Clacton Flog It!

Welcome to "Flog It", the show that values your unwanted antiques and helps you turn it into cash.

Today we're in Clacton-on-Sea in sunny Essex.

Clacton-on-Sea is only a couple of hours from central London.

It's a classic Victorian seaside resort which began to be developed in 1864.

Holiday-makers and day-trippers flock here no matter what time of the year.

It's a place to get away from it all and have some fun,

which is exactly what we're planning to do at our Clacton-on-Sea valuation day.

And we've set up in the heart of this seaside town

at the Princes Theatre.

It looks like word has got out that "Flog It!" is in town -

just look at the size of this massive queue

and I can't wait to see what's in all of these bags and boxes.

Coming up in today's show we meet Donald who has brought

a bronze paper knife that he bought for just 50 pence in a jumble sale.

It's the first paper knife I've ever seen on "Flog It!", Don, but it's a very special knife or letter opener.

He wants to sell it but how much is it really worth?

There's Liz who wants to sell her decorative sugar bowl and spoon

which had been abandoned in a cupboard for years,

and we've got Monica, who's selling a couple of classic watches.

What was that a gift, perhaps, or...?

No, I bought that as an investment about 20 odd years ago.

Find out later if she's made a wise investment.

Leading our team of valuers today are Elizabeth Talbot and Will Axon...

-It's right round the corner!

-Do you want to go that way?

-You go that way, I'll do this.

-Morning, all.

-Morning.

Elizabeth has been in the auction business all her professional life.

Now running a successful auction house in Norfolk, she should know what she's talking about.

-Compacts are very collectable now...

-They are...

And will has worked his way up through the antiques business.

He started out life as a saleroom porter and now he is a senior valuer and auctioneer.

He describes himself as a hoarder and despite his art degree, he's a fan of graffiti.

-I'll have a good look for you indoors, OK.

-OK.

-Keep it nice and safely wrapped up.

'One of my favourite times of the day is first thing in the morning,

'when I can natter to all the people in the queue and look at the goods they've brought in to show us...'

and I've got a feeling our experts are going to be spoilt for choice.

First up is Will, who is with Liz and she has brought in a rather intriguing box.

I must say, when we see fitted boxes like this that obviously

contain something we're always quite excited because a lot of effort has

gone into the box itself and before I have a look inside tell me, what's the significance of this on top?

You've got some initials and a date here.

Well, yeah, I don't really know the significance of the initials

but I like to think that my parents bought it because September 9th is my birthday, but...

-Not September 9th 1877!

-No, no, I'm not that old!

I hope, yeah, I'm not going to get a slap for being cheeky of course!

It's been in a cabinet at my mum's for, well, since they bought it which was about 40 years ago.

So without further ado, let's open it up and have a look, shall we?

And there we are. Look at that!

-A sugar bowl together with a spoon.

-Right.

Now not any ordinary spoon. If I take it out and we have a look

-we can see that the bowl of the spoon is actually pierced,

-Yeah.

So what that would allow is for the sugar that you scoop out of the bowl

just to be sprinkled gently on whatever it is you're sweetening.

-Strawberries, probably.

-That would be perfect, wouldn't it!

Let's have a look at the bowl if I can take that out as well.

Wonderful quality with these sort of grotesque masks here on these scrolling monopodia

and I'm just turning it round because we should have some hallmarks here.

Now there are the hallmarks, you see those?

We've got the Victoria's head here, we've got the date letter A for 1876,

the lion's head for London,

the lion passant for Sterling silver

and here we've got the maker's mark of RH.

Robert Harper, London maker, second half of the 19th century

which again ties in nicely with the date that we've got on that.

Now the only other thing to check before we talk of value is that the spoon does actually match.

-Right, yeah.

-You never know. In theory,

this should have the same hallmarks, so I'm just going to have a look.

There they are around the bowl here, so they're a perfect match.

Value-wise, I mean I'm going to say it's worth, to you, £100 to £150.

-How would you feel about that?

-I think that's good.

I'm kind of talking myself into it because the more I look at it, the more I like it

-so it could make a bit more, it could make 200 to 300, who knows.

-Yeah.

-But I would think 100-150 it's a guaranteed seller.

-Right. That's great, thank you very much.

-Thanks for bringing it in.

-Thank you.

-Nice to meet you.

Well, if Will says it's a guaranteed seller, let's hope he's right.

It's great to see so many youngsters here in Clacton, showing a real interest in antiques.

Hello, what's your name?

-Hannah.

-Hannah? Can I have a look. Yes. Are these Mum's?

-Yes.

-Are they yours are they, Mum?

The mother-in-law's.

You know what they are do you, Hannah?

-No.

-No? I bet you do, don't you?

-Copper printing plates, I think.

-Yes, they are, yes.

You can see the definition, the image is starting to fade.

This is the problem with copper, it's such a soft metal you'll start to lose

the definition of what you're showing.

You'd probably only have a print run from this of about 600 before you had to re-engrave it.

In the early part of the 19th century they started to use a steel plate, because steel is a lot harder

and you can have a greater print run from steel and all this would have been hand-cut.

-Oh, so there would have been grooves in there?

-Yes.

-Oh, OK.

Yeah, all cut in by a master craftsman

and there's the image on the back then, I guess, that's what you'd see.

-Yeah.

-Isn't that lovely! And you've got two of them?

-Yeah, that's the Highland scene.

-How did you come by them?

My mother-in-law gave them to us when she was moving, so...

-But that's nice, that's an early one.

-Thank you.

Of course, the vast majority of items people bring to our valuation days have to be portable.

In fact the smaller, sometimes the better,

but you really need a magnifying glass to fully appreciate what Jenny has brought in to show Elizabeth.

You've been accompanied by a very charming lady here, Jenny.

-Oh, thank you.

-What is the story behind her?

Well, it belonged to an auntie, I don't know how long she had it for and then my father had it

when she passed on and then I had it when my father passed on, so...

And do you know who the sitter is?

-No, no idea at all, no.

-It's a mystery lady?

Yes, she is a mystery lady.

And do you have her out on display, is she out and about?

No, I haven't, so that's why I thought I'd bring her along today.

I think it's charming. It's a little miniature watercolour, probably painted onto ivory,

it's sealed in its frame so it's difficult to be precise,

painted with the finest of almost single bristle brushes

to manage this wonderful elegant and delicate portrait here.

She has a charming outfit of ostrich feathers hat.

I think she's a lady of high fashion, I think somebody from

a wealthy background who sat for a portrait by a very competent artist.

The Edwardian period is probably one of the last periods where portraits were commissioned,

certainly in miniature form.

One normally associates them with the Victorian or Georgian period and the Edwardians

was the last year where people had the money and the social status

and standing to have your portrait painted.

The artist isn't known to me although it is monogrammed with some initials.

Have you ever had it out of the frame?

Yes, we have looked at it, yes.

-So there's nothing on the back?

-Nothing on the back, no.

I think the fact that all the elements are so positive and she's in lovely condition

and the frame that she's in complements and sets off the picture

rather than detracting from it and distracting from it

would lead me to think that she should be worth in the region of between £100 and £150.

-That's very good.

-Does that please you?

-Yes, very much.

So if you're happy to sell at that sort of level?

-Yes.

-Yes? Would you like a reserve on her?

Ooh, I think so, yes.

-You would, OK, so if we put on £100 reserve to protect her?

-Yes.

So we'll try her at the auction for that sort of level?

So, Jenny is going to sell her miniature as long as she gets at least £100.

Someone who is hoping to clean up at the auction room is John. He's showing Will three vesta cases.

These were once fashionable ways to carry around your matches

with the ability to strike them on the rough edge.

What I like about them is the sort of embossed decoration on them.

We've got a bit of tennis, a horse galloping there and a couple of other horses

riding out which tickles my fancy being from Newmarket, anything equine gets the nod from me.

They nearly all have a little suspension loop on them to perhaps go on your fob chain,

that sort of thing. So, John, are these pieces you've inherited or gone out and bought?

Two of them I bought, one of them I got in a job lot, so to speak, in the bottom of a box.

-OK.

-But they are really different from the rest of my collection

which is why I want to get rid of them.

So you have a collection of vesta cases, do you?

-Yes.

-All in silver?

-Yes, all silver.

-Very nice, and...

-All hallmarked.

-All hallmarked?

-All hallmarked.

And what sort of number does that run to?

-I've got somewhere between 20 and 25 all together.

-Very nice.

Now I've had a quick look and only one of these here is hallmarked...

it's this little fellow at the front here, isn't it, with the applied horse.

If we open him up, invariably the hallmarks are nearly always on this little rim on the inside

and here we've got the anchor for Birmingham, we've got a lion there as well which tells us that

it's sterling silver and then we've got a little date letter, "E",

1904, Edwardian period, little silver vesta with the striker there and then we move onto these others.

Here again the other with the two horses, I'll just pick that up, you can see here, rather nicely done,

two horses, looks to me like they're just riding out.

I don't think they're battling for the top notch in a race there

because the jockeys are looking a bit upright and I think it's just

out for a ride but looking again where we should see the hallmarks here

I can just see a mark there, "925",

which would suggest that it was probably continental, not English.

925 just tells us about the purity per thousand units of the silver,

925 parts out of 1,000 and then we've got this one here which is again another sport - tennis.

We've got a tennis player there at the net having a smash.

The decoration is perhaps just a little bit weak, it's not quite as crisp.

-Crisp.

-But again here, 925 Sterling, possibly American, sometimes they say with the sterling mark,

who knows.

And you're going to replace them, I hope, with more vestas

or are you going to move on to collecting something else, perhaps?

I have got quite a few other collections.

Have you? You're a serial collector! Tell me what else you collect?

-I am I'm afraid, yes. Whitefriars glass.

-Yes.

Modern first editions, books.

So if we do sell these for you and we get a bit of cash in your pocket,

which of your collections are you going to add to?

I don't know whether I shall get enough to invest in anything

so possibly it will just be enough for a meal out with my partner.

OK, you're in the right sort of ball park figure.

I'm glad you're not planning a round-the-world cruise on the proceeds.

Let's put them in, shall we say, what, 50 to 80, something like that?

-That would be fine.

-Yeah, would that be OK?

-Yes.

-Reserve them at 50?

Reserve at 50.

I think at that sort of money, a nice little starter collection hopefully for someone who

will follow in your footsteps and start a vesta collection.

So we've agreed on three lots to go off to auction so far.

The Victorian silver bowl and spoon owned by Liz which has been languishing for years in a cupboard,

Jenny's fabulous mini watercolour depicting a fancy Edwardian lady,

and three little vesta cases that don't fit in with the rest of John's collection.

We're selling our lots at Reeman Dansie in Colchester.

They have regular auctions throughout the year, ranging from

Victorian and Edwardian furniture and furnishings to specialist collectors' sales.

Sellers pay 15% commission plus VAT.

There are 1,200 lots here in this sale so auctioneer James Grinton has certainly got his work cut out.

£80 and are you all done?

First up is the silver bowl and spoon set that Liz brought in.

She was pleased to get the valuation of £100 to £150 but will it fetch more?

Unfortunately, Liz cannot be with us today but

we've got her mum, Mary and thank you for stepping into the breech.

-Can you remember this at all in the house?

-I can, yes.

It's beautifully presented, in great condition.

Yes, it's been sitting in the cupboard with the lid shut for years, so

-we don't need to see it, do we?

-I think this should do the top end.

Well, it's cracking quality like you say, isn't it, beautifully presented, it's in mint condition

and it's just a nice quality piece of silver so I think £100, it's got to be worth 100 to 150.

It's got the wow factor when you open the box and see the silver with that plush purple

and you sort of go, gosh, that looks expensive, doesn't it?

Well, let's find out.

Hopefully a few bidders in the room will feel the same so it's going under the hammer now.

Lot 257 is the Victorian silver circular sugar bowl

in its case there with the sifter.

Start me, at £100 start me, £100 I have, at £100. Do you want 10?

110. 120. 130. 140. 150. 160...

-Gosh, they love this!

-170. 180. 190.

-200. At £200 on my right now.

-Ooh!

-That's good.

-£200, are you all done?

Yeah, it's £200. Do you know, it looks like £200, doesn't it?

-it just looks expensive.

-Lovely.

-Very good result, very good.

-Very.

What do you think she will put the money towards?

-Who, Elizabeth?

-Yeah.

-She'll give it to the children.

-Will she?

-Yes!

-Bless her!

Thank you for stepping in. It was lovely to meet you.

Thank you very much, lovely. Thank you. Bye bye.

Well, done, and give her our best.

Aw, well it's always nice to get a kiss from a happy customer!

That was a good result... double what we'd hoped for.

Now we've got Jenny's miniature watercolour.

She won't let it go for anything less than £100.

Why are you selling this?

Well, it belonged to my father and I've never put it on the wall,

so when I knew you were at Clacton I thought I'll bring it along.

-You'll bring it along and show Elizabeth.

-Very wise!

-And were you happy with the valuation?

-Very happy.

-Hopefully we can get the top end.

-I'm hoping...

I think this is gorgeous. I think the quality of this young lady

sort of shouts out from the painting and I think she's in lovely condition.

Good skin pigment, it's the tones, everything's right.

-Absolutely.

-The brush, it's fantastic. That's what you get, painting on ivory.

-Absolutely!

-It's so smooth.

-A good example.

-And the fine art is doing well here.

-It is. I've had a very good run today.

-Some things are shooting up.

-Including other miniatures, so they have been seen by a specialist.

-Fingers crossed!

-Fingers crossed!

It's going under the hammer now, good luck, Jenny, this is it.

Number 674 is a good quality

late Victorian miniature on ivory, portrait of the lady.

I have two commissions with me and I start the bidding at 80.

-At 85, at £85...

-More, more.

-Now I need 5, 90.

At £85 bid, any advance at £85?

Any advance, ladies and gentlemen, no? No advance.

I'm sorry, that lot is unsold.

-That is terrible, I have to say.

-I don't mind.

-He said two commission bids. Both bids must have been £80 and left.

-Must have been.

-Yes. Never mind, it doesn't matter.

-Oh, well, it's going home.

-Yes.

-And do you know what? It's got to go on the wall now.

-It's going on the wall, definitely.

I'm going to get my husband to put it up when we get home.

There's no excuse because you've got to have wall space for something that big!

Yeah, definitely, yes, you're quite right.

Disappointing for Jenny but it's worth holding onto a little gem like that or selling it maybe again

in another auction room or maybe just deciding you CAN find a place in your home for it.

Next up is the three silver vesta cases owned by serial collector John.

Will they reach the reserve of £50?

It's a nice thing to collect because they're affordable, small, portable,

you can put them in your pocket, you don't have to have a van to load them up with

so it's a lovely little collection and I hope you're going to carry on collecting.

-I am, thank you, Paul.

-OK, and have you got your eye on any silver here? There's a lot.

No, I haven't bought anything yet, no.

Yet!

Hopefully someone in the room is going to buy your vesta cases. Here we go, this is it.

234 now is the Edwardian-style silver vesta

and two other vesta cases,

I have two commissions and I start the bidding with me at £90.

-Wow!

-At £90 with me now...

-That's good, isn't it? 95...

-I can't believe it!

At £90 with me. At 95, I'm out.

At £95. In the room now at £95.

Any advance? All done now at £95.

That was short and sweet, very quick, £95.

I'm really pleased, Paul.

There you go... back out buying some more!

Perhaps, perhaps!

I think it was a meal for two, wasn't it?

-It was.

-Is that what you're going to do?

-Yes, with wine!

-With wine!

Well, you can afford the wine now, brilliant!

That's a good result for John and maybe they'll form the basis of a new collection for someone else.

More from the auction room later but right now I'm heading further inland

where something is stirring in the Suffolk countryside.

There's always been a strong tradition of animal painting in the UK, particularly images

that capture the power and the beauty of prize livestock and that tradition is being kept alive today.

I've come to Bury St Edmunds to see a new exhibition of life-size champion bulls

painted by one of the country's best animal artists,

Mark Fairnington.

Gosh, do you know I feel slightly excited, slightly intimidated but I'm not nervous!

-I wouldn't want to be in a room with three bulls that size, would you?

-No.

Not even in a field with one bull that size, he is huge! What's his name?

His name is Tally, he's from a farm down in Kent.

Look at the muscle tone!

He reminds me of a sort of Mr Universe, a muscle-man standing on

a podium saying, "look at me, look how good I am!"

-Yes.

-Where did the inspiration come from for this because

these weren't really commissioned for an exhibition here, were they?

Well, I first saw bulls like these at the Castlewellan Show in Ireland.

and I was just amazed by the image of them, really, and what happens is that

hangs around in your mind for a few years before it becomes a painting.

These magnificent beasts used to be common sight in rural towns all across Britain.

Proud farmers brought them to weekly cattle markets for sale

or for exhibition. Now, though, it's rare

to get close to animals like these as the town centre markets have all but closed.

-If I have to choose a favourite it's got to be this chap.

-What's his name?

This is Turbo Tommy.

-Turbo Tommy!

-Yes, he's a prize-winning stock bull.

-He's looking at me, isn't it... you can see him looking at me.

-He's looking at you, yeah.

How do you go about painting these life-size?

When I go to the farms I would take about 50 or 60 photographs and that would be a shot of it,

the overall bull and then lots and lots and lots of detail shots and then I put those together

on a computer to make a kind of compilation and then that gets projected up onto the canvas.

I see, and once you've got the projection, you can then go around the outline.

And then all of these photographs are printed out so I'm working from ones that might be just a photograph

of a piece like that and they all come together to make the single image.

-You're a stickler for detail, aren't you?

-Well, detail is the main thing in the work.

How long does each one take you to do?

Each one takes about three months to paint.

So you've become a bit of an expert on bulls, you could tell what a good bull is now for breeding, could you?

I can tell what a good bull looks like,

which isn't quite the same thing!

But you particularly like this one, don't you?

Yes, I think it's because Tally is a bit of a star.

When I was photographing him, he seemed a bit nervous and I said to

the guys looking after him, "Is he nervous of me taking photographs?"

and he said "No, people come and photograph him all the time

"because he's quite well-known," so it's the glamour of him that I like!

Each bull is set on a vast white canvas, almost like a museum specimen.

This precise, almost scientific, style stems from Mark's earlier work.

Mark was resident artist at the Natural History Museum where his exhibition, Fabulous Beasts,

depicted specimens of birds, animals and insects as they appear in museum cases.

Again, such incredible detail.

It looks like something out of a sort of Georgian volume, you know,

sort of line drawing from the Natural History Museum in a way.

-Yes.

-Is that what you wanted to capture?

Well, certainly those kinds of illustrations have been an important influence on the work.

I mean, I wanted to make work that reflected the idea of collecting collections.

-The difference is that they would make an image of the insect as it was in its perfect state...

-Right.

..whereas mine reflect the damage and the things that have happened through the process of it being collected.

I feel sorry for these two for some unknown reason.

They look a little bit sad.

What I liked about these was the way the wings do look exactly like leaves.

-Yes, they do, don't they?

-They don't just look like a leaf, they look like a leaf

that's rotted in a particular way or that's been eaten by a particular fungus, you know.

The mimicry is actually astonishing.

Wasn't that just fabulous!

Contemporary art does come in all shapes and sizes but

this was definitely on the massive scale. If you get a chance to check his work out, please do because

it's contemporary art with a scientific twist and the attention to detail is just mind-blowing!

We're at the Princes Theatre in Clacton-on-Sea in Essex

and our team of valuers are led by Elizabeth Talbot and Will Axon.

They're dispensing pearls of wisdom to the queue of people

who have brought in their unwanted antiques for a valuation.

Boo!

And Elizabeth is assessing a pewter dish owned by Norman.

So tell me about your dish.

Where did it come from and what do you know about it?

Well, I bought it off an internet site about a year ago

-and it actually came from France.

-Oh, really?

It's an Archibald Knox piece for Liberty's

and it's all signed and dated and numbered underneath and I just think it's a lovely, simple but...

-But it appeals to you, does it?

-Well, it appeals to me, very much so.

-It's so simple but very functional.

-Yes, absolutely.

But the reason I'm selling it today is because my wife hated it from the moment I got it home.

-Does she do the dusting or just not like the pewter?

-She doesn't like the pewter, no.

-It's not to everybody's taste.

-She didn't approve at all.

-But it's lasted in the house a year?

It lasted a year. I've had it a year but I've finally conceded.

So are you a collector of Liberty's, or what?

What I do, I've retired now through ill-health and it gives me a hobby, really.

Yes. What we have here is a basket which I suppose had been used for sweet meats or biscuits I guess?

Too shallow for bread but it's a nice

table centrepiece made for Liberty's with the Tudric mark and the number.

They established their Tudric range in 1902 and of course, as you say,

they employed the wonderful skills of Archibald Knox to design some marvellous pieces

and I think he influenced a lot of other designers of his time.

Can you remember how much you paid? Is that a silly question a year on?

I really can't but I think it was about £40 or £50.

-Right. Do you hope that you'll make a profit, do you think you...

-Well, of course, yes!

It's difficult. I think the market is a little stickier than it was a couple of years ago

for the Tudric and I would have thought realistically somewhere between perhaps £60 and £80

would be attainable. So if you're happy at 60 to 80, we can give that a try.

Yes, yes, that will be lovely.

-Would you like a reserve on it?

-I paid about 50 quid, so...

-So if you put 50 on it...

-If you put £50 reserve.

-60 to 80 estimate and we'll see how they respond to it.

-Well, that sounds good to me.

So have you got your eye on something else?

-I've constantly got my eye on bits and pieces.

-But it will be well spent?

It will be well spent and it will be something again that I can bring to a "Flog It!", I'm sure.

Very good. Let's see how we do for you.

-Thank you very much.

-See you soon.

So Norman is happy with Elizabeth's valuations and will be selling his pewter dish at the auction room.

You know at a "Flog It!" valuation day, you'll always find something you've never seen before,

like an electric fire disguised as a yacht!

That's nice!

That's sort of kitsch '50s.

They always look good when you stand them in front of an open fireplace.

Something visual to look at.

Will has got two wrist watches to look at, brought in by Monica.

I don't suspect they're both yours?

-No, just the Omega lady's is mine.

-That was yours, was it?

-Yes.

-And then this is obviously a gent's wrist watch?

-Yes.

How have you come by this? Is this your husband's?

No, that was actually given to me by my father quite some years ago and he inherited it from his father.

-So your grandfather's watch?

-Yes, yes.

And he obviously wore it every day, it looks like.

Yes, yes.

Nice gentleman's gold case watch.

-Right.

-I've had the back off. Right. Had a quick look.

-OK.

-I was hoping it was going to tell me it was 18 carat.

-Right.

-It turns out it's 9 carat.

-Right.

Still nice, gold case, but not as valuable as if it had been 18 carat.

-You've got the nice plain dial, little subsidiary seconds dial, made by Longines.

-Right.

-Good make.

-Is that French?

-Good name. Swiss.

-Oh, right, OK.

-I suppose if it was your grandfather's, when's it going to date from?

-It's probably sort of 1930s, 1940s something like that?

-I would have said so, yes.

-We've got the seconds dial ticking away happily there, haven't we?

-Yes.

-So it's in working order.

-Yes.

It needs a bit of attention on the strap and so on, not the original strap.

You'd expect a gold clasp perhaps if it was the original strap.

-Oh, right, OK.

-I suspect it's been replaced and now over to the Omega which you say is yours.

-Yes.

-What was that, a gift perhaps?

-No, I bought that as an investment about 20-odd years ago.

An investment, interesting!

Who were you taking advice from, your financial adviser?

No, in actual fact my parents and the jeweller told me it was a good investment!

Did they?

Well, what did you pay for it back then?

-I think if I remember rightly about £325.

-And that was some time ago?

-Yes.

-The trouble with these watches is a lot of it is fashion.

-Yes.

It does go round in circles.

-Not a terribly wearable watch nowadays, fashion-wise.

-That's right. No.

-9 carat gold.

-I think you're looking at 150 to 250.

-OK.

I'm going to say £150 to £200 and I would suggest putting a reserve on that at the bottom figure,

but this one perhaps may be a bit more sentimental value.

-Yes.

-Now because there's a bit more sentimental value on that,

I'll stretch the value as much as I can.

-I'm going to say shall we put a value of 200 to 250 on it with a fixed reserve at £200.

-OK.

-Let's offer them as two lots.

-Right.

-Because I think they're going to appeal to different buyers.

-Right, OK.

-You've got the original box for the Omega.

-I have, yes.

-And all the documents.

-Yes.

-That helps it along.

-Right.

-Listen, I hope we do well for you and I'm confident we'll get them away.

-OK, thank you.

-No problem.

-We'll see you on the day.

-Thank you very much indeed, thank you.

-Thanks.

So Monica will take her two watches off to auction and hopefully come away with a tidy sum for the two.

Elizabeth has been asked to value a bargain bought by Donald 15 years ago.

It's the first paper knife I've ever seen on "Flog It!", Don.

-Really!

-But it's a very special paper knife or letter opener. What can you tell me about the story of it?

Well, the story is that about 15 years or so ago my other half and myself went to a jumble sale

and it just took my eye and I asked the person how much

and it was quite costly, it was 50p.

-50p!

-50p.

-OK.

It didn't break the bank, but...

But you liked it and bought it?

Yeah, yeah.

Has it been prized by you ever since and on display and...?

The only way I can put it is it's been prized but only in a drawer.

It's been in a drawer that whenever I've cleared it out, it's come out

then it's gone straight back in over the 15 years so apart from that, it's not really been anywhere.

So what was it about the item that drew your attention, then?

I think perhaps because all my life I've dealt with tools and things like this brass, copper and so on

and immediately I saw it, I thought it was in brass initially

or bronze, possibly, and I did like the look of it, as well, you know.

Well, it certainly strikes me as a quality piece, even if you don't like it,

because it is actually made of bronze, it represents Venus and Amour,

the little cupid on her shoulders and it dates from

the 1920s and probably about 1928 and it was designed by a French gentleman called Lucien Bazor

who was one of the leading French Art Deco artists of the period and from about 1930 he then went to work

for the French Mint and made a name for himself designing their coinage and medals and so on.

So you paid 50 pence for it, the grand sum of 50 pence.

-Rather costly!

-And that was 15 years ago.

-About 15 years ago.

-You know, you know, have you any idea

what it might be worth now?

-Not really.

-You've not researched it or seen anything like that, no?

-No, no.

-Value-wise in the current market I think that it has a fair chance of selling for

-sort of about £100 to £150 I would have thought.

-Really!

-Are you happy with that?

-Very happy.

And would you like a reserve on that to protect it?

Yes, and I'll leave it to your judgment as to what it should be.

Well, I think we should aim for the £100, I think we should put £100

-but ask the auctioneer to use his discretion if we got close within a bid.

-That sounds great.

-Excellent!

Well, in that case we shall take it to auction and see what we do.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you for bringing it in.

So we've got three more lots confirmed for auction.

The pewter dish Norman's wife would rather not have in the house,

two classic watches which Monica has no use for

and Donald's bronze paper knife which has got to be worth at least more than the 50p he paid for it!

The auction we're selling these lots in is a specialist fine art and antiques sale in Colchester.

All the lots are online to give them the best exposure to buyers

everywhere in the world,

So we're off with the Liberty dish which Norman's wife would happily see the back of!

Norman will be glad to settle for just £50.

This is quality, it's a great name, it belongs to Norman

and your wife doesn't like this so she's making you sell it?

-That's right, yes.

-It's such a small thing, it's beautiful.

-Well, I know.

-Why, doesn't it fit the house?

-Possibly not, no.

We've had it in the house for over a year and I've held out till now but it's time to go.

Held out till now!

Something's got to go...

Norman or the dish!

-That's about right.

-Well, we've got £60 to £80 on this, Elizabeth.

Yeah, a very fair price, I think.

It's not too exceptional although it is a good example of simplicity that Tudric do

so I've got my fingers crossed for just a gentle sale, really.

So moving along nicely, it's going under the hammer now.

Number 471 is the Liberty & Co. pewter dish,

£50 to start me, 50 for the Liberty here?

40, then, £40 to start me.

40 I have, at £40 now, 42, 44...

-Good.

-46, 48, 50.

At £50 over here now, at 50.

£50 bid, 55 anywhere?

-At £50 is bid...

-It's going...

-Are you all done?

-For the estimate.

Yes, he's gone £50.

Well, the wife will be happy! Indeed!

You can take her out for a meal with that, and celebrate!

-I shall probably spend the £50 here today, so...

-Will you?

-Yes.

Oh, gosh, it looks like Norman may be a compulsive collector.

Let's hope this time he'll find something her indoors really likes.

Next up it's Monica, she's selling her two classic watches.

We've put them in as two separate lots.

-Time's up for the watches.

-It seems like it.

-Two are going under the hammer.

-Yes.

-Why are you having a clear-out right now of watches?

Not really a clear-out but just time for them to go.

I have twin daughters who have gone off to senior school,

we've got some school trips looming, need a little bit of money.

-It costs money.

-It does when there's two!

-Love the man's watch.

I think that's so understated, something I could wear and I'm a big fan of leather straps.

-Right.

-I like that worn-in look.

-Right.

-And we've got 200 to 250 on this. Great make.

-Yes, Longines is a good name, very wearable. It should be a commercial watch.

-You could wear that.

Yes, I would, certainly.

-And anybody, any woman would love the Omega.

-Oh, thank you.

And that's a lovely watch, but why don't you wear it?

I just don't tend to wear so much gold.

More white gold and that sort of thing, I'm afraid, now rather than the 'gold' gold.

-First up is the man's watch.

-OK.

-Here we go, this is it.

Number 349 is a 1950s gentleman's 9 carat gold Longines wrist watch.

On there I have two commission with me and I'm starting at £200 with me.

At 200, 210, 220, 230, 240...

-Yes, and there's a phone bidder on this.

-Oh, right.

270, 280. At £280 with me now, at 290. 300.

At £300, at £300 with me now at 300.

At £300, are you all done?

Brilliant, good result, deserved that.

Monica has done well to get more

than the higher end of Will's valuation.

Now, will the lady's watch fare as well?

-Now the lady's watch.

-Lot 350 is a 1980s

9 carat gold Omega wrist watch.

I have 150 with me.

At 150 with me on the book now at 150. Do I hear 160 anywhere?

At £150 is bid, any advance?

All done now at £150.

Short and sweet but it's gone, 150.

-Yes, absolutely.

-That's not bad, that's a good total, £450.

-Thank you, yes, pleased with that, pleased that the men's went.

-Yes.

That was the saving grace, wasn't it?

-That bit more than we thought.

-Yes, because that had sentimental value.

-That's right.

But it just illustrates how we were saying, one was commercial, gent's wrist watch, classic,

-and the other a little bit dated, you know.

-Yes, yes.

-And that was reflected in the price, but I'm glad we got them away.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

So, Monica's lady's watch wasn't such a brilliant investment after all

but £450 is a good return for the two watches she never used.

Finally, it's Donald's 1920s bronze paper knife with an eye-catching handle...

Well, it caught my eye, anyway!

Elizabeth is aiming high with her valuation but Donald will happily settle for something close to £100.

-I like the image on the handle.

-It's rather nice.

-Is this why the wife's told you to sell it?

Well, I don't know. It's been tucked in the drawer for about 15 years.

-It should be on show, shouldn't it?

-It should really.

We've got a figure here, a nice figure, of £100 to £150.

A quality piece, Paul. I mean it's by a very well-recorded sculptor and designer so

-I've got high hopes that she'll be bought by a collector.

-It's different, isn't it?

-Very.

-Very, very different.

-A spot of quality.

50p in a jumble sale! Let's hope we get £150 plus.

This is classic recycling going on right now. Here we go.

Number 511 now is a good quality Art Deco bronze letter opener,

the one there, what will we say for it, 80? £80 to start me?

£80 to start me somewhere. 70, then.

70 I have down there now, at 70, at £70. 75, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95.

At £95, down here now at 95.

Do I see 100 anywhere?

At £95, are you all done?

Just!

-Under the wire.

-Just got it in.

-Not bad for a 50 pence jumble sale now!

-No, no. Very good.

-Fantastic, fantastic for 50p!

-And good on you for spotting it, as well.

-Thank you.

Oh, well, it didn't fulfil Elizabeth's ambitions but allowing auctioneer's discretion

on the reserve meant he could accept the £95 bid and Donald's paper knife gets away.

I love it when something like this happens, a speculative investment that 50 pence turns into

a magnificent £95 and it just goes to show,

you've got to keep your eyes peeled at jumble and car boot sales.