James Braxton v Catherine Southon - Auction Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

This is Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is,

the show that pitches

TV's best-loved antiques experts

against each other in an all-out

battle for profit.

Elementary, my dear dealers!

And gives you the insider's

view of the trade.

Each week, one pair of duelling dealers will face a different

daily challenge...

Catch me if you can!

The axe-man cometh.

..putting their reputations on the line...

Uh! Ready for battle.

..and giving you their top tips and savvy secrets

on how to make the most money from buying and selling.

Get in there!

Today, trading tiger James Braxton goes head-to-head with dealing

diamond Catherine Southon at an antiques auction.

Coming up - James feels the pressure.

I've yet to buy anything and I think Catherine's been

as busy as a bee out there.

I can feel this, like, hot flush going on, on me old head!

Catherine buys wild and wacky...

You may be wondering why and I am asking myself the same question.

-And Bingo's faced with a whopper...

-James, could you fillet this for me?

I don't think I can even lift it!

This is Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is!

Salutations, one and all.

Welcome to a historic event in the making.

A battle of bidding, bartering and banter, as two colossi of

the antiques world come face-to-face

in a clash of the south coast titans.

Our two gods of the gavel are swapping their day jobs

for a taste of life on the other side of the rostrum,

descending to the pits of the sale room.

First up, it's the Apollo of antiques himself,

a man whose knowledge is only bettered by his burning desire

for victory. God of bric-a-brac, it's...

After all, I've got to try and make a profit on this.

His rival leaves mere mortals lying in her wake.

She's the goddess of strategy and queen of the saleroom,

our own Athena of Kent, it's...

Buying is easy. Selling is quite another matter.

Today's prize-purchasing battle takes place at Tamlyns Auctions

in Bridgwater in Somerset, where our gods of the gavel will be

risking £1,000 of their own money,

all in the name of making the most profit for their chosen charities.

So, James Braxton and Catherine Southon,

bidding cards at the ready,

it's time to Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is!

-Hello, Catherine.

-James! Always a pleasure. How are you?

-Very well. How are you?

-Welcome to Bridgwater.

I know, the sun is shining.

-But it's a bit chilly, isn't it?

-It is a little bit nippy, yes.

-Raring to go for the auction?

-Raring to go. I've read the catalogue.

-And you?

-I've had a look.

-There's about 15 things I've got my eye on, so...

-15?!

-I know!

-That's pretty good, isn't it?

-That's very good, you've done your homework.

-Well, I don't know. Who knows? We'll see what happens.

-Yeah.

-And £1,000 to spend, James.

-£1,000!

-Impressive.

You could almost buy the sale for 1,000.

And have some left over for tea afterwards. Come on!

Well, there's certainly no time for tea now,

as the countdown to today's auction is under way.

It's a general sale with only 465 lots on offer and no estimates,

which means they'll need their best strategies to root out

the profit. But it seems Bingo is in his element!

There's a good lot of furniture - ceramics, decorative items.

But the good news is there's no internet bidding,

so whoever's here is my competition.

Or whoever's been at the view day and has left a commission bid.

So James is feeling pretty chipper. Canny Catherine,

on the other hand, is already worrying...

Looking around...I may struggle to spend three figures.

I hope that James is having the same problems as I am.

He looks like he's enjoying himself a bit too much for my liking.

Well, you know Bingo, he's always got a smile on his face!

# When you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you

# When you're laughing... #

As our polished professional surveys the saleroom,

he soon spots something that brings him to his knees - quite literally!

Sometimes you have to get down on your knees to find

all these little fellows. Now,

Ladybird books. I was brought up on these lovely little Ladybird books.

And they're just really nicely laid out books.

These are books with content. They're not all flim-flammy. And they often

had individual subject matters, people in history,

or natural history. Look, really well illustrated.

Just a really lovely book.

And you collected them, you spent your pocket money on them.

There's well over 100 here

and I think they would be definitely worth a punt.

Yes... Well, he may be the most dapper man in the business

but he's not afraid to crawl on the floor in the hunt for profit!

Across the saleroom, canny Catherine

is eyeing up a copper tray.

Looks sort of handmade.

Looks almost Newlyn style.

I like the fact that there is a sort of hammered quality to it.

On the back of it, it says, "The Birmingham Guild Ltd."

I just think it's got a real appeal to it.

And I would say that it looks Arts and Crafts.

So, Catherine marks her catalogue,

and across the saleroom,

her rival has spotted another potential profit maker.

But he needs to put it to the trademark Bingo Test.

The acid test of a chair, really,

is if it can bear my weight,

it can generally bear the weight of others.

This feels quite sound.

Let's give it a once over.

It's Edwardian.

This... Edwardians was the great housing boom,

1900, 1910.

A lot of those red brick terraces,

coastal towns were developed then,

and they needed furniture to fill them.

It's made of mahogany, with this boxwood stringing round here.

It all seems quite sound.

If I can buy it cheaply enough...

I want to buy if for about 40, 50 quid.

..I should be able to sell it for 100-150.

That's the spirit, Bingo.

But time's up for viewing now,

as the sale is about to get under way.

So, we'll go straight through,

starting at the back with Lot 1 in the cabinet.

Now, there's no internet at this auction and the saleroom is packed.

And it seems that suits Bingo just fine.

There's lots of people here.

So, you know, there is a world there without the internet.

Yes, he obviously likes to look his enemy in the eye.

So, our profit hunters are poised,

bidding cards are at the ready,

and it's canny Catherine who's first into the fray,

as a collection of silk scarves catches her eye.

-AUCTIONEER ANNOUNCES BIDS

-Not amazing,

but maybe worth a punt,

if they're cheap.

21 A, assorted silk scarves.

£5 anywhere for it, please? £5?

Five seated. Eight standing? Eight.

Catherine bids, but she's got competition.

Well done, keep going, sir.

And again? 12 in the middle at the back.

At £12, yeah. 15 it is. At £15.

Selling at £15.

We're on a roll now.

And that's buy one in the bag for team Southon at just

over £18 with commission.

Bingo feels he's missed a trick.

I didn't see them.

You see, it always pays to look at everything.

When you haven't seen something and your opponent buys it,

you immediately feel very suspicious and envious.

Well, you're not going to like this then, Bingo,

as Catherine's slipped another one past you

and is bidding on a box of buttons.

£4.

Winning them for just under £5 with commission.

Sewing is the new baking.

Forget cupcakes,

think pincushions.

And this little tin of buttons

will soon be a pot of gold.

How?

I don't know, but I'm going to have a lot of fun trying.

Turning buttons into gold?

Is she some sort of auction alchemist?

That's two buys in the bag for Catherine

and she's got her rival rattled.

I've yet to buy anything

and I think Catherine's been as busy as a bee up there.

Does that make me feel nervous?

Yeah, I can feel a slight hot flush going on, on me old head.

But there we are, stay calm.

Yes, that's good advice.

So, he keeps his nerve

and goes straight in on a bid for a collection of seaside postcards.

At £10, 12, fresh bidder.

At 12 it's going to be, all done at £12.

Not a lot of money,

I thought it was going to make 40 or 50 quid.

That shows you how little I know about postcards.

Well, he may not be a postcard pro,

but at £14.59,

Bingo is off the starting blocks.

But Catherine is well ahead,

as she bids on the copper tray she had her eye on.

Lot 63 A...

This is the copper tray.

Can I start this one away at £20? At £20.

Do I see two anywhere? Bid's with me at 20.

22, 25, 28, 30.

-32, 35...

-It's going up.

38. At 38, 40, away on my left.

42, 45, 48, 50.

5, fresh bidder.

-60,

-5... Oh, damn.

70, at 70. 75.

80, 85.

-This is so much.

-90, 95.

No. At 95, in the room here at 95.

I put 40 next to it, that's what I was going to spend.

95 it is, then. Are you all done? It's going to sell at £95.

It is nice. £95, plus commission.

I'll be lucky to make a good profit on that, but I just had to have it.

At over £115 with fees,

that's more than double what she hoped to pay.

And Catherine can't stop splashing the cash,

as she soon puts her hand in the air

for a mixed lot of telephone cards and coins.

£70.

Which takes a substantial £85.12 from her pocket.

So, why did she splash the cash?

I have gone way out of the traditional antique box here

and I have bought something from the 1980s,

I've bought a set of hopefully collectable phone cards.

It's a really good, comprehensive collection here, from the 1980s.

Some of these are very collectable.

It's just a matter of trying to find the right people.

In addition to these phone cards, we've also got...

..this box of coins.

Now, a little dickie bird has told me in the saleroom,

one of the other buyers,

that amongst these coins is a real treasure.

I don't know what it is,

but I'm going to find it

and I'm going to make myself lots of money.

Mm! So, Catherine gets a sneaky tip off!

With four lots to Bingo's one,

you might think she'd sit back and relax,

but oh, no, she's got her eye on a pair of wooden boxes.

At 28, 30.

All done? It sells at £30.

HAMMER STRIKES

She quickly seals the deal for just over £36 with fees.

Across the saleroom, Bingo's bidding card

looks like it might finally be back in action,

as a set of three framed tapestries have caught his eye.

At 28, it's going to be, then.

-HAMMER STRIKES

-28.

He quickly sews up the deal for just over £34.

This is after Lowry, the famous Salford, the Manchester artist.

Coming From The Mill, it's painted after, done in 1930.

This one is done considerably later. I rather like it.

I think it's got a great sense of humour

and I'm very pleased, £28.

It's a bargain.

So with our bidding buccaneers well under way,

let's take a look at who's spent what.

Our two experts each arrived with £1,000 of their own money.

James Bingo Braxton has had a slow start,

winning just two lots for less than £49,

leaving a whopping £951 still to spend.

Canny Catherine Southon has been a bidding whirlwind,

bagging herself five lots for just over £260,

leaving nearly £740 in her kitty.

Now, Bingo may have taken it easy so far,

but with wads of cash to spend, he's in prime purchasing position.

And it's his set of children's books up next,

but he's not the only one who's spotted them.

I saw on the floor a big box of these hardback books.

I used to have these when I was little.

And I think...

..I'm going to have a punt.

I know Catherine has got this marked.

So I had a sneaky look at her catalogue

and I see that she's also marked 186.

-CATHERINE WHISPERS

-James is going for it as well.

And these I start straight in, I've got £22. At 22.

Bidding card at the ready, Bingo bides his time.

30, 32.

No, 32. The bid's with me, then. 35. 38.

40, either of you?

£38, the bid's at 40. 42 still, 45...

And when Catherine thinks she's home and dry, he swoops in!

At £45.

James has got those.

So, James won the battle

and the books cost him just under £55 with fees.

I think I've paid the money for those.

And while Bingo wonders if he got carried away,

Catherine throws her bidding card in the air

for a pair of picnic baskets...

Are you all done? It's going to sell then at £30.

HAMMER STRIKES

..and wins them for just over £36 with fees.

These are my impulse buy.

I bought these literally on a whim at the time.

This is the best picnic set.

I would say it's probably 1970s.

I have got someone in mind for this.

This is retro, this is funky, this is now.

And I'm happy.

Well, if you're happy then we're happy!

She's not the only one making quick fire purchases, though,

as Bingo has just bought himself a mixed lot of barrels and jars

for just over £34.

A good under-the-table auction lot here.

I've got three sherry barrels here.

These are pretty useless.

All, sort of '60s, '70s, really out of fashion.

This one, make a garden seat out of it,

could've been a water filter, or maybe a bigger barrel.

These jars, very often used for cider or other liquors.

That one's a lead-glaze fellow,

but this is the star, the salt-glaze fellow,

it's got this orange peel glaze here

and we've got a Bristol maker here.

This will make a fabulous, rather splendid lamp.

Get rid of those, left with the three, big profits.

Up you get, old man!

So, with that he has four buys to Catherine's six.

But after hearing a mixed lot went unsold,

she quickly puts in an offer at the sales desk

and secures it for just £2.

But what did she buy?

You may be wondering why, and I am asking myself the same question.

But for £2, we have life jackets, we have some waders,

which I don't think have probably ever been used.

And we've got some other safety equipment.

£2, I paid for this. I'm going to sail away to sweet success.

Well, the life jacket is certainly making her feel buoyant!

That's £2.43 with fees,

and, with that, Catherine calls it a day.

She may be able to kick back and relax,

but, with just four buys in the bag,

Bingo's revving up for a grand finale,

or so he hopes!

This is a crucial stage,

because I've got the bulk of my items,

but I don't want to lose any and this is one of them.

Nice little trunk and I've got £15 on it here. At 15. Do I see 18 now?

18 and I've got 20 at the very back.

22, 25,

28.

-No, 28...

-Hurry up.

Hurry up. Get your card up quickly.

A good tip - when the bidding's finished,

and she's groping around for more bids,

try and find somebody else to take you up,

get your number up. That sort of focuses her.

Ah, a bit of inside knowledge from the squire of the saleroom!

So, once you add commission,

the trunk cost Bingo just over £34.

And he quickly bags himself

a pair of framed maps, as well.

Bid's in the middle at £15.

-Come on, get your number on!

-15 it is.

Map of Greece...

Do I know any Greeks?

I'm sure I do.

Well, the maps cost our Greek god just over £18

and, when he gives them a closer look,

they really get his pulse racing.

I bought these two maps. I've just taken them off the wall

and it confirms that this one of North Devon is rubbish.

But this one of Greece is better than expected.

First of all, when I picked it up,

I thought "Goodness, that's a good weight,"

and the reason why it's a good weight is it's got the plate glass

at the back, but the lovely thing about it,

just reinforces my opinion about it,

it's got this lovely ivorine plaque,

so it's a sort of plastic thing, carrying the name of the retailer.

Lovely item, beautifully framed and then here, in the corner,

circa 1676.

And that is old - Charles II.

I'm really pleased with this.

In fact, I'm very excited. £28 plus the bits,

I think I can add a nought to this.

Catherine, you'd better watch out!

Bingo's last-minute spending spree is coming up trumps!

And he has a final flourish when he wins that Edwardian chair

he spotted earlier, too.

It's going to sell then at 55.

Taking a final chunk of £66.88

out of his pocket. So that's it.

Our duo have stormed the saleroom, brandished their bidding cards,

and bagged themselves plenty of bargains,

but how do the figures stack up?

Our brave buyers arrived at the auction with £1,000

of their own money. James had a slow start,

but ended up with seven lots at a total cost of £256.58.

Catherine also bought seven lots,

but spent slightly more

at £299.13.

So what do they make of each other's efforts?

Catherine, how did you find it?

Interesting, different. But I'm very happy. What about you?

-You are very happy?

-Mm.

-Did you spend a lot of money?

-I didn't spend a huge amount, no.

I think my biggest purchase

was probably my Arts and Crafts copper tray

but I am happy with it.

Now, your first purchase, I noticed, was the scarves.

Why the scarves?

Well, I went for these purely because of the name.

I saw in the catalogue that there was a name that jumped out at me.

And now I have noticed that they came in this bag,

-which isn't an ordinary bag, James.

-Isn't it? What sort of bag is it?

-No, no, no, no.

-It looks nylon from here.

-It's a Prada bag.

-A Prada bag?

So we have designer scarves in a designer bag.

-Designer price, I feel coming on.

-That sounds very good. Well done, you.

And from the sublime to the ridiculous. What is with the life jackets?

Oh, James, I don't know.

They didn't sell and then stupidly,

I went and bought them for £2.00.

-£2.00.

-But they have got waders.

You must know something about fishing and wading.

-Have they got studs on the bottom?

-Yes.

-That's for rivers.

-It was impulsive but I am happy.

-£2.00.

That is, to me, is my childhood in a box.

-All those books, Ladybird books.

-I saw you bidding on that.

-I really wanted those.

-Why did you stop?

I stopped quite early on because I can't see big noughts...

Big profits.

I think you might struggle to make a big profit on them.

-Anyway, I think my top item is my map.

-Yes. I'm a bit jealous here.

-I wish I had seen those maps. The one of Greece is fabulous.

-Yes, it is.

-That's a couple of hundred pounds, I think.

-I think it is.

It is going to be a lot of work, a real lot of work here but, er...

-Anyway, good luck.

-Yes. Good luck, James.

So our twosome leave the saleroom behind and head home.

Now they take on the challenge

of finding buyers for all that auction booty.

And it all comes down to profit,

so they need to pull out all the stops to make the very best sales.

At Bingo's pad in East Sussex,

he's pondering his wares.

Well, it was a funny day at the auction.

On initial inspection, there didn't seem to be a lot there.

It was a general sale.

But the more I started bidding,

the more I quite liked it.

Barrels. People like these big, decorative barrels.

What would they suit? Maybe, possibly a pub. Ladybird books.

I've got a lot of books here but I am still unsure who to sell it to.

Postcards. Who will I sell that to?

There is quite a rare picture of Brighton fish market

and what better place to sell it to

than Brighton's oldest fish restaurant?

Lowry. I will reframe that

and it will look so much better. And then the map.

One map, pretty ordinary.

But the other, the Greek islands, is a lovely map. I am going to get that

in the hands of the end buyer, ie, a private collector.

Bingo also needs to sell his Edwardian chair and leather trunk.

Over in Kent,

Catherine's enthusiasm for her purchases appears to have subsided.

Now I am back and looking at the items I bought at auction,

I can't say that I'm overjoyed, because it is a bit of a mishmash.

My first disappointment is these phonecards.

I've done some research.

Apparently, the worst thing that you could have collected

over the past 20 years is phonecards.

I don't know who I'm going to sell these to.

That's going to be struggle number one.

But the phonecards did come with this box of coins

and apparently in that box of coins

there is something which is rather special.

But I have yet to find it.

The buttons, I thought perhaps I could try

and contact somebody who does do some needlework and, you know,

really make something upcycle items.

Probably one of the best buys, I think,

of the whole collection is the Arts and Crafts tray.

I think it might be difficult to try and get a big profit on it.

I don't think people are going to get really excited about it

but I think it is probably one of the better items that I bought.

These waders are by a well-known maker and if you were to buy them

new, retail, you're looking at about £25-£30, apparently.

So I think they will definitely give a profit.

Nevertheless, there is some success here.

I've just got to find it.

She also needs to sell her picnic baskets, wooden boxes,

and collection of scarves.

So now our selling supremos need to track down the best buyers,

and haggle hard for top prices.

Any profits will go to their chosen charities, and remember,

until they've shaken on it, no deal is ever sealed.

Catherine has hit the ground running

and has headed north of London in search of her first buyer.

I'm in Hertfordshire and I've come to see Mark,

who's got one of the biggest collections in the world

of phonecards.

I sent him photos of the ones that I have got

and he is a little bit sceptical.

But I am hopeful that in here

is the one phonecard that he hasn't got in his collection!

Catherine bought the cards

along with a box of coins for just over £85.

Oh, wow - this, this is the collection already.

-I've got a few out to show you, yes.

-Is this the entire collection?

-No, I have got about 80,000 cards, mostly up in the loft.

-Well, here we are.

Straight away, the thing that I am seeing is that

all of yours aren't sort of advertising ones.

-A lot of these are advertising.

-Yes.

The earlier cards mainly don't have logos.

From the very early '80s.

Most of the normal cards were fairly widely available.

It is getting the sort of older, rarer cards.

I'm still hoping to find one of those in the collection.

I will say, though, that I'm quite excited by that card.

I knew you would be. You haven't got that one, have you?

I am quite excited by that card. That is one of the rarer cards.

-I knew you would be.

-There are obviously quite a lot there.

-Certainly, maybe we can do a deal.

-Can we? Lovely.

-What sort of figure are we talking?

-£20, £25?

-£20, £25.

-Tell you what - 30 would be lovely. Can you do 30?

-I will do 30.

Will you do 30? That is wonderful.

So that's £30 in the bank,

which is less than half of what she paid for the lot,

so until she finds a buyer for the coins,

her profit is up in the air.

Meanwhile, Bingo has hit the road too,

and decided that for his auction items,

he's going to do a grand tour of the south coast!

First up, he's in Horsham, East Sussex, to get his Lowry tapestry

reframed before selling it.

But he's hoping to kill two birds with one stone.

I've come to a local framer to see David.

I'm hoping he can transform my Lowry tapestry panel.

I think it needs a black frame, and who knows,

if it looks really good, they might even buy it.

James paid £34 for the Lowry, along with the two other tapestries.

Hello, David. You're keeping a very tidy place.

Well, we like to keep neat.

-Now, David, this is the thing I spoke about on the phone.

-OK.

But I thought, as I said to you,

I think it's been killed by the frame.

I would agree with that, yes.

I was sort of thinking that I might go for a black frame.

Black would certainly fit that bill.

-David, how much will it cost for that mount and frame?

-£25.

-Get on with it, David, then.

-OK.

-Thank you.

So Bingo got a good deal on the framing,

but will he manage to put the second part of his plan into action

and convince David to purchase his picture?

-Hello there.

-David, oh! Surprised! I am ready. Surely.

That is superb, isn't it? Look at that! That is transformed, isn't it?

-It certainly is, yes.

-What do you think of it?

I think it's a great improvement. Really sets it off well.

-Is it something you would buy, David?

-We may well consider it.

If I said to you, David, you could buy that for £100,

would you be grabbing my hand?

I think I would like that on my wall for £100.

David, you've got yourself a deal!

Smoothly done, Bingo -

after the framing costs, he gets £75 for the Lowry,

and then sells the other two tapestries

to an antiques dealer in Lewes for £10,

taking £85 overall and netting a profit of £50.95 on the lot.

And sticking on the coast, he sells his Edwardian chair to George,

a dealer in Eastbourne, for £110, topping up his profit pot

by £43.12.

Next up, Catherine heads to South London for her second sale.

She's hoping to press the right button with Inma,

a Battersea-based craft teacher.

Inma, hi. Catherine. Lovely to meet you!

Hi, Catherine.

-This is a super place you've got here.

-Thank you.

I don't know, I feel very creative as soon as I walk in!

-I'm getting inspired already.

-Thank you.

-Right.

-I have brought here a tin of buttons.

-Lovely tin.

So is this something that you'd be interested in purchasing?

Yes, I would be. I think the tin looks fantastic

and it has got really nice buttons inside.

I think we would be interested.

-There are some nice buttons.

-They are, yes.

What sort of value are we talking?

-I think it will range between £12-£14.

-I mean, 15 would be lovely.

-Is that too much for you?

-I will say 14.

-14? I'm happy with that.

-£14.

-Brilliant.

So that's £9.14 profit, and our expert's triumphant.

I don't think you were too impressed with those buttons, James.

But I have almost tripled my money. Who's laughing now, Bingo?

Mm! Fighting talk from canny Catherine!

And she's on a bit of a roll

when she also finds a buyer for her pair of picnic baskets,

selling them to an antiques dealer who runs a cafe in West Sussex...

-OK.

-Yeah? Happy with that?

-Shake on 55.

-Thank you so much!

..banking a tidy profit of £18.52.

So Catherine now has three sales under her belt,

but Bingo's never far behind.

And he's back on the coast in search of his next buyer.

I'm just outside Brighton with my little clutch of postcards.

One of which is rather special. It is of the fish market in Brighton.

I am about to see a man who I have bought fish from for many years,

who, had he been around in 1900,

would no doubt have been here.

Bingo bought the cards for just under £15,

but before he meets his favourite fishmonger,

he needs to dress for business.

Lovely hairnet, James!

-Hello, Michael. How are you?

-Very well. And yourself?

-Very good.

What are you tucking into there?

I am just putting some scallops on the half-shell

for an order that has got to go out later on today.

Now, here is the little collection of postcards.

-Brighton fish market.

-This is the one. Isn't that amazing?

-So that was the West Pier, wasn't it?

-That was, yes.

The rest of the cards you might as well, really,

put a stamp on and use them. They have absolutely no value.

-They're very generic. What would be a fair price? £35?

-£25?

-No, I would like £35.

-Say we meet in the middle at £30, then.

£30. I am very happy with that.

So that's a very tasty profit of £15.41.

But Bingo doesn't get off that lightly.

James, you couldn't give me a hand with this order?

-Of course I can, Michael. Make the most of me.

-OK.

-Can you start scaling and gutting the sea bass for me?

-Scaling.

-I'll have a go. I am a fisherman, you know.

-You get 7/10.

Right, James, you seem to have coped quite well there.

-I will go and get you a bit more to get on with.

-OK.

Bingo may be happy tackling the tiddler,

but there's something else in the water.

MUSIC: THEME FROM "JAWS"

James, could you just fillet this for me?

Blimey! I don't think I could even lift it!

Maybe it's time to head back to the world of antiques, eh, Bingo!

Now while he changes out of that hairnet,

Catherine has been hard at work.

She's headed to Hungerford

and sold her pair of wooden boxes to dealer Rita for £55,

topping up her profit pot by £18.52,

and then heads next door

to meet specialist dealer Pete with her box of coins.

-Had a good rummage?

-I did.

Are there any gems in there, first, because I... One gem?

That one.

That's German, three marks,

and it's aluminium but it's in quite good condition.

-And my offer, just on that one, would be £15.

-Oh, really? Is that all?

£15, just on that?

-So what is the offer for everything?

-£48.

-Oh, really? £48.

-Yes.

Well, that's fair.

Oh, dear - not a great outcome there.

When she adds in the £30 for the telephone cards,

Catherine's made a loss of £7.12 on the entire lot.

Well, not quite the result I was hoping for but you win some,

you lose some.

Well, whilst Catherine heads home to formulate her next

plan of attack, let's take a look at the scores so far.

James has sold three of his auction buys,

and his profits stand at £109.48.

Catherine has found buyers for five of her lots,

but taking her loss into account,

she's only made a profit of £39.06.

So James is making headway in this selling frenzy,

but it's Catherine who wades into the next sale.

She's meeting

ex-employee and keen fisherman Peter in Nuthurst in West Sussex.

She's hoping to shift her lot of wet weather gear

but as her life vests aren't up to safety spec,

she's decided not to sell them,

so has to make over £2.43 on the waders to make a profit.

-Hi, Peter.

-Hello, m'dear.

-How are you?

-Fine.

You haven't got any wellies on. Where are your fisherman's wellies?

-Oh!

-And for that I have brought you these. What do you think?

-They're very good.

-What are you after? £25?

-20.

Go on, then. £20. And I expect you to catch something.

-On one condition.

-What?

-You put them on and test that there are no leaks.

I think...no, come on, I think £25, if I go in there.

That's fair - come on, Peter.

-All right.

-Yeah.

If they've got a hole in, I'm going to cry.

The profit is tantalisingly close -

the boots just need to pass the test.

-Pete, I've got some bad news.

-What's that?

I think this one's got a hole in it.

-Look at that.

-Uh...oh, yeah.

How do you repair something like that?

Put a bit of rubber along, like a puncture repair kit.

-Dip your foot in and see if you feel water coming in.

-Right.

-Can you feel any water coming in?

-Oh!

Give it a little while. SHE GROANS

-Right, we'll see.

-Right...well, confession.

I think a little bit seeped in.

What's the discount?

SHE SIGHS

-15?

-Well, as I did go in - go on, then, 15.

-15, OK.

-15?

-15.

£15 for a pair of leaky boots?!

Maybe Peter took pity on her.

Either way, she makes a £12.57 profit.

Just goes to show - you should try before you buy.

But I made a profit - that's pretty good for me!

So whilst Catherine goes home to change her socks,

Bingo is still on his south coast adventure -

this time heading to Weymouth with his mixed lot of barrels.

He heads straight to the oldest pub in town

and manages to sell one of them to landlord Kevin.

-I'll give you £35 for that one.

-£35 for that one.

-Yeah.

You've gone and got yourself a deal. I'll take the other ones away, Kevin.

He had thought about turning the salt-glazed jar into a lamp,

but instead decides against it

and sells it with the rest of the collection

to two separate dealers in Weymouth and Southsea

for a total of £60, taking his profit on the lot

to an impressive £60.95.

And his coastal adventure doesn't end there,

as he heads further west with his map of Greece.

I've trundled along the Devon coast

to see artist Peter, who's spent a little time in Greece

and I hope this map may navigate me to profit!

James bought the Greek map, along with one of Somerset,

for just over £18.

-Hello.

-I see the master at work.

Well, not master, but working.

JAMES LAUGHS

Now, this is the map,

which I'm sure you know considerably more about than I do.

Ah, yes - well, we lived a long time in Greece, as you probably know.

And it's a very interesting map if you know Greece well,

because it's actually moderately inaccurate.

-JAMES LAUGHS

-How old is it?

Well, it's early - they think about...

It's late 1600s.

-Interestingly, if we look at the back as well...

-Yes?

..you can see the sort of title page, the description of Greece,

and I'm sure this will have an enormous amount of inaccuracies.

-Say...circa 1676.

-Yes.

I'm very happy to take a fair offer. What is your offer for it?

Well, I'll try an offer on you. I'll try £55.

I am very happy for you to have it at £55.

Good - well, that pleases me very much.

Well, that was quick!

And Bingo sells the other map for £15

to a gallery in Dorset,

so banks a tidy profit

of £51.76 on the pair.

James is streaking ahead

but in Kent, Catherine is on the hunt for a buyer

for her most expensive item -

the copper tray that cost her a whopping £115.

She's hoping Arts and Crafts specialist John

will take a shine to it.

-Hello, John, lovely to see you!

-Hello, Catherine.

I've brought you an Arts and Crafts tray.

-OK, so...

-It's Birmingham Guild, it's stamped on the back.

I'm guessing this is late 19th, early 20th century.

Yes, that's what I'd expect it to be. Um...

And this is all handmade, isn't it?

Yeah, that it is the great thing about the Arts and Crafts period -

as you know, it's all about being handmade.

But, yeah, no, that's straight-up Arts and Crafts, Birmingham Guild.

Before we get to the crunch, I did purchase this at auction.

-And I did have to battle a little bit to get it.

-OK.

Well, I'm thinking in the region of around...150, 160.

I was hoping for a bit more, John.

Would 200 be too much?

I understand you asking for that...

How about 185?

-OK - 185.

-Is that all right?

-That's good.

It's a massive sale for our diamond dealer

and banks her a very shiny profit of £69.48,

more than doubling her total so far.

And she crosses the finishing line

when she sells her scarves and handbag to a shop in Kent,

bagging herself a final profit

of £31.76.

Meanwhile, Bingo's been retracing his steps along the south coast

and has sold his cube-shaped trunk

to an antiques dealer near Portsmouth for £40,

making him a modest profit of £5.95.

Now, with one item left to sell,

he ends his grand tour of the south coast back on home turf.

I'm here on an East Sussex farm, not to see a farmer, but to see Nick,

who runs a nursery school.

What better place to sell these books than a place that has story time?

Well, the books cost Bingo nearly £55,

so let's hope there's a happy ending!

Nick, what valuable tome are you reading there?

-I'm reading all about Sir Walter Raleigh.

-Really?

-Yes, yes.

-My vast array of Ladybird books.

The lovely thing about Ladybird books is they were very well illustrated.

-Yes.

-I liked them and reading...key to learning, is it?

It is the key learning, isn't it? For everybody.

And at this age, they are really interested in books.

Nutty business - price. Now, how do you value learning?

-I want to try and get about 55p a book.

-How about...

..£45 for the lot?

I tell you want, 55, and you've got yourself a deal.

Why don't we split it in the middle, then? 50.

Go on, put it there - 50. Thank you very much indeed

and I hope you put them to good use.

We will indeed.

They may have found a good home,

but that sale makes a loss

of £4.72.

But, as Bingo said, you can't put a price on learning.

Now children, are you sitting comfortably?

Hello - I've got the most fabulous story for you!

I've got Piggly Wiggly Plays Truant.

And I know children love hearing about naughty children, don't they?

"Lazy little Piggly Wiggly often stayed in bed to snore

"after Mother Pig had called him, for he always snored before.

"Piggly washed and gobbled breakfast, packed his school books in a rush.

"Hurried round in getting ready, never gave his clothes a brush."

I think you've found yourself a new fan base there, Bingo!

And with that tall tale, our selling story is over

and it's nearly time to reveal who'll be walking away

with today's Put Your Money crown.

But first, let's remind ourselves of what they spent at auction.

Our duo took £1,000 each

to the Somerset saleroom.

James bought seven lots

and, including the new frame for the Lowry,

spent £281.58.

Catherine also bought seven lots

and forked out just slightly more,

at £299.13.

But of course, it all comes down to profit.

All the money James and Catherine have made from today's challenge

will go to charities of their choice.

So now it's finally time to find out

who is today's Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is champion!

-Hi, James. How are you?

-Hi, Catherine, how are you?

Good to see you. You well?

-Auction.

-How did you do?

Well, I have to say, tricky in many ways -

tricky because even at the auction,

I couldn't find anything I really, really wanted to buy.

I bought one thing that I loved, which was that copper tray.

-That was all right.

-Did that do well?

That wasn't bad. Everything else was patchy.

What about you?

I had that Lowry

and I transformed it with a new frame.

-It did look good.

-Good for you.

So, that did well.

The map! The map - I was jealous of the map.

Yeah, the map did all right.

-Well, shall we see?

-Shall we see?

-Moment of truth.

-One...two...three...

Oh, James! Well done! You did really well in the end.

That's not bad, is it?

-Champagne on me!

-I think that sounds good.

-This way.

So it's a resounding victory for Bingo,

with over £70 in it.

I knew I'd done quite well at the auction,

and so did Catherine do quite well,

but in the end, I had it and, you know...winning is the key.

Well, there we have it. Well done, James.

Not too bad a difference there, but you just pipped me to the post.

So...congratulations.

But Catherine gets another chance

to knock her opponent off the top spot tomorrow,

when our duo go into battle at an antiques fair in Sussex.

Everywhere I go, there's opportunity after opportunity.