James Lewis v Mark Franks - 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.

Wahey!

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

I'm on the case!

Ya-hay!

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

-daily challenge...

-I'm a cheeky chancer! Lah-vly!

..putting their reputations on the line and giving you top tips

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

Let's go and spend some money!

Get in there!

Today, the champion of cheeky charm, Mark Franks, takes on the almighty

auctioneer James Lewis in an epic record-breaking display of buying

and selling.

Coming up, Mark shows his dastardly side.

Deceitful, nasty, devious... That's me!

James shows you a strange way to add value.

Well, it's truly broken now.

And both employ creative tactics to convince buyers to part

with their cash.

I'm going to show you how strong this is.

There we are!

This is Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.

It's time to witness one of the biggest

battles in Put Your Money history.

Two valiant Vikings lock horns at an auction of titanic proportions.

First up, a master of nifty negotiations, a champion chomping at

the bit, it's the irrepressible South London smoothie

-Mark 'Franksy' Franks.

-Ching-ching! That's a winner!

His powerful opponent is a burly buyer with brains

and brawn in abundance.

It's the Derbyshire dynamo, James 'The Lionheart' Lewis.

That was close.

Our trading tearaways take each other on at an auction

in Diss in Norfolk, and it is enormous.

Not just one sale here, not even two or three, but four separate

auctions all running simultaneously throughout the day.

So, our boys will have to work out where to be and when.

They've each got £1,000 of their own money to spend

and every penny of profit goes to charities of their choice.

So, which of our princes of profit will be crowned

king of the collectible?

James Lewis and Mark Franks,

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

-Morning, sir.

-Oh, what a cold one!

-It's because we're up north!

-Not that far north.

We're north of Watford!

I'm a bit concerned today because you're an auctioneer,

you've got a huge advantage over me.

No, because I'm used to selling it, you're used to buying it.

You're the one with the advantage really.

-Well, we've got £1,000 to spend.

-Yup. Lots of lots, but not many antiques.

Yeah, it's a bit thin on the ground,

but we need to do a grown-up look around. Come on, then.

Our boys have no time to waste.

This massive event will require stupendous stamina

and nerves of steel.

Anything less and they'll buckle under the pressure.

And so, they're off.

With over 17,000 lots across the four auction locations,

this will be a race unlike anything they've ever seen.

As an auctioneer, James should be in his element.

But even he could be out of his depth.

The key is not to discount anything.

There are modern things, there are tractors, there are vases,

there's jewellery, there's gold. I'm not going to be beaten.

Mark is a wily wheeler-dealer, but even he knows this auction

will take all his guts and guile if he's to emerge victorious.

James is an auctioneer and every single day of the week,

he's dealing in this stuff. He knows the prices as of yesterday.

But I'm a cheeky chancer. Let's go and make some money!

So, Mark is sounding confident.

As our boys begin to hunt around,

speed and alertness are of the essence.

Franksy is the first to find something,

a mahogany chest of drawers, but it's been split in two.

Quite often, they would cut a chest of drawers bang in half cos it

wouldn't go up the staircase of a cottage.

This probably lived its life from 1880

until now in a country cottage in a little bedroom.

They don't sell as well when they're cut.

Estimate on this is about 40 to 60 quid.

With a bit of TLC, there's a profit.

Out front, James catches sight of two galvanised bowsers,

but he's a little perplexed.

It's fantastic.

But who would want it?

And why?

James hits the buffers, but Franksy is chugging away

and he soon spies a real boy's toy - a steam engine.

Isn't this beautiful?

This is a stationary engine. Can you imagine that chugging away?

Look at the line, it's been done by hand.

The detail all round there, absolutely stunning.

Estimate, 300-400. This could make double estimate, easily.

Fingers crossed, I might buy it.

And sticking with the railway theme,

Mark spots an early to mid-20th century penalty sign.

There's a lot of railway buffs

and there's a lot of pubs called the Railway Tavern.

This little baby is coming home with me.

He's all steamed up, but James is now whistling along.

He specialises in country estates

and has found something right up his street.

That is a classic bit of country kitchen usable kit.

Most of these were French, made in the 19th century.

They're known as game hangers.

Once you'd gone out and shot your brace of pheasants, you would

hang them from this and let them get all gamey, ready for eating.

Age? Well, don't let the rust fool you.

It's about as old as I am.

But it's got a look.

Mark's perusal is going great guns.

His next find is a German canteen of cutlery, but he's not too impressed.

These are tacky.

This auction has all sorts of random items

and that gives the Lionheart an idea,

a cheeky challenge for his competitor.

Franksy is always known for being able to do something

and make something out of nothing.

But I challenge even him to make something out of that lot.

That's right, it's a great big pile of rubble.

But fearless Franksy can't duck a dare.

Guess what, James! I am going to buy this and I'm going to make a profit,

just to prove you wrong!

The viewing time is over and the bidding begins.

Franksy is ready and waiting.

First up, the cast iron railway penalty notice.

The estimate is £50 to £80.

Two, two bid. 35. Eight, 40. 42.

45. 48 bid, take 50.

It's £48. Take 50 now. At 48. At 48 and selling.

Bit more than I wanted to pay,

but it's good to get your feet wet nice and early.

Adding in the auction fees, Mark pays £55.20.

And desperate to continue his good start, he goes

straight for his next lot, the damaged Victorian chest of drawers.

And it doesn't take long before the deal is sealed.

£38.

Ching-ching!

That's a winner! 38 plus commission, I can't do the maths.

It's less 50 quid. There's got to be a profit.

It is indeed below 50 quid - £43.70, to be precise.

Now, it's time for our awesome auctioneer to

start his bidding battle.

He's indoors and the first lot he's interested in is a glass-top

jewellery box.

I'm out. £32 bid now. Five?

In the room, £32.

That's my first lot bought.

Really good quality by Lockton and Forwood, brand new, but expensive.

So, the Lionheart's campaign is off and running.

The jewellery box cost £36.80 with fees and straightaway,

he makes his second purchase.

A Japanese eggshell tea service for just £13.80, including fees.

This is so underrated.

Made around 1915, it's all hand-decorated.

Now just look at the quality of that.

Hand-painted with pagodas, forests, lakeland landscapes and rivers.

And hand-gilt as well.

We've got an extra three spare cups and... Ooh!

TAPS

Some rather cracked ones as well.

If I put this out with the cracked cups, everyone thinks,

"Urgh, a couple of cracked cups, I don't want to buy it."

There's only one thing to do with these really.

Well, they're truly broken now!

Oh, there's no way back from that.

James gets on with his buying spree and snaps up another

rosewood-effect jewellery box that matches his first one.

After commission, he pays £32.20.

Our boys are now well on their way. James has three items to Mark's two.

Mr Franks though wants to push ahead and he's feeling dastardly.

I have a plan.

Deceitful, nasty, devious. That's me.

I'm going to buy something which is absolutely horrible,

that gold set that's in a case of ladles and cutlery

and horribleness, and put it under James's name.

Below the belt, Franksy!

It's the next lot.

But there could be a scuffle of the skulduggery.

Mark has no idea James is heading his way.

MUSIC: "Theme From Jaws" by John Williams

£48, any advance?

9968, sir.

-All right, mate? What's your bidding number?

-What?

What's your bidding number? 9968.

-Yeah.

-Cushty.

-Why?

-Just wondered, really.

The canteen cost £55.20 with fees.

But James has no idea what's just happened

and Franksy is keeping schtum.

The Lionheart was simply positioning himself for a bidding blitz.

First, an assortment of 1870s brass pans

and tongs for £17.26 with fees, followed by more brass.

A 1920s fire extinguisher for £25.30.

James then legs it to another sale to get the game hanger

he saw earlier.

-That was close.

-Add in the fees and the total is £46.

Then, it's Mark's turn to get stuck in.

He kicks off with a vintage stamp collection, costing £36.80,

including fees.

He then nips outside to pick up a pair of iron hanging

baskets for £13.80, with commission.

And he rounds off his spree back indoors with

a collection of brewery signs which cost £36.80, all up.

And after all that running about, it's time to take a breath

and recap on our rivals' race so far.

Our contenders each started the day with £1,000.

James Lewis has seven items on his bill for £226.56,

including the cutlery he's as yet unaware of.

He still has £773.44 to spend.

Mark Franks has bought five items so far, spending £186.30,

meaning he's got £813.70 left.

Our thoroughbreds continue their charge and on current form,

anything could happen.

While our South London smasher waits patiently for his next lot,

James faces an auction buyer's worst nightmare.

I've got my Crich cheese dish coming up in there in ten lots.

I've got my first iron bench coming up out here in ten lots.

That one.

Well, the cheese dish with an estimate of £15-25 gets the nod

and James has discovered something exciting.

Has no age to it. Well, about 15 years old.

But it says underneath "CP",

a little pottery that was going in the 1980s and 1990s in my village,

back in Derbyshire! You hardly see any of them

and to find a bit here in the auction is just brilliant.

Ten pounds and start me. Ten is yours, sir.

It is here at £10 now. It's going to sell at £10. Are we done?

There's no competition in the room, so it's a quick purchase,

totalling £11.50.

Meaning our Lionheart can leg it back outside to get the bench

he wanted. And he makes it just in time.

They're still on the previous lot, a garden table,

chairs and parasol that opponent Mark is bidding on.

And Franksy gets them for £63.26, including fees.

Moments later, James gets his iron bench - another £63.26.

-We're all in to garden furniture, aren't we?

-And James is off again.

A couple of lots later, our country gent buys a Victorian cast iron

feeding trough for £43.70, with commission.

He then buys another bench, one with a 19th century style cast iron back.

He splashes out almost a sixth of his entire budget, £161, with fees.

James has reached for the sky and is flying along.

As for Franksy, well, his buying plan has gone off the rails.

Unfortunately, I missed my stationary engine

because I was busy buying other stuff, causing mayhem.

So, I'm now in the grown-ups part of the auction,

trying to buy something for smart money, to make more money.

And that means he's buying stuff he hasn't even looked at.

As he makes himself comfortable, a bisque headed doll

estimated at £40-60 comes up and Franksy suddenly makes a move.

18.

18, it was.

Top tips...

..never buy anything you've not viewed.

Just broken my own rule.

Mark's mantra is out of the window and he pays £20.70 for the doll,

but will it prove costly?

Well, that's always a good start(!)

But with dollies, it's the head that's important.

So this is a bisque head. It is made in Germany, yes, that's good news.

Beautiful little teeth, I can't see any damage to the head.

So what I've really bought is a head

and I'm not really interested in the body.

It's 100 years old, easily. I think there's a nice little profit.

Sounds like Mark's had a lucky break.

Moments later, our chancer's back bidding on more unseen items

and he snaps up a silver manicure stand for £86.26.

Meanwhile, Derbyshire's wonderboy has now joined Franksy.

He's arrived to bid on an inro, an ornamental Japanese box.

The guide price is £35-55.

It is here at £45 now. 48. 50. Five,

60. Five, 70. Five, 80. Five, 90.

Five, 100.

110, 120, 130, 140, 150,

160, 170, 180.

190. 190, I have.

200.

How much money has he got left?

Bid at 200.

I was planning to go up to about 110.

Well, we'll see. Do you think it's too much?

No, it's cheap.

And with the commission, the price increases even further to £230.

This is a Japanese inro,

a four section box that would have been suspended from the waist.

The reason why they had them is

because they wore flowing robes, rather than trousers with pockets.

It was made around 1880-1890, which means it's the Meiji period,

but I don't know if they're popular enough.

A hammer price of £200 is plenty, if not too much.

Mark spots James's worry and exploits it.

He pounces on a silver snuff box and buys it for £23, including fees.

But James is undeterred and jumps in again on a Georgian silver

pocket compass, estimated to sell at £50-70.

Made around 1780-1790 and a really interesting connoisseur's piece.

180. 190. 200.

That's £200. That's enough.

The Lionheart's down, but Mark seizes the moment.

It is selling here for £260. 280.

Oh!

It's 280 now, so 280.

-280, it was. Goes to buyer number...

-280?!

-It's a snip.

-He might do all right with that cos it's a lovely lot.

So, what a turn up! It's Mark who walks away with the compass.

It cost £322, including commission,

and it's another item he hadn't viewed.

It's a silver compass.

And on the back, that head in a box, that is a Georgian duty mark.

Basically meant, tax was paid on the silver, and you've got the leopard's

head, which means it went through a London assay house

and there's a date letter. You see the black round the edge,

I really like that because it means it's not been over-cleaned.

It's a charming thing. I paid a lot of money for this.

Don't get me wrong.

I'm either going to do well on this or struggle to get my money back.

In a few short minutes, both our beasts have spent a lot of money.

And they just can't stop themselves.

Mark adds in a Victorian slate clock for £46.

At exactly the same moment, James buys yet another bench

and this one comes with a couple of chairs.

He pays £55.20 with fees.

The Lionheart sails away with a Chinese ship's wheel, £57.50 all up,

and Mark fights back again.

He purchases a Victorian style pine table and chairs for £149.50,

including costs.

Good thing about this table,

what I really like is it's absolutely solid.

It's that solid. It's that solid!

Probably best not to try that at home.

James goes slightly off piste with his next buy,

a Victorian copper kettle.

He missed the earlier bidding but finds the lady who did buy it.

She accepts his offer of £12 and in this situation,

there's obviously no fees.

The Lionheart returns to more conventional bidding

as he promptly buys two glass-topped coffee tables

for £32.20 and a chrome ceiling light for £17.26.

And then there's the rubble.

James challenged Franksy so he can't resist.

-£1, sir.

-£1 is bid. At £1.

-At £1 only.

-Yes!

-And two is bid.

-At

-£2. Three!

-Three.

Go on, they're worth more than that.

I'll tell you what, if you want to pick a few more up as well, you can.

At £3 and selling...

What on earth is he going to do with that lot?

I can't believe I got run up on a pile of bloomin' stones.

Add in the fees and Mark pays £3.46 for the large bag of rubble.

Could he be building the foundations of success? Hmm.

It's been a long day's bidding but before our boy racers

finally heave their weary frames over the finish line,

James can't resist more gardenware - a pair of metal obelisks for £13.80.

He rounds it all off with his two galvanised water bowsers -

£41.40 the pair.

So all four auctions are over

and as our experts collect their purchases,

James finds out about the cutlery that Mark bought using his number.

You will not believe what that sneaky Franksy

has done to me this time.

It's just a 1970s tacky briefcase, can it get much worse?

Yes. It's disgusting. It's tacky.

I mean, who has gold plated cutlery?

Franksy, I'm going to be having words with you.

But James will have the last laugh.

The Put Your Money games masters rule that Mark bought it

so he must pay for it. What does all that do to the figures?

Well, our racing rebels rolled off with £1,000 to spend.

Mark notched up 14 lots including the cutlery, spending £955.68.

But James bought a mind-blowing 19 lots, handing over £910.18.

Never in the history of Put Your Money have

so many lots been bought in one day.

Time for our purchasing pioneers to size up each other's spoils.

Considering it was an auction without many antiques,

we've done all right, haven't we?

To be honest, I don't think we really bought enough.

JAMES LAUGHS

There's not enough items here, really.

There's one thing that I think you probably missed.

Why did you buy that?

I thought it would be really funny and I gave your number

and I thought you would end up paying for it, but the adjudicator said,

"It's not part of the rules, you've cheated, it's now yours."

Talk about "why did you bid on it?" Hello?

I just thought they were all right.

I thought you could plant them up with flowers.

The best idea, though, knock the wheels off,

-sand-blast inside, line it with some sort of paint...

-Bonkers.

-..fill it with water, put lilies in it...

-Yeah, lovely.

Do that, give me a shout, I'll be interested in those,

they'd look nice in my living room.

-Come on, blimey.

-Oh, dear, oh, dear.

Our prize poachers must now turn gamekeepers

as they reverse their strategies to sell their huge hauls.

And this will be immense, as there's an enormous amount of work.

But if anyone can cope it's these two colossal competitors.

In Derbyshire, the magnitude of James' task is becoming clear.

19 lots!

I think I have an entire country park's worth of benches.

This is going to be a real challenge.

We've got an eggshell tea service,

a pair of coffee tables, a Victorian copper kettle.

We've got chicken feeders, a ship's wheel, rosewood boxes,

a modern stylish chrome lamp, a genuine antique is my inro,

a pair of bowsers, a pair of rose trees.

Help!

Erm, there's even more.

Don't forget the late 20th century cheese dish,

the assortment of 1870s brass pans,

the 1920s brass fire extinguisher and the modern wartime game hanger.

Over in south London, Mark has had to decant his rubble into sacks,

so he can move it more easily.

I've got a plan for this, so I'm not worried about that.

I've got some money left over and these two baskets,

I'm going to plant these up.

And I bought a load of silver, that could be quite tricky.

The clock, I've got a man who's got a house full of clocks.

Hopefully he'll buy that.

The stamps, they should be interesting, fingers crossed.

It's like a bad dream, isn't it? This is what James Lewis does to me.

I've got a load of rubble and now, trying to stitch him up,

I ended up getting this.

Would you give your house for them?

I certainly wouldn't.

Mark must also sell the vintage German bisque-headed doll,

the modern brewery signs,

the Victorian style pine table and chairs,

the early 20th century cast-iron railway sign,

the Victorian mahogany draws and the modern metal garden furniture.

So no trouble at all, then.

Our determined dealers need to get their skates on and start selling,

and they can set up all the potential sales they like

but until they've shaken hands and got the money in their back pockets,

no deal is truly sealed.

Mark knows he has the advantage in terms of workload

and he jumps straight into action.

He takes the £46 early 20th century slate clock to see another Mark,

who's a specialist dealer in Carshalton.

It's a house full of average clocks and I've just lifted it, haven't I?

-Not really. If I need an ugly clock...

-Leave off!

..to sell the good ones...! This is the ugly sister.

If it was French, which it's not, it's American...

It's the cheapest of the cheap. You can buy a good quality French one,

a reasonable quality German movement

and a really poor quality American movement, so before you ask me

what you ask me, take into account this is the ugly sister.

OK, we've got a bit of bevelled glass there, that will help.

If you look at the dial, that's in perfect condition.

It's been out in the wet. This grey, you cannot get rid of

because the linseed oil that the slate is polished with oxidises.

You'd have to take every single bit of the case apart, polish it,

-colour, bring it back.

-Give us your best offer.

-60 quid.

-Well...

-And that's in a really good mood.

-You're getting 60 quid and that's it.

-Not 70?

-No.

-Right, 65, take a chance?

-Yeah. 65 quid. Done.

You're a gentleman, thank you, Mark.

Not much wiggle room there,

but he's off and running with a profit of £19.

James doesn't have far to go for his first potential sale,

the cheese dish that cost £11.50.

That building is where this was made.

So I've come back to Derbyshire, to my home village of Crich,

visiting Andrew at The Loaf. I'm sure he'll just love it.

The Village bakery is right opposite the recently closed pottery studio,

and Andrew and Roger remember the couple who ran it.

Di and David Worthy.

I believe that David was the potter and Di did all the glazing.

We actually visited the pottery

and they were just kind of moving out, and they had the remains

of what they had left, they were selling it off at that time.

There you go.

It's a classic bit of Crich pottery, I turned it over,

I saw the CP mark and I was really chuffed.

I normally have a cheese of the week,

I sample the cheeses on the counters. That would be perfect.

-Ah, to cover the little bits of cheese.

-Fantastic.

-It's come all the way home.

-Yes, exactly.

-And it belongs here, really.

-What about something like £60?

I'm not going to argue. That's a profit. Thank you very much.

He brings the cheese dish home and earns a starting profit of £48.50.

Marks next stop is a tea shop in Banstead

which also sells furniture.

He's hoping the owner, Helen,

will like his Victorian style pine table and chairs.

They cost him just under £150 and Mark has his own way

of demonstrating their unique selling point.

-Do you know how strong this is?

-Go on.

I'm going to show you how strong this is.

SHE LAUGHS

There we are. There we are. How strong's that?

-It's just a bit strong.

-Right. Come back to rest.

It's English, it's a scrub top table so you'd have had a scrubbing brush,

some caustic soda, scrubbed it,

and that's why it's got an unfinished top,

but it's a good Victorian style table.

-So...

-220.

# Silence is golden... #

-Shall I go for a walk?

-Yeah, see ya!

-Didn't you go quiet?

-150.

-Well, all right.

There's 150, there's 220, can we meet somewhere in the middle?

Bang in the middle, 200?

-That's not in the middle.

-I was never very good at school, was I?

180.

Go on, then, deal. It gives you a chance, you can still make a profit.

And so does Franksy, £30.50 to add to his total.

And he doesn't stop there, selling the damaged Victorian mahogany chest

to a dealer who restores furniture.

She pays £70, leaving a profit of £26.30.

I am just a sucker for your big blue eyes, that's what it is.

Now for a rare moment. James Lewis is not wearing smart attire.

He's sprucing up the bowsers

and feeding troughs so they might appeal to a neighbour,

and he uses his remaining budget to buy something unusual

to help his selling pitch.

I've got a whole load of hens.

Why, you are asking. They are for a sweetener.

Shona, Roger's daughter,

who I'm going to try and sell them to, is a hen lover.

I've worked with chickens, I know what I'm doing.

I'm transporting them in that little metal cage

to my next door neighbour.

They've been in the barn all night so they've been happy.

Not only that, they've been laying eggs, too.

Each to their own. The ten hens cost £2 each,

which takes his total layout to just over £105.

And even though it is a dull, dreary Derbyshire day,

James then pushes the whole lot a quarter of a mile to Roger's farm.

I thought they'd be absolutely perfect for using with your cows.

I thought they can contain your hay,

-keep it in a nice area, keep it all tidy.

-Very useful.

JAMES LAUGHS

I know you're cunningly ignoring the chickens that are on the top

-but that was for you.

-Thank you.

I know you've got chickens and I thought,

Roger's a hard-nosed businessman,

I thought you might be able to sway it with the chicken deal.

The goose feed is Victorian, or the hen feeder. And I guess...

It needs a bit of a claim. I started.

But feel the weight of that, it's a really good early one.

That's what cost me the most money. These weren't expensive.

The chickens were £2 each.

What are we looking at for the whole lot, James?

-65 for that.

-65 for that.

-30 each for these.

And then 20 quid for my chickens. 140?

145.

OK, 145.

Brilliant, brilliant.

Although James asks for no profit on the hens, they do the trick,

pecking in a combined profit of £39.90.

And he makes light work of the fragile eggshell tea service

made around 1915.

He sells it to two ladies whose company hires out vintage tea sets.

-Do you want it?

-Yes. We'll take it.

-You've got a deal.

They pay £50, giving James a profit of £36.20.

But with load still to shift, James doesn't slow down, selling

the modern chrome ceiling light for £40, showing a profit of £22.74.

Mark is also hard at work. His cast-iron railway sign,

made between the 1920s and the 1940s,

is sold to a pub landlord for £60, shunting in a profit of £4.80.

Franksy is really into the swing of things and drives to

Canterbury with his 100-year-old doll, that cost just under £21.

He's taking it to Tina, who repairs broken dolls

and has a collection of over 3,000.

What's important, Tina, because I don't know a lot about dollies?

The head is nearly three quarters of the value, actually.

As long as the head is good,

anything else can be replaced or repaired.

And I may actually repair her and put her into my collection.

-Would you be interested in making me an offer, please?

-I'd go 50.

The only problem with 50, it's one of my unlucky numbers.

-I could go to 60.

-Tina, you've got yourself a deal, you're an angel.

Thank you very much.

Franksy almost triples his money with the German doll

and makes a profit of £39.30.

This boy is going great guns,

and he sells the modern metal garden furniture to a friend for £70.

That's a profit of £6.74.

Both our beasts of the barter have made steady work of finding buyers.

Time to find out who's in front.

Mark has sold six of his lots and made a profit of £126.64.

James has also got rid of six lots, but is slightly out in front -

£147.34.

Unbelievably, there are still 21 lots left to sell.

James has sold less than a third of his items

and needs to pull his finger out.

But Mark knows he's up against the ultimate competitor,

so will do anything to add value to his items.

He fills his £13.80 wall baskets with over £40 worth of plants

and then sells them to a pub in Wimbledon.

£80 a pair, and a nice cup of coffee,

-because it's a bit early for a pint.

-A deal, sir.

-Thank you very much.

After the cost of the flowers he makes a profit of £23.75.

But this is the point at which James comes out fighting.

He attempts a bulk sale with all the various bits of garden furniture

that set him back £293.26 in total.

He takes them to Tim,

who hires out his house near Ripley as a wedding venue.

But Tim is not a man to mess about.

-What do you think?

-Not a lot.

-Not a lot!

-Seriously, not a lot. That's nice, I do like that one.

That's got some weight about it.

Garden centre fodder. Not a lot, if anything at all.

I'm thinking it's worth 300, 350 for the lot. 400 if you pushed me.

This was the way my brain was working.

-I thought you probably needed a lot of seating.

-We do.

If you've got 100 guests,

bride and groom having their photograph taken...

We can potentially hold 600 guests.

In that case, you need some seating for the elderly.

-That's the good one.

-Cast iron.

Coalbrookdale style, is probably a recasting,

originally made around 1870.

-This one...

-That's 1870?

-No, this one is slightly later.

They used the same castings and they redid it again and again.

This, I think you are under-rating. I like this.

-Very 1970s.

-No, it's a Regency style one.

-Is it?

This is exactly the style of bench you would have had in the 1820s.

550, the lot.

No. You're getting me on a good day. 450, for everything.

520.

-£500.

-Deal.

Tim's a haggling hardman but James does very nicely.

The four lots make £206.74 profit.

And bulk sales prove profitable.

James sells his kettle and pans, all from the 1870s,

with his 1920s fire extinguisher, to his local pub landlord.

He gets £150 - that's a profit of £95.44.

James is suddenly raking it in, so Franksy has to fire back.

He aims high with his biggest auction purchase -

the Georgian silver compass.

He takes it along with a manicure set to the upmarket

Burlington Arcade in central London, to meet silver dealer Daniel.

All together, Mark paid just over £408.

Let's start with the manicure set.

It's not bad. Obviously it needs a bit of straightening up.

But the good thing is you've got all the pieces there.

Not the greatest item in the world

-but one of the good things is, it's art deco.

-It's stylish.

There's a good market for art deco.

Let's look at the piece that you like.

I like that, but I don't always come across pocket compasses.

The nice thing is you've got good hallmarks there.

At this sort of age - this is made in 1803, that makes it George III -

normally they're not marked at all.

My only concern is that you have a little button on the side here

that if you turn it, it should stop and clamp the needle

from moving around so it's not rattling all the time.

That can be sorted out.

Money does need to be spent on it, that's for sure.

I was thinking, on the manicure set, around 100, to 120.

On that I was thinking, 330, 350.

-450 for the two.

-Well, I'm going to shake your hand.

And that way, encourage you to come back

and find some more lovely little Georgian pieces.

Daniel clearly liked what he saw.

The two silver items make Franksy a combined profit of £41.74.

Mark also doubles his money on the brewery signs.

He sells them over the phone to a pub in Suffolk for £75,

serving up a profit of £38.20.

James makes another bulk sale.

The pair of coffee tables

and both the modern rosewood effect jewellery boxes

are all bought by Michelle, who is a regular in his sale room.

-You've got a deal.

-Excellent, thank you very much.

-Thank you.

She pays £310, giving our Lionheart a profit of £208.80.

Next, James heads to Nottingham to meet Donna,

whose company hosts medieval banquets.

He's is hoping she'll want his £46 game hanger.

But she's brought along two familiar friends.

Now, the Sheriff of Nottingham is a famous penny pincher,

and Robin Hood steals from the rich to give to the poor.

Either way, this isn't looking good for the Lionheart.

I thought it was a brand-new reproduction thing that would be

sitting in a farmhouse kitchen, but I then have a look at it.

It's actually old.

It is a genuine antique one.

I think it's probably French, though, probably about 1880,

so it's a little bit later than your period. But I thought it had a look.

Imagine you guys with a big table,

with braces of pheasants hanging from it.

You can have a bit of fun with that.

-Yeah, I think we could.

-Absolutely.

-How about 120 quid.

He doesn't have any money, he's going to be tight,

so I would probably start closer to 50.

How about 100?

-70?

-Oh...

-How about £80?

-80 gold pieces!

-Is that a deal?

-75...

-That's a deal.

-No! You've got a deal. You spoke too late.

-You always do that!

Close shave at the end there but James makes a profit of £34.

With time running out, Franksy makes two quick sales.

His snuff box goes for £20,

which unfortunately for him is a £3 loss.

Next the vintage stamp albums that Mark took a gamble on.

He paid £36.80 but is disappointed when he shows them to expert, Hugh.

-I could make it 20.

-Hugh, you got a deal.

That's a loss of £16.80.

Mark only has two items left,

the rubble and the canteen of cutlery that he bought as a prank.

He's had an idea for the rubble that cost £3.46

that involves his friend, Phil,

who runs a clay pigeon shooting club in Surrey

which is accessed by a very bumpy track.

I've got to be honest, your road, oh, my word.

It seen better days, I'll give you that.

There are a few lumps here and there.

I was thinking that this might help you level that road out.

In the winter, it can be touch and go.

It does get rocky, especially when it's been raining.

There's quite a lot here, how does 40 quid sound, the lot?

Tell you what, if I take tenner off

and offer you 30, deal's done. Shake hands.

-You've got a deal.

-Cheers, mate.

Mark sells the rubble for over eight times what he paid

and drives off smoothly, £26.54 better off.

James is also on the final furlong.

He motors across to Burbage in Leicestershire to meet the landlord

of a pub with a maritime theme.

He sells the ship's wheel for £92.50, making a £35 profit.

-Deal.

-OK, well done, James, thank you very much.

Which brings him down to his favourite auction purchase,

the £230 Japanese inro.

He travels all the way to the swanky St James's area of central London

to see an inro specialist.

He's arranged to meet Rosemary, who deals in Japanese art.

I must say, it's much bigger than I expected it was going to be.

Normally, it would be a storage case for carrying medicines around,

but this is rather large.

They usually call these sumo wrestler's inro,

because they're so big, they think it goes with a big man.

-But this is probably 18th century.

-Oh, really?

-Yeah.

-The decoration is interesting, this is a family crest.

-Oh, right.

Those three leaves, and then we have a dragon amongst waves,

as a symbol of power and continuity.

What's curious about it are these images on the inside of these cases,

which I've never seen before.

There's a lady playing a lute, there's a lady preparing her hair

and then there's a lady sitting by some rice bales.

-It's in terrible condition, I have to say. I'm sorry, James.

-OK.

Never normally buy lacquer which has been damaged like that, yes.

-The condition...

-The condition is a serious problem.

-OK.

I don't know where to start, really. Is 500 too much?

500 is too much.

I'd probably like to give you 300.

350?

-320.

-Ooh...

40...

HE LAUGHS

-30.

-Deal.

THEY LAUGH

I thought we weren't going to get there!

Yes, the rare decoration does it,

and the inro brings in a profit of £100, so James is all sold up.

That leaves the item that nobody wanted -

Mark's prank purchase of the German canteen of gold plated cutlery.

The only chance I've got is the auction. Let's see how I get on.

I'm not looking forward to this.

Franksy is at a sale room in Tooting in south London.

He paid just over £55 for the canteen but remember, whatever

the hammer price, there will be auction fees to come off as well.

30, 32, 34, 36.

At the back, 38. 40. 45?

45 in the doorway. 50?

55 at the back. 60. The doorway is 70.

I think that's a profit.

It is indeed a profit, but it's not stopping there.

120, 125, 130.

And it goes higher. And higher.

170, 175. 180, 185.

190. 195.

195...

I'm glad James Lewis didn't get this after all -

195, that's a profit and a half!

The canteen is the surprise item of the day.

It exceeds all expectations

and after fees makes Mark a profit of £88.32.

What a way to end the day.

It's been a mammoth mission but every last item has been sold.

Our two auction heavyweights started the day with £1,000.

Mark Franks bought 14 lots

and along with the flowers for his wall basket, spent £998.13.

James Lewis bought 19 lots plus ten chickens,

bringing his total outlay to £930.18.

All of the money that Mark and James make from today's challenge

will be going to charities of their choice,

so who is the Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is auction champion?

-Mr Lewis.

-Greetings.

-Auctioneer extraordinaire.

You were at home there, weren't you?

I should have been, but I don't like being down on the floor,

I like being up on the rostrum.

I ended up with some gold plated cutlery which cost me 55 quid,

and no-one wanted to buy it.

So guess what I did, I put it into auction.

-And I sold it for the biggest profit of the whole...

-No!

-Yes.

-No!

-How ironic is that?

-What did you sell it for?

-195 quid.

-You are... No way.

-Yeah way! Trust me, yeah.

You're surprised? I was there!

It made an £88 profit.

So, talking about profit, three, two, one...

Wow! He's done it again! Wow.

That's quite lumpy, isn't it?

-That's not bad. We made over 1,000 between us.

-Yes.

So, a convincing win for James.

Well, 800 or so pounds profit is a great result,

but my word did I have to work for it.

I ran around like a headless chicken and I made a good profit.

Unfortunately, James made more profit. You win some, you lose some.

But there's no rest for our roaming rummagers -

James and Mark square up again tomorrow

at a car boot sale in Essex.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd