I should do, but no.

Wurttemberg. That's the name of the place. Metallen.

Metal. Fabriken which is, made. so it was made in the Wurttemberg factory.

Date, any idea how old it might be?

None at all, no idea.

-It's about 1930.

-Right.

It's really quite

Art Deco in its look, which I like.

-Do you know what it might have been, or what it is I should say?

-No. I just wondered whether it was

maybe a bon-bon dish or something to put trinkets in, I don't know.

-Yeah, I think it's quite possibly a visiting card tray.

-Oh, right, OK.

The real problem, it would have had a great patternation when it came out of the Wurttenberg factory.

Somebody has been very naughty with this

and frankly, it looks as if they've had a Brillo pad at it.

Any ideas, he said, looking at you?

It's not me, I'm not guilty, so no, I don't know.

To a certain extent the patternation of something

like this is very important but somebody will find that charming.

Now if you collect frogs, why are you selling it?

Well, I haven't really got anywhere to put it as it is, and I don't collect so many now.

And it's been in a box for such a long time that I thought maybe it's time to go.

-Time to de-clutter?

-Time to de-clutter.

-Time to introduce it to Flog It!

-That's right.

Value, any ideas?

Absolutely none at all.

I'm going to plump for £50 to £80.

-OK.

-With a little bit of discretion on the 50. Perhaps a fixed reserve of £40.

-That sounds good.

But with a saleroom estimate of £50 to £80.

-OK.

-Making it absolutely clear, so thank you very much for rescuing it and bringing

-it along today and I think we might get a pleasant surprise.

-Brilliant!

'Shame about the damage, but it still may catch someone's eye.

'Finally, Christina wins the prize for the largest find of the day.'

So, Linda, when I saw you in the queue this morning,

-you came in with a bag containing a very small sample of this.

-Yes.

-And then you brought in another bag and then you brought in another bag.

-Yes.

So this is a tiny sample, really, of the quite extensive dinner service that you've brought in to us today.

140 pieces, yes.

That's a big dinner service!

-It is!

-And tell me about it. Where has it come from?

It originally was a friend of the family who was a lovely old gentleman

who collected things for years and years and years

to the point where he had things in boxes in his flat, and he didn't even know what he had any more.

The flat was broken into once so he decided to clear things,

but he wanted his things to only go to people who would love them,

so that was when he sold it to my dad and stepmother

and that would have been back in the '50s.

OK. Tell me, the gentleman that it belonged to in the first instance, that was...

Where was he based? Was he based in France or in the UK, or?

No, he was based in Chicago.

He was based in Chicago in America?

-Yes.

-Right, so this dinner service which is a Limoges dinner service, made in France.

Yes.

-Early 20th century has gone from France.

-Correct.

-To America.

-Yes.

And now we're in Cardigan.

-Yes.

-This is probably the best-travelled dinner service I've ever seen in my life!

It's wonderful!

I see from the pattern, which is a nice shamrock pattern,

which would indicate it might have some sort of Irish connotations,

might it have been over to Ireland as well?

Not to my knowledge.

Not to your knowledge? OK. I notice that you've got a little bit of damage here.

We've got a hairline crack

just inside that sauce boat there

and we've also got a crack inside the cup, there.

-Where has it been kept? Have you had it out on display, or?

-Not...

Now in a lovely old stone cottage and there just is no room for it.

-It's been in the loft for the last eight years and it should not be in a loft.

-No, indeed.

It should be loved and cracks, yes. Let's put it this way.

If we were as old as this china, we'd be showing a few cracks, too.

I think you might be right! I would, definitely.

Right. I think at auction we still have to be quite conservative,

-purely because they are pretty tricky to sell.

-Right.

I think what we'll do is we'll pop an estimate of maybe £100 to £200 and see how we get on.

-I know that you'll be disappointed if you don't get more than £100 for it.

-Yes.

So I would suggest that we pop a firm reserve of £100 on it

and hopefully we'll find it a nice new home.

I certainly hope so!

And what are we going to put the money towards?

Well, when one has a 200 year-old stone cottage, there's always something!

Well, that's it, we've now found our last lots and I tell you,

there'll be one or two surprises amongst them when we get to the auction room.

And here is what we are taking.

Rosalind's lovely tin-glazed plates.

They're unloved at home but they won't be in the auction room,

followed by the 1930s WMF visiting card tray, owned by Kath, which has definitely seen better days.

And finally the extensive and much travelled Limoges dinner service with its charming pattern.

'Before the auction starts, let's hear what Nigel Hodson thinks about those tin-glazed plates.'

We've got two tin-glazed earthenware plates.

A nice soft glaze to this but lots of damage.

They belong to Rosalind and they've been in the family for 30 years and we've put £300 to £500 on them.

The good part about these is that one is absolutely perfect

as far as one would expect with this sort of plate.

-You always get the fritting round the edges because of the glaze.

-That's quite nice.

It is, it's part of the constitution of the glaze and that's not an issue.

That one has got rather a large bite out of it and one or two other problems.

-So it's buy one, get one free.

-As you say, yes, quite right.

A while ago these would have made rather more than they do now but

the sort of estimate that you've got, they've got a fighting chance

because that is a nice plate and stand something in front of that and you won't see to much of a problem.

If you were dressing it and it's nice to have that symmetry of the two identical ones.

A pair of those on a delft rack they would still look very nice.

I think we've got a good chance with those.

I'm so pleased you said that because...

-English rather than Dutch?

-English.

-I think English rather than Dutch.

-I love this kind of thing, and it's period... It's a proper antique.

Yep, absolutely, no question at all.

'They're up first with auctioneer, Geoff Thomas.'

OK, so far, so good.

It's getting exciting here, the tension is really building.

Rosalind has just joined me and Christina.

We've got a real antique going under the hammer, proper lot,

a pair of 18th century tin-glazed earthenware plates. A lovely, lovely lot. One is badly damaged, OK...

-I think...

-Buy one, get one free!

-Yeah.

-I've had a chat to the auctioneer. He agreed with the valuation.

-Good.

-I just think, you know, in times gone by these were £600-£700 each.

-Yes, there we are.

-Yep, absolutely.

-Hey, nice lot, though!

-And there's two, two.

-And the condition of the other one is very, very good.

-Yes.

Chipping around the edges doesn't put the collectors off. It's meant to be, it's soft paste?

If you consider the age of them, you've got to figure there's a little bit of damage, haven't you,

-but no, fingers crossed, they'll do really well.

-I'm excited about this.

-Fingers crossed.

Let's find out exactly what the bidders think and what it's worth.

We have a pair of 18th century English Delft earthenware plates.

What about these, what should I ask you. Say I want £300.

Three, two, two, one, one only, one on the back.

I can see 140 with me, 160, 180...

-Come on, come on!

-200, 220, 240, 250, 260. At 260.

-£260.

-I have the bidding at 260.

At 260, 260 bid.

At 260, 70 is it now?

280 I've got on the net.

At 300, £300 I'm bid.

At 300, at £300. In the room now at 300, out on the net at 300.

Are you all done then, it will go then, at £300.

-Brilliant!

-All right, lovely.

-£300.

-That's a good result.

-Yes, we're all pleased with that.

-It sold to someone in the room as well.

-Oh, that's good.

I gather all the money is going towards a big family get-together?

-Well, actually it's a few family get-togethers.

-A few!

Because we're quite economical as a family!

I wish I had one like that! I'm really pleased for you, Rosalind. That's fantastic.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you, thank you.

-Thanks very much.

-Great lot, an absolutely great lot.

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

Bring it along to one of our valuation dates and you can pick up the details on our website.

Just log onto bbc.co.uk/flogit follow the links and hopefully

all the information will be there.

If you don't have a computer check the details in your local press

because we're coming to an area very near you, soon so watch out, we want to see you.

'Nigel Hodson is back on the rostrum with Kath, our Art Deco visiting card tray.'

Kath, I love this little card tray, big fan of this.

-I like the little frog, I think it's sweet and I think you love that frog as well.

-Yeah, it's lovely.

WMF, we've seen a lot on the show before, made in Germany.

It's quality. Fingers crossed we get the top end of the £80.

-I hope so.

-Happy with Charlie's valuation?

-Very happy.

-I'm just slightly worried about the condition.

Someone has really taken a scouring brush to it or something, which is not easy to...

-It's lost its brilliantness,

-It has.

You'll never be able to get that back, so I guess that's why you have got £50 to £80.

Exactly. I think otherwise it would be £100-£150.

-I bet everybody loves frogs and they put a smile on your face don't they?

-Yep, yep.

And if you're smiling when you buy something, you generally pay

a little bit more for it, so let's hope this lot are smiling here today.

Here we go.

It's the little electro-plated

carte de visite tray and this is marked "WMF"

so German, WMF,

good quality German silver plate.

What do I say for that? What do I say? £100 for it?

£100 for it. Little WMF dish there.

-Come on!

-50 to go, then, put me in.

There it is, 30 only. 40 may I say?

At 30. May I say 40 on the WMF.

At 30, at 30 only, may I say 40 now, 40 on the front row.

At 40, at 40 on the front row, at 40. May I say 50 now?

-It's the lady's bid in the room.

-Cor, it's struggling, isn't it!

-What about 45?

-All quiet online. 50 is in the centre.

-Phew!

-We've got it, we've got it.

60 for you, madam? Not expensive. 60. At 60 the lady on the front.

At 60. May I say 70 sir? 70 I'm bid.

At 70, 80 is it now? No?

At £70 the gentleman's bid, against you on the front madam, at 70.

Is there 80 anywhere? All quiet online, it goes for 70.

-70, £70.

-The hammer is gong down. Yes!

Because it's lost its brilliance, I think that is bang on... £70.

-That's good.

-Well, done.

-Thank you.

-There is commission to pay here.

-It is 17.5% OK.

-That's fine.

On items under £150. They've got a sliding scale here.

If it's over £150 but under £3,000, it's 15%. If it's over £3,000 it's 10%.

'Well, I reckon that was a reasonable result, given the damage, and I think

-'I recognise one of the bidders!'

-50 is it?

At 1,100 bid. Are you all done, then?

Geoff Thomas is with us again hoping to sell Linda's enormous Limoges dinner service.

Well, I've just been joined by Linda and Christina here and a 140-piece dinner service

which is well-travelled. It has certainly collected its air miles.

-It certainly has!

-Wow! Linda said to me earlier she was rather hoping for a nought on the end,

like £1,000 to £2,000 because there's an awful lot of this but...

I wish I was at the valuation day seeing your face when you said £100 to £200.

It was a bit of a shock, wasn't it?

Well, it's sad. I don't want to cry because I know what it is but I also appreciate

the times we're in now and the fact that it can't go in a dishwasher...

-No.

-And we don't entertain that way any more.

-I was quite clear about it at the time I think, wasn't I, but...

-It's that beautiful gilt edging.

Is it a come and buy me or is it only really worth £100 to £200?

It just is a bit difficult to find

somebody that wants such a comprehensive dinner service for best.

I mean hopefully, really hopefully, it will make more for you,

I really do hope it does, but no, it is here to sell, so, fingers crossed.

It was those big Christmas dinners we used to foray.

All those meals, all those wonderful times.

Are you a good cook?

A good entertainer, I'll bet!

My husband is a qualified chef. I don't do kitchen now!

-I don't blame you!

-I'll have to find one like that.

I'll lend him out! Well, let's hope somebody here is a good cook

and they want a big dinner service because it's going under the hammer,

right here, right now. Here we go.

Porcelain coffee, tea and dinner service, 140 pieces.

I have interest here. I can start the bidding at 200.

-Yes!

-250. 300.

350. At 350 I'm bid, at 350, 350...

-Absolutely brilliant!

-At 350 bid, at 350, at 350 bid, at 350.

380, 380, 400.

At 400 with me, at 400 bid, at 400, at 400. 420.

At 420 bid, online now at 420.

440, 400, at 440, 60.

Bidding online at 460. At 460 bid, at 460. 80 do I hear?

At 460. Are you all done, then and it goes then at £460.

-Yeah!

-Well, done.

Fabulous, Linda. I'm ever so pleased.

That was well-travelled, wasn't it...

-that was certainly well-travelled.

-That's brilliant! I'm sorry for being so gloomy!

That's all right. Say I told you so!

Every cloud has a silver lining, doesn't it?

-Brilliant!

-Wonderful! Thank you.

-Thank you for keeping us entertained.

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

Bring it along to one of our valuation days. We've run out of time in Carmarthen.

I hope you've enjoyed the show. See you again soon for plenty more surprises!

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