Jonty Hearnden and John Cameron - Showdown 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.

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

-I'm a cheeky chancer.

-Lovely!

..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 spend some money.

-Get in there!

Stand by and prepare to be amazed

as our duelling dealers go head-to-head in today's Showdown,

the toughest battle our awesome antiques experts have faced yet.

Jonty Hearnden, this means war.

Our dare-devil dealers will be tested to the absolute limit

as they're sent on a mission to scour the country and continent

to track down the top treasures that they can sell on for the most money.

Coming up, John shows the importance of knowing your numbers...

-Cent cinq?

-Cent cinq?

-No. Cent quinze.

-That's 105.

-No, sorry...

And Jonty reveals how he plans to celebrate a successful bid.

I'm going to come up and give you a massive, great big kiss.

But will our dealers make a profit in the toughest Showdown test, the auction?

-Ow!

-OK...

-It promises to be a battle of epic proportions.

-This is Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.

-I think we're off.

In today's Showdown, our money-making maestros battle it out in their final fight.

Major profit margins and the ultimate accolade of top dealer are at stake.

Entering the battleground first is the people's prince of Portsmouth,

the deal-doing dynamo, John The Hammer Cameron.

I know I have good taste because I keep being drawn to items with punchy price tags.

Ready to retaliate is a dealer who can spot the gems from the junk and the trash from the treasures.

-I think I'm up for the task.

-It's suave, smoothie,

Jonty The Hitman Hearnden.

This will be their toughest challenge to date.

Both our duelling dealers have £1,000 of their own money to spend.

The winner of this challenge will be the one who makes the most profit.

That profit will go to a charity of their choice, so let the battle begin.

-John, this is the biggie, this is the Showdown.

-Where it all matters.

We've got the instructions in these envelopes, so let's see what they say.

It says, "Welcome to the mighty Showdown. The rules are simple.

"You must each buy two items at every one of your Put Your Money challenges.

"You have £1,000 to spend.

"You can sell up to four items wherever you want. The rest will be sold at an auction in Leicestershire

"in direct competition with your opponent. The winner is the dealer who makes the most profit."

-So, that's me then. What are you going to do?

-Good luck, Jonty.

Can you feel it? Yes, it's the tension in the air as our treasure hunting titans prepare to clash.

They'll be purchasing from their usual hunting grounds - a UK antiques market,

an auction, a car boot sale

and a foreign antiques market.

It's going to be one fierce fight, but who will make the most money?

Let the games commence.

Their first battleground is the Ardingly International Antiques and Collectables Fair

where they'll be pursuing the most profitable plunders.

Both of our battling behemoths must each bag two items

and The Hitman's wasted no time as he hits upon his first buy.

He pirouettes into an early lead with a ballerina statuette.

I've paid £45 for that and I just think she is gorgeous.

Date-wise, I think she is around the Second World War

and she's painted to look as if it's bronze which has been oxidised,

but I believe that she's not bronze underneath.

You can see the base metal coming through, so the colour here is more of a white metal, not bronze.

If she had been bronze, I think she'd be worth £200 or £300,

but as a consequence, £45 still seems to be cheap to me as I believe there should be a profit there.

So, Jonty's off the mark and without a thought for his rival, he's eyeing up his second possible money-maker -

this early 20th century trinket box, carrying a mighty price tag of £220.

-How could you tempt me to buy that box?

-180. That's getting close.

I'll buy it at 150.

165. That's the death for me, that's finished for me.

150 is for me.

-At 150, I'll take it.

-At 160, you can take it.

160...? 160.

He's one tough customer. The Hitman shakes on his second deal.

There are restrictions on trading with contemporary ivory and tortoiseshell,

but this box, just by its design, is about 100 years old.

Ivory and tortoiseshell have a controversial history and aren't to everyone's tastes.

Items like this can only be traded if they were produced before 1947,

so this trinket box is legal to buy as it's early 20th century.

You can tell it's Indian by the pierced decoration on the top.

And this object was made for the British market, the export market,

not necessarily for the Indian market.

If you look on the inside here, we have this velvet

and this really distinguishes it as a small trinket box.

And for £160, I think that is worth every single penny.

Jonty is firmly in the lead with his two Round One buys done and dusted,

but The Hammer has not been idle.

He has spotted an item that might just be his cup of tea...or coffee.

This is quite an interesting coffee set.

It's by Portmeirion, a factory that was started by Susan Williams-Ellis in the '50s

and she caused some shock waves through the pottery industry with her quite radical designs.

This one here is not the most popular commercially because it's quite plain black

and it features this classical Greek key band,

but I know somebody that likes Greek key, so I'm interested for that reason alone.

-Excuse me.

-Yes?

Could I ask you about the Portmeirion coffee set, the Greek key coffee set?

You've got £48. What's the very best you can do on it?

35.

-£35...

-We can do that.

-You've got yourself a deal. Thank you.

I do hope my potential customer likes that because if she doesn't,

it isn't the most popular design that Portmeirion ever did.

And I may be lumbered with it.

It's a risky strategy, but it puts The Hammer in the race

and the competition heats up when John bags his second buy,

this kettle and stand costing £110.

You're thinking, "Why have you bought that?"

I may well end up thinking that myself, but I'm going to do a bit of research on this

because I'm pretty sure I've seen this design before.

It should date to about late 19th century. If I'm right,

I think there'll be a steaming hot profit in this here stand.

Our belting battlers have survived Round One. The Hitman snared a cool ballerina buy,

but will The Hammer's kettle pour him pounds of profit in this battle for ultimate victory?

Both our experts started the Showdown with £1,000 of their own money to spend.

John has spent £145,

which means he has £855 left to play with.

Jonty's haul has cost him £205,

leaving him with £795 in the kitty.

Our speedy spenders have been sent to Charterhouse Auctions in Dorset

where they'll need to purchase two items to add to their Showdown haul.

Jonty Hearnden, the auction room sophisticate, gets straight down to business

by bidding on a framed set of 50 John Player cricket cards with an estimate of £40.

Selling this time at 45...

He bowls over the competition and pays £55.54, costs included.

Fabulous-looking cricketers from 1934... We've got the date there.

And they're all obviously one set of John Player cigarette cards.

There are bound to be loads of cricket fans who'll want something like this.

Desperate to get back in the race for the Showdown title,

John takes the plunge on a furniture lot.

Selling at 45...

John, thank you.

I don't know what I've bought there. I may regret it. It's this chair here.

Save the regrets for selling time, John. The Hammer pays £55.54, fees included.

It's a 19th century hall chair.

They've catalogued it as Italian and I'll do some research

and try and tie it down to one of the important designers of the late 19th century

that were reviving Eastern and Persian styles.

That's a little academic piece. 45 quid, it was worth a gamble.

But there's no time for our John to sit down.

He's got a Showdown to win and he's on a roll

as he successfully bids for this pair of Louis XV style armchairs

for £148.08, including costs.

Excellent condition. They've definitely got some age.

If we turn them upside down and have a look at the frames,

we can see from all these holes here that they've had a number of upholstery jobs in the past,

so I'd put these at early 20th century, if not 19th century.

The colours they're in at the moment are quite nice. Nice, soft pastel colours.

And the upholstery in good condition is quite neutral. I think there's a good profit in these.

John has secured his two items, but the auction room is still in full swing

and an item The Hitman has set his sights on has also got him hot under the collar.

This longcase clock is estimated at between £100 and £150.

Now, if I get it for that price, I'm going to come up and give you a massive, great big kiss.

I'm not sure I want a big kiss, thank you.

But The Hitman has got some competition for the clock.

An internet bidder has opened up the bidding at £100.

Treasure-hunting tennis, anyone?

£100. Looking for 10 now. At £100.

110. 120.

130. 140. 150...

The bidding is past the 150 estimate and rising.

John can't take his eyes off the action.

280. 300. 320. 340.

360. 380. I'm out. It's in the room at 380.

At 380, it's more than he wanted to pay, but has he secured the clock?

Standing bid on my very far right, 380. Last chance. Selling at 380...

-400.

-A last-minute volley from the internet bidder keeps the ball in play.

Has our professional profit-puller got another shot in him?

-£420.

-Last chance at 420, it sells then...

-It's game, set and match to Jonty Hearnden.

-I got there.

He's looking chuffed with himself over there buying that clock for 400-plus quid.

That's an awful lot of money, but I'm still very, very pleased.

I'll still give you a kiss.

Get out of it! Jonty shells out over half his entire budget on this longcase grandfather clock,

spending £518.28, including fees.

So, the look of the top half of the clock here is very much 18th century in style,

but with the door here, the glazed door is the huge giveaway that it's 20th century, not 18th century.

The case here is oak. We've got all the pendulums.

We've got all the weights. Clocks like this at the moment seem to be very, very commercial.

Our auction room athletes have played their best game and spent big.

Time then to take a quick look at the money stats.

Our buys started out with £1,000 of their own money to spend

and they've now bought four items each.

John's purchases have cost him £348.62,

leaving him with £651.38 in his kitty.

Jonty has spent a whopping £778.82,

leaving him with just £221.18 for the next two rounds.

Time for Round Three, the Car Boot Sale.

Our bargain-busting boys have arrived at Ford Airfield, West Sussex,

both chomping at the bit to bag some money-making booty.

Now, John, that is up your street.

-Do you think so?

-You should buy it.

-If I go home with that, Mrs Cameron will have my guts for garters.

-How are you doing?

-I've spent most of my money already on that grandfather clock.

-Yes. How much was that with commission?

-A vast fortune. It's over 500 quid.

They say fortune favours the brave, Jonty. Let's hope that is the case on this occasion. Let's crack on.

They're friendly now, but we'll see how long that lasts

as our eminent expert John is quick to spot a potential buy.

This is nice and interesting. This is a silver chest.

This would have originally had trays in here fitted for silver plate and cutlery.

What's your price on this, mate?

140, we take it away today.

-I'll tell you what. I'll give you 80 quid for it.

-No, no, no.

-It's nice. There's no...

-125, that is it.

-That's your absolute best.

-Yeah, that'll be the death on that.

-100 quid?

-No.

125, it's yours.

120 and we're done.

120 and you buy me a coffee.

-120...

-And a coffee.

-And a coffee.

-All right, 120 and a coffee.

-There you go.

-Good man.

-I suppose I'd better pay you now. Have I got enough left for the coffee?

-Then I keep the case.

Oh, the seller means business! John is the new owner of the case for £121.50, coffee included.

-And there's your coffee, sir.

-Thank you very much. Much appreciated.

-You're very welcome. Now...

Now, that is an excellent piece.

There's a real couple of nice points about this. Quality locks on here.

And we've actually got two keys.

So, it locks once here,

then the hasp and staple closes, and it locks again here.

Real good quality. Probably dates from the late Victorian period.

It's made of oak and it's got these wonderful, metal-bound pieces to protect the edges of the timber.

This is in case they were moved around hastily.

It would protect those dovetail joints.

We've also got a little plaque on the front - "EG Dalgety, Esquire, Lockerley Hall, Hants."

So, this would have been from quite a grand house.

It's cost me £120 and a coffee, but I think I'll get a profit out of that.

Both our eagle-eyed experts are trawling for treasure,

determined to emerge victorious in this epic Showdown.

-How much is your walnut nursing chair?

-30?

30 quid. It's worth every penny. I just don't think I need another chair.

-You can have that for 20 quid.

-You'd have to give me 20 for that.

-No way!

And it's The Hitman who strikes the next blow, buying this vintage British Railways sign for £50.

Thank you very much. Brilliant.

But that won't faze the ice-cold Hammer as he retaliates with his final buy of the day,

this 1960s cooler box at the cost of £150.

I've never seen one before and I think I can get a profit out of this.

As our maestros of memorabilia get close to the car boot finish line,

Jonty seizes upon a last-minute buy, paying £30 for this set of china plates.

What this is is a part tea set made by Salter and Sons

in the 1950s and '60s.

Now, I know what you're thinking.

You're thinking, what on earth have I bought this set of plates for?

There's a simple reason in that I know there are people out there that will want to buy it

and I'll do anything to beat Mr Cameron.

Yes, fighting talk from Mr Hearnden as this battle gets fiercer.

Both our treasure hunters are desperate to win, so let's see where they stand after Round Three.

From his £1,000 budget, John has spent £620.12,

which leaves £379.88 to spend in the final round.

Jonty has spent a total of £858.82 so far,

leaving him with just £141.18 for Round Four.

And so begins the last round in this clash of the battling profit-pullers

and it's time for our brave boys

to say "bonjour" to the Bastille Antiques Market in Paris.

Our duelling dealers know this is their final profit-hunting fling

and with over 450 stalls and a kilometre of ground to cover, there's no time to waste.

Looks rather beaten-up, kind of like a car John would drive.

Our Portsmouth prince is scouting for spoils

and he strikes it lucky with this French ceramic match-striker,

costing him £85.47.

These were very common in the 19th century

and you would have had your matches placed openly in the top like that.

You strike them against the side.

Overall, the piece is in excellent condition. There are no chips or cracks.

And it has nice, strong lettering around here which is also nicely preserved.

I'm pretty sure that's a rare example. Hopefully, I'll get a profit back in Old Blighty.

Well, that's what it's all about. Also prowling the Parisian stalls is The Hitman

who has just made his first purchase -

this chromed metal panther at a cost of £85.47.

It's just a really beautiful Art Deco panther and at home, I'm sure there'll be buyers for it.

It's just so elegant, so French!

Our experts are bumper to bumper in the French capital,

still vying for bargains they hope will win them the title.

John is admiring his next potential purchase -

this antique wine bottle with a price tag of 225 euro.

And The Hammer's got a trick up his sleeve - his natural flair for languages.

He thinks he's offering 150 euro.

-Cent cinq?

-Cent cinq?

But the poor, deluded chap is actually offering 105 euro.

-Cent cinq?

-Cent cinq...

-Cent quinze.

-..is 105!

No, no, no. Sorry, I'm learning.

Cent quin...

-Cinquante.

-Cinquante.

-Cent cinquante?

-Cent cinquante et dix...

Cent cinquante and dix?

-160? Is that what...?

-LAUGHTER

-160 euros?

-Yeah, yeah.

-You've got yourself a deal. Merci.

-Thank you.

Yes, those cracking language skills have landed John a 65-euro discount

and he pays a total of £136.75.

It's an 18th century wine bottle.

Now, this would have been blown by hand at a time when it was quite difficult.

It was in its early days in Europe and in the UK.

The style of this bottle is known as an onion,

your shaft and globe.

It's got a wonderful kicked-in base.

That's the term they use for this indented base there.

It's quite sharp there and this would have been blown by hand

and you would have had a pontil rod and that's snapped off and that's been left rough.

But what's really beautiful about it is this wonderful iridescence around the base here

and around the lower part of the body.

That's where it's been buried in the ground, in the mud for many, many years.

I do know one or two collectors back in the UK. I'm hopeful there's something of a profit there.

So, John has completed his Showdown haul,

but his rival, desperate to find that elusive final purchase, keeps scanning the stalls.

Time is running out. The market closes actually in 20 minutes.

With five minutes to spare, Jonty may have found himself a meaty last item.

These are ceramic hooks,

but they're not for your hat and coat. They're actually for meat, so they're from a butcher's.

The dealer is asking 45 euros for them, so I'll just see what I can get them for

because those are quite different.

And hoping for a deal, it's Jonty's turn to show off his French skills.

C'est possible pour trente?

-Trente?

-Trente.

OK. That's 30 euros.

That's perfect. In the bag.

In the bag indeed. The Hitman pays £25.64 for the ceramic meat hooks.

-Merci, monsieur. Au revoir.

-Merci. Au revoir.

C'est fini! Round Four is done and dusted and our battling boys have snapped up all their Showdown items.

Has John struck it lucky with his match-striker or will Jonty's panther pull the biggest profit?

Time will tell. Our rummaging rivals each started out with £1,000 of their own money to spend.

John has been cautious with his cash

and has spent just over £842 of his kitty

while Jonty has gone all out in his bid for victory

and finishes having spent almost £970.

Before our bidding rivals head back to Blighty,

there's just enough time for them to reflect on their Showdown buys.

-Are you pleased with everything you bought?

-Yeah, but I stuck my neck out buying the grandfather clock.

That's an awful lot of money. I've ended up spending almost all of my £1,000.

I've bought some... I genuinely like the items I've bought.

When I think back, there are things that need some research, that may turn up trumps.

The hardest decision I'm going to have is what items to chance at auction without reserve.

Interesting. I'm suffering the same quandary.

I'm pondering what I'll put into the auction. Not a clue.

-I know what you'll not put in the auction.

-What?

-That clock.

Yes, yes. No, I've got to find a buyer for that, let me tell you.

Bagging their buys was just the start of today's ultimate challenge for Showdown glory.

John and Jonty must transform into selling superstars and start pulling in the profits.

Our duelling dealers now have to sell all their items,

but the Showdown has a twist - the auction.

John and Jonty must each put half their items under the hammer

where their selling skills will have no influence on what the buyer pays.

They might see their profits soar or they might lose everything.

At the Cameron lair in Portsmouth, John is sizing up his stash.

My favourite items have to be my kettle on a stand here

which, having done some research, is Christopher Dresser for Benham & Froud.

I've got my ice box - a lot of demand for that brand, especially early 1950 pieces like that.

And my French pieces - my 18th century bottle and match-striker.

But John must also sell the 1960s Portmeirion coffee set,

the 1920s Italian hall chair,

the pair of Louis XV style armchairs

and the vintage silver chest.

I haven't decided which four I'm going to send to auction.

I'm going to carefully consider that the auction commission could eat into any profit,

but whatever I do decide, I've got to make sure I give The Hitman a run for his money.

Yes, fighting talk from The Hammer, but over in Oxfordshire, Jonty is perusing his prize pieces.

Here are all of my investments for my Showdown. What a collection!

One of my star items is this beautiful panther. I think it's so charming. I'm so pleased with him.

But I've sunk half of my investment into this clock

and don't tell John this, but I have no buyer for it at all,

so this is a huge risk and I've still got to find a buyer for it.

I still have to choose which items to put into the auction, so I've got a lot of work in front of me.

Jonty must also sell the 1940s ballerina figurine,

the late 19th century, Anglo-Indian trinket box,

the 20th century railway sign,

the 1934 cricket player cards,

the mid-20th century china plate set

and the ceramic meat hooks.

Our brave boys now need to turn all that talk into antique-selling action,

but remember, no deal is truly sealed until they've shaken hands on it.

It's John The Hammer Cameron who is first into the fray, hoping to bag that crucial opening sale.

John is armed with the Italian ebonised chair that cost £55.54 in the auction room

and he's targeting antiques dealer Ian, but will John be sitting on a winner?

-Ian...

-Hello, John.

-This is something I took a chance on at auction.

-What are your first thoughts?

-Got a feeling of Bugatti.

It has, hasn't it? I just can't really say 100% it's his design.

-And era, you say 1920 to 1930?

-It's certainly around that period.

-It could be a little bit earlier.

-It could be.

It's an interesting piece. Why don't you have a punt?

-130 quid.

-Would you do one and a half?

-140 quid.

I'll tell you what, I'll tell you what...

Would you do 146 quid?

-Go on then. I'll take a chance.

-146 quid.

It's a swift start for John as he nets a profit of £90.46 and he's not stopping there.

John splashed £150 on the retro ice box at the car boot sale

and he hopes it will also be to Ian's taste.

-What do you reckon?

-I would like to pay 200 quid.

-You'd like to pay 200.

-I don't suppose you'd go two and a half?

-Go on, John.

-£250?

-Yeah.

What a turn-up! John keeps his cool and gulps down a mighty profit of £100.

It's an impressive start from John, but Jonty isn't about to let The Hammer run away with the game.

He retaliates by selling his first item, the early 20th century,

Anglo-Indian trinket box from the antiques fair

to Tony, a collector of Indian items...

-Gosh, it's pretty!

-It really is lovely.

..closing the lid on a profit of £115.

John still holds the lead with two deals to one in this all-out battle for the Showdown title.

But what's this? It looks like The Hitman is bringing out the big guns.

Now, that's the sound of a profit.

Half of my money has gone into this clock.

I've come here to show it to Nigel and I really do need to make a big, fat profit on this one.

Jonty's brought the longcase clock that set him back £518.28 at auction to show specialist dealer Nigel.

So, will this major item bring in a profit for Jonty or sound the death knell?

Nigel wastes no time inspecting the piece.

-CLOCK CHIMES

-There we go.

-So, Westminster chiming.

-Yes.

-On the quarters.

-So, date-wise, we're looking at, what, 1920s, 1930s?

-Yeah, yeah.

Shall we put the hood back on to see it in proportion?

It's essentially 18th century in style.

It's of the late 18th century period.

-With this sort of domed hood.

-Yeah.

-An 18th century one would be probably...

-A lot taller.

-A lot taller, yeah.

-At the right price, you might be interested?

-At the right price.

-Is the right price 900 quid?

-No.

Right...

What about 850?

We're getting warmer.

-What about 800?

-I wouldn't want to pay a great deal more than 700 for it.

What about 775?

-I'm coming down.

-You're coming down, you're coming down.

-I'm doing my very best.

You've got a deal at 750.

-Not 775?

-Not 775, no.

-750...

-You've got a deal.

-I'll shake your hand. Thank you very much, sir.

Well, ding-dong, Jonty's got a profit ringing in his ears

to the tune of £231.72 and it's perfect timing

because that deal levels the scoreboard at two apiece.

Determined to regain his lead, John is hoping to raise a toast with his next sale.

I'm in the New Forest to meet hotel owner Nina Basset

whose husband Gerard Basset is a world champion sommelier,

but I haven't come to taste wine or to sell any for that matter,

but what I am hoping to sell is my antique wine bottle that I bought in Paris.

This could be a good year.

John paid £136.75 for the antique wine bottle,

but will Nina pour him a glass full of profit?

Have a look at that.

Wow, how old is it?

It actually dates to about 1700, 1720 and we can tell that because of the shape.

So, where did you find this?

I actually bought this in Paris, but it didn't come from there.

The chap I bought it from was Dutch and it came out of a Dutch canal and that would be very consistent.

It's very common - drink it, sling it overboard.

-But that's the best part of 300 years. So, do you like it?

-I do, I love it.

I'm looking for about £300 for that which is pretty much the going rate.

-£300 for a bottle? Goodness me!

-If they had the seal on there, it could be several thousand pounds.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Maybe we could barter?

-How good is your bartering? I bet you're very good.

-I'm not sure, but we could give it a try.

How about if I offered you...210?

210? That's quite a drop.

You've gone down 90.

I'd want sort of nearer 270, something like that.

How about 250 and we have a deal?

250 and a deal, um... Yeah, I think I can go with that.

What a result! After a tough haggle, John's profit pot is overflowing

to the tune of £113.25.

What a great bouquet!

John is packing a punch with sizeable profits on all his deals

and the winning streak continues with the vintage silver chest.

He repatriates the wooden chest from the car boot sale to its ancestral home at Lockerley Hall in Hampshire

and tidies up a whopping profit of £278.50

and with that, John has now offloaded all the items he planned to sell privately.

Determined to speed his way back into the race, Jonty has climbed aboard a steam train in Oxfordshire.

He is bringing the mid-20th century British Railways sign that cost him £50 at the car boot sale

to show Ros, the Mayor of Wallingford.

Perfect timing.

I think we're off.

But will Ros, who's buying on behalf of the local museum, give Jonty a speedy profit?

-How about that?

-Isn't that perfect?

-Isn't that perfect?

-Well, no, it isn't really, is it?

Yes, absolutely. It does come with warts and all.

So, this sign would have been used on the tenders, this is where this sign would have been placed.

And British Railways were when the big four railway lines were nationalised after World War Two,

so this sign is post-1948.

I'm looking for £100 for this.

-What do you mean, shaking your head like that?

-No.

-No?

No. 50?

50 quid? No, I can't do that. No way can I do that.

Absolutely not. I'll come down a little. How about 90 quid?

-How about 60?

-No, no, no, it's got to be much more than that.

Come on, please...

-70?

-What about if we do 80 quid and it's yours?

-Yes, all right.

Jonty sticks to his guns and steams his way to a profit of £30.

That's another profit. I think it's full steam ahead, boys, for winning this competition.

-HORN TOOTS

-Look at that, happier than a little boy at Christmas time!

Jonty is still playing catch-up in this epic battle for the Showdown title, but not for long.

He's come to Reading hoping to bowl over cricket umpire and memorabilia collector Raleigh

with the 1934 player cards that cost £55.54 at auction.

We've just had a new pavilion built and I think this will look absolutely fantastic in it.

-Brilliant.

-Raleigh's a good sport and Jonty scores a £14.46 profit on the cricket pitch.

Now, that wasn't a bad innings.

Yes, not bad indeed, Mr Hearnden.

As our boys head back to the pavilion to prepare for the auction,

it's time to see who is stumped by their money-making plans and who is batting big profits.

John, so far, has sold four of his buys

and turned an impressive profit of £582.21.

Jonty has also sold four items,

but he's made a more modest profit of £391.18.

Our boys have battled hard to track down the best buyers,

but now the rest of this clash is out of their hands.

They must sell all their remaining items at the auction,

a place where they have no influence over the proceedings.

They're in the hands of the team at the saleroom in Leicestershire.

Before the hammer starts to fall, our anxious dealers assess the lie of the land.

My Portmeirion coffee set is in good condition, it's a complete set and has a good maker's name.

But at £35, I'd probably need to get about 60 just to get into profit at the auction.

Will it make a profit? We'll see.

Here's my lovely panther, beautiful, sleek-looking object here.

Now, I paid £85 for this panther.

Am I going to get a return for my money? Well, I hope so. But I need a lot of bidders on this one.

I need people to bid up against one another.

Our super sellers have taken their place in the auction room arena, hoping to pull in serious profits.

They both know it's their last chance to take the Showdown title.

-You have got your Portmeirion Pottery coffee set coming up here. You paid, what, 35?

-£35 for it.

-Good luck, sir.

-Thank you. I wish you meant it, Jonty!

Lots of bids on my book here, starting with £30. 40. 50. 60.

-70. 80. 90. 100.

-Goodness me!

Away at £100...

-Wow!

-A bit of profit there, a little bit.

-That's a very good profit.

-Not bad at all.

Yes, a solid first sale for John and that's brewed him a profit of £41.70 after fees.

Can Jonty match The Hammer's success?

Up next is the 1950s china plates which he paid £30 for at the car boot sale.

-There's 16 pieces in all.

-Yeah.

-If I can double my money, I'll be very happy.

-OK.

£20, opening bid then at £20. Here at 20. 22. 25. 28.

30. 32. 35...

-What did you pay for it?

-£30.

At 38 then. Last chance, fair warning. I'm selling at 38...

-GAVEL BANGS

-£38. Broken even.

-Yeah.

Yes, not quite, Jonty. Once house fees have been deducted, you've actually made a loss of £2.94.

Hey-ho! I've got bigger fish to fry.

But Jonty is not cooking up a profit.

The vintage meat hooks that cost £25.64 are under the hammer.

At £28...

-Profit there?

-I don't think so.

And after fees, Jonty rakes in another loss of £6.78.

Lady Luck has not been on Jonty's side so far

and John's next lot is already up.

He paid £85.47 for the 19th century porcelain match-striker in Paris

and he's hoping it will ignite a bidding frenzy.

-We need to push through the £100 mark for you to be making a profit.

-Here we go.

-Lots of interest with this on the book.

-With bidders on the internet and in the room,

it's not long before the bidding reaches the magic £100.

-95...

-OK.

-OK.

100. 110. 120. 130.

140. 150. 150 then and away...

-GAVEL BANGS

-Well done, sir.

-I think there's a bit of profit there.

There certainly is - a £32.23 profit to be exact!

Hoping to make a comeback in the Showdown race,

Jonty is ready for the 1940s ballerina figurine to go under the hammer.

-It was 45 quid. Am I going to get a profit?

-I thought you were going to say you paid more for it.

-I think there's profit in that.

-Really?

-Yeah, I like it.

-I shall do a pirouette if I do.

-That, I'd like to see, Jonty. You've got the legs for it.

-Do you think so?

-Yeah.

So, a pirouette is coming up.

-Who'd have thought The Hitman was a prima ballerina?

-£25 bid.

-OK...

-25 bid here. 25. And 30.

35. 40.

45. 50. 55.

Shaking the head. It's 55 with the net.

At 55. 60 do I see? Internet wins and selling at £55...

I was hoping for a lot more than that.

Jonty misses out on a profit and a pirouette, notching up a loss after fees of £4.

The battle for Showdown superstardom is not going to plan for Jonty and he's yet to make a penny of profit,

but with his final lot about to come up, he hopes they've saved the best for last.

I'm getting very nervous.

Jonty paid £85.47 for the Art Deco panther in Paris,

but will it pull the colossal profit he needs?

Bidding starts here at £20.

5. 30. 5. 40.

5.

And selling away to the corner at £45...

Ow, that hurts!

Oh, dear, Jonty's panther has crawled its way to his biggest auction room loss yet -

minus £52.67 after fees.

And with that, Jonty is all sold up and his fate rests in the lap of the auction room gods.

But John still has two remaining items he hopes will take him all the way to victory.

First up is the Arts and Crafts kettle that cost £110 at the antiques fair,

but the bidding has quickly gone off the boil.

-95. The bid's with the internet and it's here to sell...

-No.

£95 I'm bid. All out in the room, last chance, and selling to the internet at 95...

-That's the chance you take.

-You made a loss.

-That's the chance you take.

-You now know how I feel!

Our battlers comfort each other as John gets a lukewarm loss after fees of £37.40.

So, can he pull a final profit as his two Louis XV style armchairs go under the hammer?

John paid £148.08 for the pair at auction,

but will they go for more this time round?

-What do you think?

-What did you pay for them?

With commission, about £150.

That's only £75 a chair, for goodness sake! That's cheap. They have to be worth 300 quid.

-But whether they make that here... Let's find out.

-OK.

-I have to start the bidding at £220.

-OK.

It's a good start, but how high will it go?

£220. I'm bid 220. Do I see 30 anywhere quickly?

This is a commission on the books and I shall sell...

-£220?

-..at £220.

It stalled at £220, but John still notches up a profit of £27.02

and closes his campaign on a high note.

You're not the only person to make a profit on a chair.

All our boys' lots have now been sold, but who will be the overall victor?

Our rummaging rivals each started out with £1,000 of their own money to spend.

John's Showdown buys cost him a total of £842.34

while Jonty spent a total of £969.93.

But the only thing that matters now is who has made the biggest profit.

All of the money that John and Jonty have made will be going to charities of their choice,

so let's find out who is today's Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is champion.

-Hello, Jonty.

-How are you doing?

-I'm good, I'm good.

-Good to see you.

Auction over. We're both glad about that.

If this had been a school report, mine would have read,

"Jonty must try harder finding stuff to sell at auction."

-But you did well.

-It wasn't that great.

I can't crow about it. How did you get on? I'm interested to know how you got on with the longcase clock.

-I took a bit of a risk.

-You paid all the money for it.

-I stuck my neck out to purchase it.

-I sold it to a clock specialist, so I was pleased about that.

-And made a profit?

-Yeah, a good profit.

-Well done.

-Shall we see how we've done?

-We're keen to see if we can put ourselves out of our misery.

-One.

-Two.

-Three...

-Whoa!

-Well done, you, sir.

That's interesting, Jonty. I thought you were going to give me a good whacking there.

That's a great result there. You've done very, very well indeed, sir.

-Shall we see how we've done over the whole week?

-I think we ought to.

BOTH: One, two, three...

-Wow!

-Oh, look at you!

How close is that! Well done. Nearly £2,000. £2,000 each, that's brilliant.

-We've both done well, but congratulations, sir.

-It's been a pleasure doing battle with you.

-I've learnt a lot along the way.

-I've really enjoyed it too.

So, John is our Showdown champion and he came out on top throughout the week's head-to-head challenges.

I'm delighted to have beaten Jonty The Hitman Hearnden

because he is one silky smooth operator with more than one or two tricks up those sleeves of his.

The less said about my Showdown auction items, the better

because John really romped home with it today

and perhaps that's what made the difference over the whole week.

It really was a close-run thing.

John and Jonty hade made fantastic profits and all their money will be going to their chosen charities.

My chosen charity is the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance

that operates 365 days a year across three different counties.

The Hammer has managed to raise over £2,200 for the Cash For Kids charity,

a charity that helps sick and underprivileged kids in our communities.

It's been a week of hard-fought, close combat.

John and Jonty have both put their money where their mouths are

and proved they can make big profits from antiques when their money is on the line.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd