Charlie Ross v Katherine Higgins - 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...

I'm a double-your-money girl.

..and gives you the insider's view of the trade.

You've got to be in it to win it.

Each week, one pair of duelling dealers

-will face a different daily challenge...

-Lovely!

We've got some work to do, let's go.

..putting their own money and their hard-earned reputations on the line

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

Get in there. Ha, ha, ha!

Today, veteran showman of the rostrum

Charlie "the Charmer" Ross...

-Here we go.

-..pits his wits and antique-buying muscle

against the woman who'll never stint on the vintage,

Katherine "The Great" Higgins.

Coming up, Charlie's chirpy chatter leads to a bidding blunder...

..and while I was talking, they sold it.

..Katherine has her eye on a potential prize-winning profit...

I think there's money to be made here.

How much remains to be seen, but it's definitely a winner.

And when it comes to selling,

Charlie finds out there's nothing like a dame...

What do you want?!

It's Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.

Prepare yourselves for an epic battle of the sexes,

as taking each other on today

are two of the most formidable antiquarian opposites

ever to walk the earth...

Don't be fooled by our first contender's legendary charm.

He's the dapper and debonair dealer with the big personality...

I've just bought something.

..and a ruthless eye for the prize.

It's the mercurial master of the auction arts...

Cigar, sir?

And his eye-catching adversary is dazzling but deadly.

Nearly had a deal there.

Her fiery determination and knockout antiques knowledge

pack a very unladylike punch.

It's the ice-cool Queen of the Collectables...

Less than top estimate. Bingo.

This clash of the connoisseurs

gets underway at Sworder's saleroom in Stansted Mountfitchet,

where there's a hefty 845 lots up for grabs.

Both our dealers have each stumped up £1,000 of their own cash

and every penny of profit goes to their chosen charities.

So, Charlie Ross and Katherine Higgins,

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

-Katherine, good morning.

-Good morning, Charlie.

-It's cold.

Have you got a note of what you've got to spend?

£1,000, but it's not actually 1,000,

-because you take out the buyer's premium...

-Oh, yes.

It's about 800, isn't it?

-We've got to be canny buyers today.

-You are always a canny buyer.

But it's my first time here.

There'll be plenty of things, good quality, nice auctioneer, lovely cup of coffee.

Can't go wrong.

Together, this dynamic duo might seem like the perfect match

of suave smoothie and striking sophisticate.

But when they're pitted against each other, it's a no-holds-barred

barnstormer of a battle, as they tussle to take each other down.

Our Titanic twosome leap straight into action,

scoping out as many of the wares as they can before the bidding starts.

And our mistress of miscellanea

is planning on group buying to win this bout.

My strategy today is all about maximising profit,

probably out of group lots.

So, say something is estimated at £50 and it's got ten items in it,

then each of those items individually, you could sell those for £20 or £30 each,

so that does maximise your profit.

Whether it will work has yet to be proved.

And our favourite tweedy type has his own title-winning strategy,

which he reckons will have this fight in the bag.

The real problem with a saleroom is you mark up a few lots

and if you don't buy them,

you get under more and more pressure as the day goes on.

So my strategy is to look at some early lots

and get them bought straightaway.

But it's Katherine who's first to spot some items

that she thinks could help her to victory.

This is what really excites me.

Look inside here. Oh, my gosh.

This is someone's wedding.

These are lovely photographs.

I suppose you... It's one of those classic lots

where you have to buy the trunk in order to buy the photographs.

I love Charlie to bits but he's got no X-ray vision

and he just can't see through things like this.

I can, so I'm one step ahead.

One step ahead always.

Yes, with superior powers like that,

it's no wonder she's known as Katherine The Great.

And she's showing no fear of putting a very stylish boot

into the Charmer from the get-go.

So, while the great one is choosing her weapons,

Charlie the Charmer is weighing up some precious metal.

It's a composite lot. There are two pairs of cufflinks

and a ring. But what really took my eye

was that there are a pair of John F Kennedy cufflinks here

and also a pair of French gold cufflinks. Quite like this lot.

If you buy a composite lot,

you've got three different chances of getting a profit.

Hang on, that sounds like Katherine's strategy.

Has the Charmer been ear-wigging?

The great one is eyeing up some jewellery fit for a queen.

This is where I'm going off the rails

because I'm looking at buying something I really like myself.

I should be keeping my financial head on, but it's just so beautiful.

Why is it great? It's an Austro-Hungarian ring.

It's dating from about 1870s. Beautifully tooled, very elegant

and I think the estimate is £50 to £80.

It's on the front cover of the catalogue - not a good sign -

but I guess it shows that I have got impeccable taste.

That's what it's all about.

Mmm, she's no shrinking violet,

but she may have made a bit of a tactical boo-boo.

The auction has started and our lady is still rifling through the wares,

which gives her dashing opponent free rein on the bidding floor.

the Charmer's first lot is up.

French gold cufflinks. Do I see 240? 280.

300. 320. 340. 360.

380. 400.

420...

Charlie's embroiled in a bidding war.

480. £480, on my right...

Oh, it's one of those days, Rossco.

Mark something up at 450 quid. Listen to it.

640, on the right. Selling at 640.

640 plus premium, of course, would be my whole budget in one go.

Ooh, what a blow for the Charmer.

His first attempt at a purchase dashed in flames.

And to make matters worse, his foe has entered the fray.

My lot is just about to come up.

Katherine's Austro-Hungarian garnet ring is next under the hammer.

I think Katherine is about to bid on something.

He's looking as though he's going to bid on this lot.

It's really cat and mouse this, isn't it?

She keeps peeping over to see what I'm going to be bidding for.

Austro-Hungarian garnet, there we are.

£70 is bid, 80 where now? £70 is bid.

-80.

-Here.

-70. 80. Lady's bid at 80.

Takes it from the commission. So?

-552.

-552, thank you.

She's bought something!

Yes, Katherine makes the first purchase of the day...

What the heck was that?

..bagging the garnet ring for a total of £99.20, including fees,

and she's chuffed to bits.

Less than top estimate. Bingo.

But it's an enthusiasm not shared by the Charmer.

She has just bought an Austro-Hungarian

garnet and turquoise set ring.

Yuck.

Fired by her success, Katherine's bidding again,

this time on a gilt pendant reliquary.

552, thank you.

And again, she strikes, securing the pendant for £74.40, including fees.

I think it's a great piece of British history.

This sort of reliquary would have been worn at the end of a rosary,

used very much as part of the accessory

for religious worship in the Tudor era.

I'd love to unite it with somebody who is passionate about Tudor history.

Our great lady is now ahead by two purchases,

while her opponent is struggling.

No more.

the Charmer's just lost out on another set of cufflinks.

I get the impression this is a bit of a one-sided competition.

It is at the moment, Charlie, old bean.

Frustrated twice in a row?

the Charmer is starting to feel the pressure,

but his rival is merciless.

She's spotted another Austro-Hungarian piece -

a brooch - and she's going for it.

-552, is it?

-Thank you.

That's a third purchase for the great one,

at a cost of £55.80, including fees.

Our laughing lady is racing away with this competition,

leaving the Charmer in her wake.

They're ghastly to my taste,

but then I suppose a lot of people would say I have no taste.

Ghastly to you they may be, Charlie,

but you're still three purchases behind, sir!

And Katherine couldn't be more thrilled.

When you see a piece of Victorian jewellery for just under £50,

you've just got to buy it.

It seems extraordinary that it is so cheap, really.

It's a lovely piece, not only because it looks great from the front,

but the back is equally nicely designed.

I think it would look smashing on any lady's outfit. Look at me here.

Wonderful. That goes perfectly with what I'm wearing.

Since I can't have it,

I've got to find somebody who will equally appreciate it.

I think there's money to be made here.

How much remains to be seen, but it's definitely a winner.

Well! So far, Charlie the Charmer's talked the talk,

but he hasn't made a single buy.

Here we go.

He's now got his beady eye on a Tiffany & Co sewing case.

Come on, Charlie!

Tiffany, most famously known, of course, for its glasswork.

There's a lot of chat over there, but not very much action.

This is an ivory sewing case...

..called a necessaire.

I'm going to do my Mr Ross impression now.

This is...

# You've got a beautiful smile

# You're obsessed with talking!

# You'll be coming to bed...#

-About 1910, 1890...

-# Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit, rabbit...#

It's a very high quality lot.

Recognise anyone, Charlie?

And while I was talking, they sold it.

-Oh, disaster.

-705.

So, the moral of that story, Rossco,

is don't rabbit on about the lots you're about to buy,

because by the time they come up, you've missed them.

Stung for the third time today,

the Charmer is spurred into bidding on a pair of silver saucepans.

-He has them.

-I've just bought something!

507, thank you.

Oh, my gosh. It's his first buy.

-Well, I never did.

-# Alleluia... #

And about time too!

With commission, Rossco's just spent £136.40

on a lot he didn't even view before he started bidding.

He's taken a huge gamble, but will it pay off?

Two sauce boats,

Chester, 1927, not a lot of weight but a lot of style.

Look at that. You'd think they were 18th century, looking at them.

Hooped feet...

scrolling handles.

Very nice.

Phew! the Charmer could have come a right cropper there.

Our dapper dealer is back in the game

and now he's got his eye on a job lot of silver items.

It's catalogued as two silver vinaigrettes,

a child's silver rattle

and two silver boxes, and that's exactly what we've got here.

A decent George III box,

with nice, chaste engraving on it

and this, in fact, is a vesta.

There is your striker for your match.

Here, you have a vinaigrette.

Put your little wad in there with your smelling salts.

And then finally, we've got the child's rattle here,

which is silver.

Um, it's got damage.

The rattles here, all the way round,

but they're not all the way round because you can see one, two, three

little brackets missing there...

So, very ornate but damaged.

As the bidding begins,

and with Katherine still two buys ahead of him,

it's crunch time for Charlie.

God, that was close.

Yes, the Charmer triumphs by a nose,

notching up his second purchase

for a hefty £545.60, including fees.

That is over half his budget in one fell swoop

and that brave buy puts him right back in the race.

-It's a baby's game, this.

-SHE LAUGHS

Who's your script writer?

-Me.

-You need to change it.

Ooh! Well! With that war of words over,

our two powerhouse profiteers retire to their corners.

Time, then, to see how much they've spent so far.

Charlie and Katherine both arrived today

with £1,000 of their own money to spend.

Katherine The Great was quick off the mark,

bagging three purchases for £229.40,

leaving her £770 still to spend...

..while Charlie the Charmer battled through his early frustrations

to buy two items and spent a total of £682,

leaving him with 318 in his kitty.

Today's bruising battle between our antiques avengers is ramping up.

They're watching each other like hawks

and our resident charmer is about to prove he's an expert in psychological warfare

with a little bit of taking the mick.

Now this is Katherine Higgins.

Head nearly on the roof, new wig, flash coat,

very enthusiastic about things that I think look awful.

Charlie, it's more about this.

And I have it, and you don't.

I think she's referencing the fact that I have very little in the hair department.

He just can't do glamour. He just can't do it.

At least mine is an acceptable colour.

Mi-aow! The claws are most definitely out.

Nothing is going to stop our red queen from seeking out ways of getting one up on her opponent.

She's got her eye fixed on a set of 11 signed celebrity photographs.

92, £40 is bid....

# Falling in love again... #

But, when the bidding starts, there's a mischievous glint in The Charmer's eye.

At 45...

And he's bidding!

Five...

Can't help it.

Oh, and he's got them.

The silver-tongued assassin snatches the vintage snaps

from under Katherine's nose for £55.80, including fees.

Rossco, your luck is changing.

-Did you buy those?

-I did.

-Botheration.

-I was going to nip in and...

-You can have one, with a small profit.

-Which one would you like?

-That's a good buy.

-Goodbye!

-It's a good buy. Goodbye!

Yes, The Charmer's got one up there, and reveals his favourite

of the photos he's swiped from his red rival.

They're all great images, but this, I think, is particularly good.

And this is Marcel Marceau, the master of mime.

Genius, a complete genius. But, er, I'm very thrilled with it.

Some will be worth a few pounds more than others but,

if you average them out at £10 each, that's £110.

That is doubling my money, there or thereabouts.

Fighting talk from The Charmer,

but Katherine the Great hits back hard and fast.

She bids on - and wins -

a World War I officer's service record,

with letters and photographs, for £62, including fees.

The Red Lady means business.

Next up, she's bidding on a mixed lot, which includes two tea sets

and a cut-glass table lamp.

She wins the lot for £55.80, including fees.

and there's one part of this group buy that she has no doubts about.

This is a fantastic screamingly Deco tea service by Alfred Meakin.

Nice, established Staffordshire pottery firm. I love it.

It's got that sort of zig-zag decoration,

lovely, vibrant orange colours,

the little detail, the line around the inside of the rim,

which matches the delicately painted line on the handle itself.

Very, very neat. Very, very decorative.

# Another one bites the dust. #

Katherine the Great is on a roll.

I went on a bit of a spending spree, then.

And, with a quick one-two,

she lands another one smack-bang on The Charmer's chin,

with the purchase of a portfolio of watercolours and etchings

for £68.20.

What I caught a glimpse of was this.

It's a folio of pictures,

but it was this image of an Edwardian lady,

just casually sitting and relaxing.

It's a really wonderful piece of artwork and I can see

that a costume collector would really like to have that.

Katherine is now racing away again,

racking up six purchases to The Charmer's three.

Next on her shopping list is a lot she spotted a earlier,

which contains some old 78s and sheet music.

-552.

-Bing Crosby would be proud of me.

And Katherine snatches up the lot for £22.32, including fees.

Katherine is in complete control of the game,

and cements her lead when she goes for her eighth lot,

a group of decorative plates,

and bags them for a cost of £49.60, including fees.

Katherine has upped her lead to a staggering eight purchases

to Charlie's three.

Where has that Charmer got to?

Oh, there he is.

And, to prove he's not larking about, The Charmer has picked out

an item that could put him back in the frame.

This is a modern gilt mirror, the sort of thing that might be given away, almost, in a saleroom.

Certainly wouldn't make much money, but, if you went into a retail shop to buy it,

you'd pay quite a bit of money for it.

The snag with this lot - I looked it up in the catalogue,

and do you know what it said?

It said, "A large gilt-framed mirror,

"together with... a large modern landscape."

That is the most ghastly picture I have ever seen in my life.

Not to your taste, then, Rossco.

But can the Charmer make any headway on Katherine by getting hold of that mirror?

No more, sir. Not a penny more.

Oh, no! Charlie takes a beating yet again.

The Charmer's running out of chances. But all is not yet lost.

-What's your next one?

-You wait and see.

Charlie's got his eye on this signed print of a World War II Lancaster bomber.

-£20!

-Oh, yes!

Yes, look at the delight.

The Charmer bags purchase number four for just £24.80,

including fees.

And there's no doubt that this is the purchase

Charlie's been holding out for.

I can't be more thrilled with any other purchase today.

Here we have the Lancaster bomber,

which was the British number-one bomber in the Second World War.

This is signed by Leonard Cheshire, who got the VC,

who was probably the most famous...

..bomber crew member in the whole war.

But there must be plenty of people

that would like an iconic memory

of the Bomber Command in the Second World War.

As the end of this auction draws ever nearer,

both our daring dealers are still looking for the bargains

that could swing the competition.

The Charmer has spotted a lot he likes, but could it be out of his league?

I like a good rocking horse. Nicely carved.

It needs a little bit of restoration, but it's Edwardian.

Its estimate - 200 to 300.

I wouldn't mind it for a couple of hundred.

Although he's only notched up four purchases,

The Charmer has spent a lot more than his opponent,

who's still got almost £500 left to spend.

And it's Katherine who makes a play for the rocking horse,

and wins it for £359.60, including fees,

getting her own back on Charlie's vintage-snap stealing

earlier in the day.

It's nicely carved, it's got lovely facial detailing.

It's not perfect, it's not brilliant.

I must be able to improve on what I paid. Whether I will double my money is another question.

And with that, the auction draws to a close.

The gavel gets its final bang

and the lucky buyers congratulate themselves on purchases well made.

So, how much of their £1,000 budgets

did our battling behemoths finally spend?

Charlie the Charmer's strategy of buying early

wasn't exactly successful.

He bought only four lots, spending a total of £760.60.

Katherine the Great stuck to her strategy of buying group lots,

going in hard, fast and often,

bagging a total of nine purchases and spending £847.92.

So which of our duelling dealers is set to win today's battle of the sexes?

Before the selling spree starts,

Katherine and Charlie size up each other's spoils.

I'm sorry, but there's the quality end of the table, isn't there?

-And there's the sort of drossy end.

-There is quality here.

I, personally, find that ring the most attractive thing.

And I don't think I'm going to be alone.

I'm sure you know what you're doing with that.

-You're clearly a baby at heart.

-Missing the odd bauble.

-The baby is not going to be bothered by that.

-Everything I've got has got potential,

and, yeah, I think you've got SOME potential there.

I found it extraordinary how quickly the budget went.

I bought something for 500 quid, which is this mixed lot,

and then the sauce boats, and then there wasn't much left.

-You'll have fun selling that lot, won't you?

-I can't wait. It'll be very entertaining.

I can't wait either.

Having bagged all their auction booty,

our antiques avengers now face an even tougher challenge -

to sell it all.

Their aim is to make as much profit as they possibly can

and all that money will be going to their chosen charities.

Our heroes head for home to plot out their selling campaigns.

The Charmer, to the idyll of eye-catching Oxfordshire.

And the Great One to the cool chic of her apartment in cosmopolitan London.

There's no time to lose, and, straightaway,

the Charmer is assessing his mighty haul.

Actually, I'm very happy with what I've bought.

I'm particularly happy with the Leonard Cheshire signed limited-edition print.

These vestas and vinaigrettes are fabulous.

I've got a good chance, splitting them up, of making a profit.

I love the signed photographs, particularly the one of Marcel Marceau,

and the sauce boats are pleasing

although they are 20th-century items.

And what of our Red Queen?

How does Katherine the Great rate the weapons in her armoury?

I'm beginning to panic, actually. I have got quite a lot of things to sell.

I had a blitz at that auction and I have begun a trail to find

someone who has Hungarian links, a bit of Hungarian in their family.

Someone who would really appreciate the Austro-Hungarian ring,

and the potential that it has as a future collectable.

And I've also got this Austro-Hungarian brooch.

I think I will probably sell that onto a specialist dealer in Austro-Hungarian jewellery.

Gosh, this was a group lot but I've got clever ideas

for the three directions this could take.

This folio of drawings - it was a gift, really.

Each one of these illustrations has got something

that will attract a buyer.

Katherine will also have to shift a reliquary,

a rocking horse, some 78 records and sheet music,

a World War I officer's record with photos, and some plates.

Nothing like a bit of hard work for a girl.

Our two determined dealers must now hit the phones as they go all out to find buyers for their items.

But until they've shaken on it and the money's changed hands, no deal is truly sealed.

Charlie the Charmer is one step ahead

of Katherine the Great straightaway.

While at the auction, he was approached by a collector

who was interested in one piece of the silverware that Charlie bought for £540.60.

It was the larger of the two vesta boxes.

So the Charmer has invited the potential purchaser back

to Rossco Towers.

Is that as you remember it?

Now that I see it in the daylight, it looks, yes, the same, but, um...

-But nicer.

-I can see the slight blemishes on it today

in the sunlight.

John Wilmot is the maker and I think it dates to 1898.

What do you think? £150?

As an Irishman, I would like a deal.

I will settle on £140 as the cartouche is engraved.

So I'd knock a little bit off for that.

I should have asked you for £160. Then you might have offered me £150.

-Ha-ha! I think £140 is fine.

-Thank you.

It's a flying start for Charlie's first piece of silverware

and the wily veteran also pins down a deal for the smaller vesta box

for £125, along with one of the vinaigrettes for £40,

which means he still has two pieces left to sell.

In his campaign to shift the second vinaigrette,

Charlie makes up trip to silver dealer Daniel, in London's West End.

-There it is.

-Instantly, looking at it, you can see with this engine turning, it hasn't been worn.

Imagine that going in and out of a pocket, being handled and polished,

you start getting smooth patches on it, and it's not,

it's really crisp. That's really nice.

-£210?

-I think that's very fair. £210, I think that's incredibly fair.

-Marvellous.

Charlie, lovely to see you.

So with that humdinger of a deal done,

Charlie just has one piece of his silverware lot left to sell -

that silver rattle.

Only then will he know how much profit he's made on the whole lot.

Time for Katherine to enter the fray.

Heading for the Shropshire countryside,

where she's lined up a sale of the rocking horse she spent £359.60 on.

She's meeting specialist dealer and restorer Sally.

-I feel like a child in a sweet shop here.

-So do I!

I think we probably have the largest collection in the country.

One thing, instantly, I can see you're not afraid of condition.

The main thing about the horses that look perhaps a little forlorn now

is that they've been very well loved in the past.

There's something very sad about seeing a horse that isn't or hasn't been loved.

So, can Sally work her magic on this particular horse?

Well, there we go. The moment of truth. What do you think?

-He's been well loved, hasn't he?

-Yes!

-He's had some adventures.

He has had adventures, actually.

Do you have a price in mind?

Around about the £500-ish mark.

OK.

I would go to £480.

£480 sounds a very decent and fair price.

-Thank you.

-OK.

So the flame-haired vixen of vintage makes a galloping profit of £120.40

on the rocking horse,

putting the pressure right back on the Charmer...

who is concentrating on another of his group buys.

He's headed for the Richmond Theatre in Surrey

with the vintage signed photographs he so deftly swiped from under Katherine's nose.

What's going on here? Cinderella. Who's in it?

Graham Hoadly, great old mate of mine, and his passion,

apart from being on the stage,

is collecting signed photographs of great stars.

HIGH-PITCHED VOCAL EXERCISES

Sounds like Hoadly to me.

What do you want?! Oh, it's you.

-How are you, Graham?

-I'm all right, Charlie. Come on in.

-Thank you.

Come for some beauty tips, have you? He goes for girls with hairy chests.

-Before we carry on, I'm going to take my wig off.

-Oh, all right.

I shampooed my hair with Wash and Go. I did, and it went, ha!

-Here we go.

-Right.

-Ah. Now that's Isabel Jay.

-Now who have we got here?

-Someone in a rather sexy pose.

-A very sexy pose.

That's Gabrielle Ray, who was a great picture postcard beauty.

-Who have we got here?

-That's Lillian Gish.

Great, great silent film star. Went on into the sound period, of course.

-Well, that, that's Fay Compton.

-That's a name I've heard.

Well, yeah, she's very well known. She appeared in films later on

but she was a great theatre star.

Ah, Gertie Gitana. Gertie Gitana. I believe her name was, at one point,

rhyming slang for "banana", so, "I'm going to have a nice Gertie Gitana."

-You can't live without these, can you?

-I can't.

No, what do you mean I can't live without them?!

-Are you trying to sell me them?

-I am.

I'm not that interested now you say that.

-They're kind of dull, these people.

-100 quid?

-70?

-90?

-85.

-I think that's fantastic.

Shaking on £85 for the ten photographs has given Charlie

a profit of £29.20 already,

with the photo of the mime legend Marcel Marceau still left to sell.

Sterling work from the Charmer. And Katherine's no slouch either

when it comes to travelling the length and breadth of the country on the trail of a sale.

She's motored to a china sourcing company in Warwickshire

with her two tea sets.

120 for that and then you give this for free.

-I tell you what, £130 for everything. Does that sound good to you?

-OK.

And it's a lip-smacking sale of £130 for the Great One's crockery.

And she sells the glass candle holder that she brought along

with the tea sets for an additional fiver.

So her total profit on this group lot comes to £79.20.

Why not treat yourself to a nice, reviving cuppa, Katherine?

The Charmer has been researching his Lancaster bomber print,

signed by the original Dambuster himself, Leonard Cheshire.

And he's now on his way down to London

and the headquarters of the charity founded by this World War II hero.

Can Charlie fly in and get a good deal with Managing Director Elias?

I would like to see a couple of hundred pounds for it.

-I tell you what, can we put it up there?

-Yeah.

This will give me a better sense of what it's going to look like.

That is nice.

I tell you what, I tell you what, 110 quid,

I think, is actually a very generous price.

-Do you?

-Yes.

-What about 175?

-I think 150.

-Put it there.

-Thank you.

That's brilliant. I'm thrilled it's here. Thank you very much.

So Charlie's bang on target, and after framing costs,

takes off with a profit of £106.60.

Both our antiques avengers have been chasing

up and down the country and the sales are racking up.

Charlie is off to a great start with six sales,

five of them from job lots,

and he's made a profit so far of £105.20.

Katherine has sold just two of her lots at this midway stage

but is sitting on a pretty profit of £199.60.

Having notched up nine buys at the auction to Charlie's four,

Katherine's got to crack on.

After researching her packed portfolio of prints,

she's identified the Oxford pub that features in one of them.

I really like detective work. I like completing the story.

The best part of that has been identifying all those scenes

from that folio of pictures and drawings

that I bought at the auction.

So without further delay, our modern Miss Marple hits the road

to present the newly framed print to the pub's marketing manager, Amanda.

I think this painting's just amazing. It's got so much history and heritage,

and it's so relevant to the local area.

-It'll just be amazing hung up in this site.

-OK. You like it.

Pictures come at a price, I'm afraid.

-What about, er, 110?

-110 sounds good.

For £110, I might actually even hang it on your wall myself.

And with more prints in the portfolio to sell

before we know the extent of her profit,

our rampaging redhead heads down to Findon in East Sussex

with a print featuring the village's sheep fair.

Her sleuthing skills have led her to Alastair,

who helps run the fair today.

And he's not sheepish about paying £125 for the print.

-You've got a deal.

-Deal done.

-Thank you very much.

And the mean queen of the vintage scene goes on

to sell a selection of the other prints from the portfolio

online for a total of £300.61,

which, after deducting framing costs,

gives her a total profit on the entire lot of £457.43.

And now pray silence, for the Charmer is about to attempt to sell

the last of his signed photographs, Marcel Marceau.

He's back in Oxford and hoping to win over theatre director

and mime enthusiast, Guy.

JAUNTY GALLIC MUSIC

What a result for the Charmer.

That £20 by means that his total profit from the signed photos

comes to £49.20.

Katherine the Great has still got six sales left to make.

She parts with her Austro-Hungarian brooch

for a small loss of £1.80.

But she's hoping to better that with the sale of the Austro-Hungarian ring.

So she heads for Surrey to target her contact, Grace.

Well, my father's Hungarian, so I've got a real interest

and affinity, but never really explored the jewellery side.

So I think it's really exciting.

All the right noises are coming from your side.

It's liked, you have an affinity with it, there's a heritage link.

But it's that million-dollar question.

I would have a price tag of about £500 on it.

Wow!

So, how much can Katherine make on the ring? We'll reveal all later.

Now, the Charmer has sold four pieces of silver from his group buy.

But he's still got the most intriguing piece left, a baby's rattle.

So he's back in London to meet silver dealer Martin.

The maker's mark is JA, which I think is for Joseph Angell.

-A name of which I've heard.

-Quite a distinguished,

top-ranking London silversmith between 1810, 1820.

-And what is this?

-It's coral.

-Is it coral?!

-It's coral.

From the eastern Mediterranean.

Coral was used in rattles like this as a chewing stick

-for the teething child.

-Is it worth £400?

I think it probably would have been had it had one or two more bells to it.

I think I'd give you, in this condition,

£300 for it.

-What about meeting me halfway?

-I'll tell you what, we'll deal at 340 if you pay for the coffees.

-OK?

-Done!

Charlie's got to make sure he factors in the costs of the coffee,

but with that top dollar deal he's made a total profit

on the group lot of silver of £305.

With the Charmer going great guns on the silver front,

he makes a saucy little profit of £13.60 on his pair of sauce boats.

That means this charming man is done and dusted.

So, what of Katherine's remaining four lots?

The sheet music sold online for £29.65

and the old 78s were sold to a collector for £55,

giving the Great One a total profit on the lot of £59.36 after fees.

Her remaining lots, she sold online.

The reliquary made a small but blessed profit of £2.10.

The World War I officer's record

and photos sold for a loss of £61.09.

And the plate sold for a shattering loss of £29.38 after fees.

So, after losses like these,

can Katherine the Great still grab the winner's crown

or will the Charmer's last silver deal

bring him rattling back into the frame?

Both our ace antiques agent have given this battle their all.

They each had £1,000 to spend at the auction in Stansted Mountfitchet.

Charlie kept it simple with four lots,

spending £781.20 including restoration fees,

while Katherine splashed out on nine purchases

with a total spend of £856.90 including framing costs.

But the only thing that matters from here on in is profit.

All the money Charlie and Katherine have made from today's challenge

will be going to charities 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.

-Hello, you.

-Lovely to see you.

-My Charmer.

How did you do? That auction! It was quite exciting.

I was quite pleased with what I bought.

You bought hundreds of things!

Every time I looked round, there you were, bidding.

-When a girl's got to buy, a girl's got to buy.

-Did you sell them all?

I did, actually, I did. The rocking horse was quite fun.

The rocking horse was nice. I liked the rocking horse and I marked it in my catalogue.

But you must be rattling with success, I'm sure.

Ho-ho-ho-ho! Very good. My rattle did well.

Sold it to a silver dealer and I'm thrilled with the profit.

-He was actually at the auction.

-Really?

-Yeah, but he didn't want all the other bits,

so that was what you call an easy sale.

Come on, then. Show me what you've got, Higgins.

-Well, I'm feeling quite confident here.

-I'm not surprised, really.

-One, two, three!

-OK.

Oh!

Yes, girl power wins the day!

Do you know, Katherine, you're twice as good as I am?

And I'm going to buy you a very small lunch.

To be expected, darling.

So Katherine's group buying strategy really paid off for her,

but how much did that ghastly ring go for in the end?

I guess, budget, in my mind, was about 300, 350.

I think it would be lovely if we could settle on...

approaching 400.

-I'd be comfortable with that.

-OK. I think 400's a really good price.

You will be the belle of the ball. £400.

So that one ornate item gave Katherine the Great

a fantastic profit of £300.80.

I think I did quite well.

Just... Girls have the winning edge - it's quite true, it's evident.

We can do it. Charlie, for an experienced auctioneer,

I did expect better things.

I have succumbed to girl power.

I thought I'd done quite well, really, my profit was chunky.

But hers was outrageous. She's very good.

Well, can our crestfallen Charmer turn it all around?

Charlie attempts to take Katherine's crown tomorrow

when the battle commences at the Ardingly Antiques Fair in West Sussex.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd