John Cameron v Philip Serrell - Auction Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

This is Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is,

the show that takes the titans of the antiques trade...

and pitches them against each other...

to see who can make the most money from buying and selling.

That's amazing, truly amazing.

Today, veteran bruiser, Phil Serrell takes on

man-of-the-people, John Cameron, in an all-out battle for profit,

giving you the inside view on the secrets of the trade.

Coming up, our master auctioneers reveal their secrets...

An auctioneer's skill is to try and create

as much excitement as possible so that he gets almost a fever pitch

bidding war going on in there.

..how to pace yourself when buying under the hammer...

You've got to take a gamble whether to wait for the things you really want

or buy the things coming under the hammer and selling cheaply.

..and why you should never be fooled by an ear-to-ear grin.

Look at the smile on his face. Try again, Thomas.

175.

There's nothing wrong with my hearing, mate!

Yes, this is Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.

We've two raging bulls in the ring today,

the warrior from Worcester...

and the Prince of Portsmouth...

It'll be auction house action all the way as they get their gavel on

buying and selling antiques for profit.

Both our experts are masters of the auction house

so it's a full-on clash of the titans.

It's Worcester's feisty Fox...

Ooh!

..versus Portsmouth's favourite well-honed Hammer.

They used to call me Rembrandt - I was always on the canvas.

Today, our prize fighters are at the Norcote Sale Rooms auction

in Cirencester and they're on a mission to weed out hidden gems

they can sell on for the highest possible price.

They each have £1,000 of their own money to spend

and all the profit goes to their chosen charities.

But only one man will lift the trophy.

Phil Serrell and John Cameron,

it's time to put your money where your mouth is.

We're in Cirencester.

-This is almost like a home fixture for you, isn't it?

-Mm!

I thought about coming down yesterday but that would've been cheating.

I know they call you the Fox so I wouldn't put it past you. Anyway, have you got a strategy today?

Well, there's never a plan in my life.

I'd like to try and buy with an end user in mind, but it never works out.

-You?

-Well, similar strategy, but once bitten, twice shy with that one.

I've had people let me down in the past so I'm going to keep my eye out for a few bargains today.

-Good luck.

-Good luck to you, too.

Our auction house heavyweights are circling each other warily

because this is no friendly sparring session, this is the big match.

The bidding starts soon so the boys need to rifle through as many items

as they can to wheedle out those profit busters.

The problem is, we've got limited time.

I need to have a quick look because the auction's going to start

and everyone else here's looking, too. Some of the items I mark I may not get.

The pressure here is palpable.

The Fox, working his way through the catalogue, like a machine.

The Hammer using his laser beam focus

to size up the profitable lots.

MUSIC: James Bond Theme

But what's this? The Fox is lining up his first target.

I was such a huge James Bond fan and this is his Aston Martin DB5...

..out of the film Goldfinger and if you look,

just in there, there's a little man

and if I press that, the roof comes open.

There he is and that just adds value.

That, together with the fact we've got our original box.

It's a cool thing this, I like it lot. Do you know what DB stands for?

It's David Brown, the tractor maker,

so if you're buying an Aston Martin, you really buying an old tractor.

Yes, I'm not quite sure about that, Phil.

# Goldfinger... #

They call him the Fox, Philip the Fox,

licence to deal.

And after more rummaging,

Phil's pal from Portsmouth has found a friend that reminds him of home.

This is an interesting piece, it's made by Royal Crown Derby,

a very famous porcelain manufacturer.

But it looks to me like Oliver Twist.

If I can get that at a reasonable price,

down in Portsmouth where Charles Dickens was born,

-I may well find a buyer for it.

-Always the man with a plan.

The first bell is getting ever closer

and our two dealing heavy weights are circling the ring

like caged beasts, sizing each other up for strengths and weaknesses.

-It's tough, this.

-Yeah.

-Have you got many lots marked?

A couple. Not many that I really want, but I don't know,

I think I may well do some impulsive buying once the auction starts.

-I've got 25 lots marked.

-Have you?

-But I don't have... There's nothing I...

-You desperately want.

-No, it's all out of price stuff, isn't it?

-The auction's about to start.

-Why are you called the Hammer?

-It's to do with the gavel.

-John "the Gavel" Cameron.

Nothing to do with my early Boxing days, but...

-Did you used to box?

-A little bit as a kid, but...

We've got to be careful here! Oh, my life.

But don't worry, they used to call me Rembrandt - I was always on the canvas.

Two masters in their field - the battle-hardened veteran

and the determined challenger.

Between them, years of training, but just one goal -

total and uncompromising victory.

As the first round of this epic battle draws nearer, the nerves are starting to show.

Philip asked me if I've identified any lots and I won't give too much away

because they don't want him running me up once the auction starts.

They don't call him the Fox for nothing.

Don't they ever drop me in it? I've got a boxer. He'll kill me if I beat him.

The gloves are off, those years of training

and dedication as auctioneers all come down to this -

this is the moment our brave boys must step into the ring

and prove themselves.

The Hammer's mind is racing.

You've got to take a gamble whether to wait for the things you really want

or buy the things that are coming under the hammer and selling cheaply.

But what of the Fox?

The veteran of the auction house has left the arena!

An auctioneer's skill is to try to create as much excitement as possible

so that he gets almost a fever pitch bidding war going on in there.

I will leave old John "the Hammer" Cameron in there

to get caught up in the hubbub of it all.

What incredible confidence!

The Fox isn't even in the room for the start of the auction.

He's biding his time, waiting to strike,

leaving the early pickings to his opponent.

The Hammer's taking full advantage.

He's got his eye on a pair of character jugs.

30, 20 anywhere? 20s bid.

Any advance on 20?

22, 25, 28, 30.

At £30.

In front at £30. Any advance?

At 30, 32... 35,

38, 40.

At 40, at £40 on my far left.

Out of the running at £40 we sell. At 40...

I nearly had those for 30 quid,

but somebody jumped in at the last minute.

£40 plus the commission. I should be able to make a little bit of profit out of those.

With his opponent nowhere to be seen, the Hammer strikes.

He's bagged the first purchase of the day,

two character jugs totalling just over £47, including fees,

and he's delighted.

These two little beauties I bought for 40 quid,

two Royal Doulton character jugs.

Terribly out of fashion these days, but I like them

because of the subject matter.

This one here, the Lobster Man,

and this one is titled the Antique Dealer.

I've got to be able to sell that.

Time will tell, Mr C.

The auction room is hotting up, but the Fox is still sat out,

his brain of powering his way through complex bidding calculations.

If you go to an auction room,

you'll see people mark their catalogue with different hieroglyphics

because you don't want anybody else to see what you're prepared to bid for something.

When I first started, my first boss, this was his code.

So, £20 was UD.

You get to know your own code. I've got mine.

You can count in it and add in it

and you can subtract in it. But it's just...

it gives you a bit of comfort.

If somebody is looking over your shoulder, like Cameron.

Ah! The old fox is pulling on his ingenious coming to prepare meticulously for the auction.

But clever Cameron is right up front lining up his next victim,

the Oliver Twist figure.

110, 120, 130.

At 130, seated.

Any advance? At £130, last chance at 130...

No, I'm not going to get in there.

John loses out on the figure, but what's this?

The gargantuan guru of the gavel enters the ring.

He's got items marked up on his catalogue

and he's positioning himself for the kill.

I'm just keeping my eye on John Cameron to make sure

he's not going to ruin my party by bidding on them.

-He wouldn't do that, would he?

-Don't put anything past the Hammer.

I've got some clocks coming up now.

I have a buyer in mind for one of these.

There are four in a row and usually at auction,

they make nothing - £40, £50.

However, you can bet your life today

because I'm interested they're going to make good money.

I bet Philip will be over there saying, "What the devil is he bidding on now?"

Cameron the clock, that was clock, I said.

30, 35, 40...

At £45 on my left. At £45.

Any advance? At £40.

I'm selling at 40.

-He's laughing at me over there.

-Yep, pretty much.

The Fox clearly reckons the slate clock is a dud,

but the Hammer thinks he knows better.

He's bagged it for just over £47,

including costs.

But has he made the right move?

Typical Victorian, classical temple form, solid slate,

really, really heavy.

This one doesn't have a French or German movement,

it has an American movement,

the Ansonia clock and watch company. It's nice to see that.

But other than that, it's in pretty good condition.

I should be able to make a profit out of it,

I do have a buyer in mind and I'm going to give him plenty of information

to convince him that this is the clock for his collection.

The Hammer is piling on the pressure,

-but the Fox is still struggling to find anything he wants.

-I've got to start to buy a few lots,

so I might just on impulse stick my hand up in a minute.

Then finally, Phil's first opportunity to deliver John

a serious body blow.

A toy pedal car is about to come under the hammer -

Foxy likes the look of it.

I'm starting at £65 to clear.

At 65, I'll take 70, five, 80, 85,

90 and I'm out, at £90 on my right-hand side.

-Not sure why I did that, but never mind.

-At £90 and selling at 90...

Well, we bought something.

That's a load of money, isn't it? I can't even get in it!

At last, Phil Serrell is in the ring.

He spent just over £106 including costs.

The toy car is am impulse buy, but could it pay off?

It's actually a brand-new pedal car.

But it's quite well made.

You've got... You can see here we've got the pedals...

It's in the style of a 1930s sports car

and I'm thinking that with some of the people

in the car world that I know, I could sell it and it might just

dress a garage, or perhaps sell it to a sports car club, even.

In the auction room,

John is knuckling down, sniffing out his next item.

Next coming up is a little 19th-century cast-iron fire basket

with some bits - a cobbler's last in there, too.

I know somebody that's just opened a shop selling fire surrounds, etc,

so I might be able to sell him this.

At 30, any advance at 30? I'll take two now.

32, 35, 38, 40,

42 and I'm out. £42 and selling, at 42.

257. Thank you.

The Hammer's bought a cast-iron fire basket,

a boot last and two iron door stops for just under £50, including costs.

He's got a buyer in mind, but will this job lot be of interest?

I think I'll get some blacking on that, it'll bring it up beautifully.

Got some door wedges here and a couple of door stops, look at that.

The opposition should be quaking in his boots.

But not the Fox. This auction house veteran knows it's still early in the game

and he's quite content to sit back and observe.

What I am learning is that John "the Hammer" Cameron

has very eclectic taste.

It's sort of like a scattergun approach.

Our two auction house heavyweights are going toe-to-toe

with two sets of tactics.

They both weighed in this morning at £1,000.

John came out swinging from the get-go.

He's bagged three items and spent a total of just under £144.

This means he still has just over £856 left in the kitty.

Phil, on the other hand, is bobbing and weaving, waiting to strike.

He's splashed out on just one item, totalling just over £106,

which leaves him just under £894 to play with.

This mighty battle rages on.

Phil's model James Bond car is up next.

And the Fox has got a licence to bid.

£55 on the book here, 55.

I'll take 60 now, at 55.

60, five, 70, five, at £80 on my right-hand side.

At £80. In front at £80 and selling, at 80.

I'm quite pleased with that - £80 for an Aston Martin DB5?

They normally make a quarter of a million. Well done!

Round two starts with an almighty blow from the Fox,

bagging the model car for just over £94.

But the Hammer's still thumping through this auction

like an antiques Mike Tyson.

He's just bought a Paddington Bear tea set and jigsaw puzzle

and a Corgi model of the Queen's Silver Jubilee coach

for just under £18, including costs.

Our dealers are now slugging it out toe-to-toe.

The Fox has spotted his next target -

a silver cream jug and sugar sifter.

Who will start me at 100? 100 I'm bid there,

100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150,

160, 170. At 170, on my right now, 180 now, then.

At 170.

It's an expensive lot, that.

But what I'm conscious of doing, having bought the two cars,

I do want to just try and spread my risk a bit.

The Fox is starting to land some blows.

That's his third buy of the day,

but the jug and sugar sifter weren't cheap.

With extra costs included, they've set him back just under £201.

This is hot. Actually, I'm quite pleased with it.

I've got a little Georgian, silver caster here.

I would think it's about 1800, 1810.

And I can probably get £50-£70 for that.

And with this tankard here, I'm going to have to try to get

these dinks taken out of here, but Hunt's a good maker.

I mean that's got to make another 150, 160.

Fighting talk from the Fox. But the Hammer has been busy.

And he's gearing up to return fire.

My next lot coming up is a little watercolour,

it's a view of Napoleon's birthplace.

Quite nicely painted. We got £100-£150.

I don't think I'm going to get it.

There's a lot of people looking at it.

I can start you on the book at 110.

110 here, a bidder. 110. I take 120 now. At 120, 130.

-The Hammer looks worried.

-150. 160. 170.

-But he's going for it.

-180.

The book is out at 180. 180, 190 now. At £180.

Are you sure at 180?

An almighty outlay from the Hammer.

Easily rivalling the Fox's last purchase.

With fees included, the painting cost just over £212.

But is it a risk that will pay off?

This is catalogued as by E A Norbury,

and dated from 1849, about 1918,

so across that late Victorian, Edwardian period. Painted in watercolour.

It's a lovely view bathed in sunlight.

I love this contrast between sunlight and shade.

And this is Corsica. You can see, it's in the original frame there.

Napoleon's birthplace, Ajaccio in Corsica.

Now his work does turn up in art, so I should be able to find out a bit more about his career.

And obviously, his work is selling for £400, £500 at auction, they do come cheaper.

I like it, I'd give it house room, but, it's not me that wants it, I've got to get a profit for it.

Round two is over. John the Hammer has stood firm.

He's got five items in the bag, but we've seen an inspirational

comeback from Phil the Fox, who has now moved up to three purchases.

But this fight is far from over, and as round three begins,

the pressure is reaching fever pitch.

John Cameron, he's been and bought a good number of lots.

And I'm sort of like halfway there,

failed miserably on lots of lots that I wanted to buy.

And I've only got about 150 lots left in the catalogue

and I've got to buy some more, so, yes, the pressure is on.

Well, you can say that again!

It's the very last set of lots, and they're in the furniture category,

and if anyone knows furniture, it's the Fox.

Now, Phil has got about five or six pieces of furniture marked.

He does need to buy some items, but he could really pip me at the post here

and just do me on that last furlong.

I've got nothing else that I've viewed or marked, and I'm pretty much bought out,

so I want to see how Phil gets on with the items he's marked.

And so, the tables turn, as the auction moves to furniture,

it's the Hammer's turn to step down from the plate and the Fox takes centre stage.

He's got his eye on Victorian oak vocational table. But will he be the highest bidder?

40. 45. 50. 55.

60. 65. 70.

75. At 75, here, 80, now.

At £75. 75.

-And yes, he's done it!

-75.

I think there's a profit in that.

With a bit of luck, I could double my money.

It just depends how it looks when it's put back together. We'll see.

A quietly confident Fox coolly snaps up the 19th-century oak table

for just under £89, including fees.

The Hammer had better watch out, the Fox is on the rise.

And I want you to imagine that

either with a marble top on it, or with a glass top,

coming out to about here,

and I think you've got a really cool, contemporary-looking table.

It would look great in a Regency house or in a modern flat.

With the auction almost over, the Fox's wily eye lands on

an elm chest. The Hammer can only stand by and watch.

90. 95. The book is out of 95. 100. At £95 here.

At £95. 100.

You got a profit there.

At 110. 120. 130. At 130.

140 if you like, now. At 130. At 130!

-Yes, and Phil's got it.

-The number was? I forget!

-It's your memory, sir, and age!

-It is, yes! 258.

And I have 300 members to remember, and you only have one!

Oooh!

-THEY LAUGH

-Auctioneer Philip is an old mate of the Fox's

and well used to a bit of auction house banter.

Especially from delighted bidders who have just won their item.

Phil clinches the elm chest for just over £153.

I'm really pleased with this lot.

It's late Georgian, 19th-century,

but I think it's around 1800, 1820.

It's an elm, six-plank coffer or a sword box.

They're called six-plank coffers a lot of these,

because they're made simply of six planks -

there's one, two, three, four, five, and one on the bottom, six planks.

I'm going to try and ask £250-300.

Well, that's over £100 clean profit - not bad for a day's work!

And with that, round three is over,

and it's time to find out how our brave boys have fared!

They both started the day with £1,000 of their own cash.

John "The Hammer" Cameron,

chalked up a modest bill of just over £374 on five lots.

Phil "The Fox" Serrell also bought five lots. After a cautious start,

he spent just over £643.

With the auction over, our warring warriors size up

their opposition's wares, seeking out the strengths and weaknesses.

It's funny, because I actually never had you down as a Paddington man.

Well, you know what, everyone loves Paddington, and I saw him,

I saw the box, and I thought reminds me of someone cuddly.

I couldn't put my finger on it at the time.

I'm not sure your character jugs do it for me.

Or...!

-You don't like my black slate and cast-iron fire grate?

-Well, no, now you come to mention it. No.

I've got buyers in mind for both of those, so...

And do they have glasses or anything like that?

Look at this, the top of that, that's as warped as your sense of humour.

You've just got no sense, that's patina, dear boy, patina,

that is character, charisma, patina. I mean, the piece talks to you!

-It doesn't say very much, but it talks to you!

-What about this?

I think this is a half decent base

and a firewood top.

So I think there's a decent profit in that.

The name of the game is profit, so you go and invest

more money in that table, but I think that is potentially your good lot.

After a right royal rumble of a buying bout in Cirencester,

the Hammer and the Fox head back to their respective homes.

For Phil it's the rolling vales and Worcestershire and for John,

it's the sun-kissed waters of Portsmouth that will provide them

with the inspiration they need to fight the next leg in this epic battle.

The Hammer is assessing his mighty arsenal of pieces.

I'm just having a look at some of the items,

and I've got my Doulton character jugs, just have to do

a bit of research before I go off and try and sell them.

Just checking to make sure I haven't got some rare colourways here.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with what I've bought, but I've got myself seven items.

I'm pretty sure I can sell them all. One expensive one, my watercolour.

Spent about £212 on that.

Hoping I can get 300, 400, but focusing now on my character jugs,

relaxing at home with my two research assistants,

who if you ask me, don't seem to be pulling their weight!

Well, you might want to dock their wages then, John!

In addition to the jugs and the painting,

the Portsmouth Prince has to sell a slate mantel clock,

an iron fire basket

and a Paddington Bear tea set and games.

In Worcester, Phil is working out how to box clever to deliver

that crucial body blow to his nemesis.

Of the things that I have bought, the pedal car which cost me,

with all the bits and bobs, around about £106.

I'm quite pleased with that. And my little Bond car which was £95.

I've got an Aston Martin specialist in mind for that. The silver cream jug,

and the other thing that I'm looking forward to is the circular table,

because I've got a glass top that hopefully

I'm going to get caught later on to put it on the base which I've had

all firmed up, so fingers crossed, that should look really good.

But am I going to make a profit?

Well, try not to forget your elm chest as well, Foxy?

That'll be a good start.

These two finely honed dealers are at the top of their game.

And our fine specimens hit the phones

and pound the pavements in the search for sales and profit.

But until they've shaken on it and the money has changed hands,

no deal is truly sealed.

John is the first one back in the ring to see if he can clinch

a deal on the character jugs that he bought for just over £47.

I am off to see this Emsworth pub landlord to see

if I can sell these two Doulton character jugs.

I have sold to him before,

and I know the sort of things he likes, I'm not convinced he's

going to like these, so I may find we're having a bit of a hard sell.

Well, this one here, in fact it was issued for Kevin Francis Ceramics

through Doulton, limited edition, 5,000, one of a series.

This one being the dealer, the antiques dealer,

and his handle, the difference between the Kevin Francis ones

and the Doulton ones, the handle's on this side

and on the Doulton ones, they're were always on the other side.

-That's one was modelled by David Biggs.

-Yeah.

This one by Jeff Blower.

So do you think they can find their way up onto the shelf?

It depends how much you're going to try and sell them to me for, obviously?

I'm looking for £120 for them.

Well, I reckon that's a bit steep,

especially in this current climate, I'd give you £80 for the pair.

-Can you do any better than that at all?

-£85.

-Oh, come on, John.

-90 quid. I'm not making much profit!

-That's what you said last time!

£90 and a roast dinner round your house and you've got a deal.

-£90, roast dinner around my house?

-Yes.

I'll agree to that - I won't be doing the cooking!

So, £90, thank you, done deal. I want to see them up on the shelf.

-No problem.

-Show me the money!

Nice work, John.

Now you'll need to ask Mrs Cameron very nicely to help out with

the roast you've just promised Giles. But you're off the mark,

and the character jugs have netted nearly £43 profit.

But a lean, mean, Philip Serrell is bobbing around as well.

He's set his sights on victory and the transformation

of his oak table is a key part of his strategy.

This is stage one of the great Serrell restoration plan.

Do you remember that really, lousy, horrible oak table with a wobbly top?

Well, I've just picked this up from my restorer.

He's tightened it all up, and now, I'm going to take it down the road

for stage two and get that bit of glass cut to fit on the top.

And I think that'll look absolutely fantastic.

In fact, I'm not sure I want to sell it.

Phil's next stop, a specialist supplier of glass and windows.

So, I can't have circular, can I?

-Because that's going to cost too much.

-No, circular is not a same-day process.

It's a specialist process where the glass is sent away.

So if I want this today, I'm looking at a straight line option?

-So it's either a square or rectangle.

-Straight lines we can cut,

we can polish and you can have it straight away.

When it comes to making profit, the Fox is not a patient man.

He measures out the shape of the glass...

And in no time, he has a brand-new sparkling tabletop.

I'm absolutely terrified I'm going to drop this.

My table was about £90 or thereabouts.

It's cost me £30 to have the wood glued and stabilised.

It's cost me another £30 for the glass.

So I think I've got a really cool, wicked table,

which stands me in at £150.

And I really don't want to sell it.

Well, tough tabletops, Foxy, you have got a Hammer to nail,

and Phil is hoping the culmination of his cunning ways will come

when he reveals his masterpiece to an old friend.

The chap I'm going to see, who's a client of mine

who comes to my sales, he was at the sale where I bought this.

He told me that he'd got it marked, but was out of the sale room

when it came up and so he missed it.

This is going to be his second chance to have a go at it.

-Ed, how are you?

-Very well, Philip, thank you.

-You were at the auction when I bought this.

-I was, that's correct.

You were interested in it, weren't you?

I was, if I hadn't missed the timings for the lot,

I would have been bidding for it!

Really? So you know what I paid for it.

-A rough idea, yes.

-And it had got that dreadful wooden top on it.

-It did, yes.

-Which I thought ruined it.

I'm so pleased with the way it looks now.

I've paid to have it all tightened up and sorted out underneath,

base-wise, so that's really quite solid now.

I think I'd like to get close to 400 quid for it.

I really would, cos I think it's such a good-looking thing.

Make me an offer, as they say, I can't refuse.

I'd be prepared to pay 350 without any qualms for it.

-And I want you to make me your best offer.

-Right.

I will do 390 for you, there we are.

I think that's pretty good, really.

I think it's a very good offer.

-I think it's a really good offer and I'll take it.

-Good.

-I'll shake you by the hand.

Ooh, a mighty mark-up for the Fox.

After all his restoration costs, the table set him back £148.50,

so, he's just made a profit of nearly £242!

Phil leaves the Hammer floundering.

John's desperate to catch up - he's pumped for plenty of profit

and he's ready to pounce.

He heads to Fareham with his iron fire basket

and straight round to shop-owner Colin.

I've come to an antique fire shop in Fareham to see if I can turn

a profit on my fire grate and bits and pieces I bought at the auction.

I'm turning up the heat on old Philip Serrell.

Whatever happens, I won't need a workout tonight -

and this wasn't the first trip.

-I like the basket.

-And what about the door stops?

And I like those, too.

We've got one French officer and some sort of griffin.

I like that. That'd be purely for decorative purposes.

What about these?

They're old shipwright wedges. Um... Really...

-So what would they have been used for?

-For splitting logs.

Again, I think they'd make great door wedges.

Nice country house?

I'm not so sure of those. What are you asking for?

I think we're looking at 150.

That's miles too strong for me. I was thinking about 80.

£80?

That is a bit too weak for me. 120?

Any better to you?

Not really. I'd come up to 90.

I tell you what - £100, you can have the lasts and the shipwright's wedges,

and we'll call it a deal. 100 quid?

I'm still not sure I'm going to make a good profit.

-I'm going to go for 95.

-95 quid.

-Deal?

-95.

Well, saves me having to cart them back up the street, anyway!

Ooh, bartered right down.

But every fiver does count

and the Hammer exits with just over £45 in profit.

In Worcestershire, the Fox is speeding to his next appointment.

He's visiting the Shelsley Walsh racing circuit,

but this isn't for pleasure.

He's brought his pedal car to a man who shares his passion for motors -

race organiser Mark.

I was talking to the guy who owns this -

he was telling me that's worth the thick end of 40,000.

-Mm.

-And, ah! Right.

-Baby brother!

-A very baby brother, yes! Indeed.

I think it's worth close to £300.

-300?

-Yeah, I think it's worth close to that.

Well, I would probably think more round the £100 mark.

BRAKES SCREECH What?! Get out of here!

£100? Oh, no, I couldn't do that. I paid more than that for it.

How old do you reckon it is?

Well, there's no age at all to it. It's got that hot-rod look to it.

I honestly think that's worth...

close to £300, I really do.

-What's your best shot for it?

-We thought £150.

-No, no, no.

-Honestly, it's got to be more than that. Got to be more than that.

-I'll do you a deal at £225.

-I'll do you a deal at 200.

-No, no, no.

-Round 200, nice easy money.

-Those sums don't work for me.

-There's not many fives around these days!

This is the trouble with car dealers! They're all the same! Tell you what...

See if I can find a coin...

Ooh, watch out, Phil!

If you're going to try the old coin-tossing trick, you could come off worse for wear.

-You can call.

-OK.

-If you win, it's 200, if I win, it's 225.

-OK, go for it.

-Heads.

-It's 225 - get in there!

The Serrell luck strikes again!

-Mark, you're a star, thank you.

-That's all right.

Yes, Lady Luck shines upon the Fox.

The wily one speeds off with a profit of nearly £119.

But John's hammering out the deals.

He sells the Paddington Bear set and Corgi coach to mum-of-three Belinda,

and takes home a profit of more than £32,

These heavyweights are slugging it out now - the Fox shifts

the sugar sifter and cream jug to an old contact of his, Gabrielle.

After the restoration costs for the jug, he makes more than £22 profit.

With only a few deals left now to be closed,

our warring warriors need to dig deep.

So far, John "The Hammer" Cameron has sold three items

and has made just under £121 profit.

Let's hope he's saving his power punches till last,

cos that old bruiser the Fox has also sold three of his lots -

but is steaming ahead with nearly £383 profit!

John needs to make some serious money and he knows it,

so the Prince of Portsmouth has holed-up at home

and has devised his own master renovation plan.

It's time for me to roll up the sleeves

and try and add a bit of value to this Victorian slate black mantle clock.

When I buy things at auction, I always try to buy things

that need little or no restoration, but you can add value with a bit

of elbow grease, a fine paintbrush, some gold leaf and a steady hand.

Not forgetting some very strong glasses.

I'm watching you, Serrell.

Don't worry about the Fox, JC, just concentrate on the restoration work!

The Hammer bought the clock with a particular buyer in mind,

but will his friend Bob appreciate all the extra hard work?

This is probably 140 years old.

I just want to give you a bit of history to the back. Open it up.

On the back, you can see it says Ansonia & Co -

that's the Ansonia & Co watch-making company with a real interesting history.

It started in the 1850s and they finally closed in 1929,

just before the big Wall Street crash.

What's interesting about them is the guy that founded the company -

Anson G Phelps -

became a very successful trader in saddles -

he manufactured saddles, traded them for cotton

between England and America, and other sorts of dry goods,

but his biggest money-spinner, he was involved in trading metals.

-That's interesting.

-Copper, metal...

-Is there a link there somewhere?

Exactly.

Well, I'm thinking of you with the metal side here,

so he actually got into clock-making as a way to utilise

the raw materials that he had... trading with.

-Do you like it?

-I do like it. But will I like it as much in a minute?!

-I'm looking for about 250.

-But would you say 190?

-190, I tell you what - if you rounded it up to 200 quid.

-200?

-I'd take your £200.

-Tell you what, I'll go to 210.

Strangely enough, I do need a favour.

Cos I've given you the extra tenner, your restorer - if you can give that to your chap to give me a quote...

So you want to get that restored?

If he can put a glass on the front for me, that'd be great.

-I'll take it in to him.

-Thank you very much.

-All right?

-Lovely stuff.

-Brilliant.

Thanks again, Bob.

Nice work, John.

He's got an extra bit of legwork to do for Bob,

but at this stage of the game, he can't turn that extra tenner down.

The mantle clock launches him right back into the contest

and rings up a whopping great profit of nearly £163.

The Fox wants to hit back - and hard.

He's lined up a potential buyer for his elm chest.

I'm in Broadway to see the grandson of an old dealer client

mate of mine and a few days ago, I dropped off that elm coffer

that I bought at auction, to see if he wanted to buy it. Well, we're going to find out now.

But what I love about it, Tom, is if you just open that up,

-look at that timber. This is elm.

-It's lovely.

You can see when we shut it, but look at those really broad grains.

Another good tip, you know, if you're going to buy a piece of furniture,

if you look to what we call a shadow,

this is going to have a line there that butts over there.

-Can you see that line?

-Yep.

That's called a shadow, so if you look at a piece of furniture,

and there's one of those lines there,

or there's some holes in it, you start thinking, "Why is that there?"

This would date, I would guess,

1780, there or thereabouts.

-Yeah.

-I'm going to ask you, Tom, 220 quid.

I was going to give you 175.

Do you like the way he said that? Not a flinch, not a flicker.

-Look at the smile on his face! Try again, Tommy!

-175!

There's nothing wrong with my hearing, mate!

Go on, I'll tell you what - £200.

190.

-I'm not going to do any better than that, am I?

-You're not.

-Is that it?

-That's it. 190.

-Is that your best shot?

-190.

Do you know, I get a headache every time I come in here.

I'm going to go now.

Well, he might have youth and a certain regal look on his side,

but there's no fooling Tom.

The elm chest packs in a profit of just under £37.

And now our wheeler-dealers race their way into the final furlong

and it couldn't be closer - they've both got one item left to sell.

For the Hammer, it's the watercolour painting and he's going out on a limb for this one -

he's brought it to Mike, one of his contacts who's usually more interested in sporting memorabilia.

What do you think? It's a landscape, titled at the bottom,

it's Ajaccio, Napoleon's birthplace. What do you think about the picture?

Yeah, it's quite nice. Nice and bright.

Visually, I think it's pleasing, and not a huge amount

known about him, he was a member of the Royal College of Art.

He was a watercolour artist principally,

working through the latter part of the 19th century.

His better pictures make around £500 and that's an auction price.

-So what are you looking for?

-I'd like around...£400 for it, mate.

Bit heavy, that is.

That's not the best start.

Will the Hammer be able to nail this one down?

The Fox's last deal is the model of the DB5, and he's firing on all cylinders.

He's come to London to see Aston Martin specialist Nicolas.

I bought this in an auction, it's a little DB5.

In fact, if you want to be really anorak, wasn't the Bond car,

-was it a DB4 mark...

-Well, yeah.

Originally, but it was made up to look like, and it became the DB5,

in fairness.

-And this is an original, is it?

-Yeah, absolutely right.

-Can I have a look?

-Surely. You can have a test drive if you like.

I could do without that, I think!

I was just checking out the paintwork, really.

Yeah, I think that's seen a few skirting boards, hasn't it?

Let me just put these down so I can have a proper look.

I paid close to £100 for it.

I've seen these make anywhere between 120 and 220, really.

Can I just see the box, Phil? So how much do you want for it?

Well, I was going to ask you £200 for it.

I quite fancy it, to be honest. But I don't want to spend 200 quid.

Um, I mean, would 100 do it?

In short? No.

But I do like your style.

I don't know about style, I'm just trying to get it right.

I'll give you 140 quid and I'll do it now

if you want to shake my hand.

-Got no option, have I? Go on.

-There you go. Done deal.

The haggle leaves the Fox a little shaken,

but he's certainly stirred by his profit of nearly £46.

So, has he done enough to see off the mighty Hammer?

Both our warriors started out with £1,000 of their own money to spend.

Including all the auction costs,

John "The Hammer" spent just over £374.

But Phil "The Fox" spent nearly double that,

taking in all the auction fees and restoration costs,

he spent just over £715.

But none of that matters any more,

because now everything rests on the profit they made from selling.

All of the money that John and Phil have made from today's challenge

will be going to a charity of their choice, so without further ado,

it's time to find out who is today's Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is champion.

-John, how are you?

-I'm good, Phil, how are you?

-Absolutely wizard. The auction - how did it go for you?

Well, it was unnerving being off the rostrum. How did you find it?

What happens is, you go there thinking you're going to buy

five items, and to buy five, you've got to mark 30, haven't you?

And then you pay more than you wanted to,

and that buyers' premium, where does that come from?!

-You don't mind charging it!

-Whole different game, paying it, isn't it?

-Yeah, it is.

I think the moment's come to find out what's happened.

-OK.

-Are you ready? Are you going to do the countdown?

-I'll do the counting.

One, two, three...

-Whoah!

-I demand a recount!

-What do you mean, a recount? You won!

I did, as well! How'd that happen, then?!

Well done, thank you so much. What did it for you, the table?

Must have done. If I do this again, I'll do nothing but buy tables.

-Come on, I'll buy you a drink.

-So, what lost it for John?

Was it the Norbury painting?

He wanted £400 for it, but his buyer wasn't convinced.

360, how does that sound?

340, I think that's... That's all I want to pay for it, to be honest.

I think I'll be happy to take your 340.

I'd have liked a bit more, but 340, Mike, good man.

You've got yourself a deal.

The painting made a profit of nearly £128.

If only Mr Cameron had hammered out some better deals,

he'd have been laughing in the Fox's face.

When I look at some of my sales, I could have probably negotiated a bit harder on some of those profits.

I bought things specifically targeting them to certain buyers

and I think it paid off for me.

But no trips to the bank just yet, fellas.

Tomorrow, our sparring Spartans turn their hands to an antiques fair in Lincolnshire.

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