Derby 16 Bargain Hunt

No, this is not University Challenge, it's a challenge of an altogether different sort.

Let's go bargain hunting!

Today, we're at the Jaguar Antiques Fair at Derby University.

With the high rolling red team.

-I want to spend some money.

-Yes.

-What about you?

Well, yes, if it's worth it.

I agree with that, let's spend some money on something good.

And a feisty blue team.

And I know by your face, Holly, that you're going to completely

ignore what I say and do what you want anyway.

But it's all smiles all round at the auction.

Yes!

That's all still to come, but first let me remind you about the rules.

To become Bargain Hunt graduates, our teams have just 60 minutes

and £300 to find three items to sell at auction.

The winning team is the one that makes the most profit or least loss.

£500.

That's the theory anyway, but first let's go and meet the teams.

Competing on Bargain Hunt today, we've got a couple of friends and a mother and daughter.

We've got Ken and Bruce for the friends,

and we've got Holly and Beverley for the mother and daughter.

-Welcome all.

-Thank you.

-Lovely to see you.

Now you two guys, how long have you been friends and where did you meet?

I'm afraid it's nearly 30 years ago, and I met Bruce when he was waiting

for yet another interview, which he passed.

Well, I would do, wouldn't I!

-You were at school then, were you?

-Yes, we were both school teachers.

Ten years ago I retired, early retired.

I help out at the Ashby de la Zouch Museum with 50 other volunteers. We love it, it's good fun.

-Do you actually collect anything in particular yourself?

-Yes, I'm a book collector.

I'm very keen on the works of John Buchan, John Meade Falkner

and other authors, and I've got nearly 7,000 books at home.

But more recently, last couple of years I've been collecting ampullae.

-Tell us about ampullae then.

-Well, here's an ampulla.

-Yes.

-And it's made of lead, and it's a small holy water container.

This one has a big W on it.

Allegedly, it's meant to be from Walsingham but I'm hoping today that it means winner.

Now, Bruce, do you still teach?

I teach critical thinking.

What's critical thinking?

It's trying to get people to look at things objectively and not take things at face value.

Well, that's brilliant. What do you like to collect?

I collect DH Lawrence, Evelyn Waugh, modern first editions.

-To find first editions in dust covers and stuff like that is nearly impossible now, isn't it?

-Yes.

Have you had any discoveries?

I was a bit lucky, because I actually bought a whole range of

Shakespeare miniatures, and they cost me £10, but one was missing.

Literally months later, in Ulveston in Cumbria,

I walked into a book shop and guess what was for sale for 50 pence?

The book, the specific book from that collection. I'm not sure how much it's worth, but...

-Same publisher, same imprint, the whole thing?

-I think it was...

It was the missing one.

The missing book.

We're on the mark with you, we're going to have rather fun today.

Now girls, are you quaking in your boots, all these guys nattering on?

-Not really.

-It's something else, isn't it?

-Absolutely.

-Yes. What do you do for a living, Bev?

I'm a retail and finance manager at Blackbrook Zoological Park.

-Are you?

-I am, yes.

-But you haven't always worked at the zoo, have you?

No, I haven't, I've been an interior designer for 20 years.

-Gosh. So you know about antiques?

-Absolutely.

-Great.

So you've been buying things and placing them in clients' houses to enhance the beauty of their homes?

-Absolutely.

-The nice thing about being an interior decorator I always think, I've never done it myself,

but I might turn my hand to it, is spending somebody else's money to create what you want.

-Exactly.

-Which is such fun, isn't it?

-It is, yes.

I mean, take our £300 today.

-You're going to be taking our £300 and converting it into zillions of profits.

-I do hope so.

Yes, I hope so too. Now darling, what do you enjoy collecting?

I collect blue and white china,

David Winter cottages, I also collect teapots.

Yes. How many teapots have you got?

I've probably got about 400.

-400 teapots!

-Yes.

I mean, we're talking big time here, aren't we.

-So, Holls, what do you do for a living, baby?

-I'm a full-time

student at Nottingham Trent University, I'm studying product design. All going well.

Tell us about the course. Product design, is that good?

Yes, it's really good. It's completely different to what I

originally thought it would be, compared to what I was doing, design technology.

It's a completely different scale.

So I really enjoy it.

-Are you really looking forward to competing on Bargain Hunt?

-Absolutely.

-I am, yes.

-You're up for this.

-Yes, definitely.

-It's a great place, you're going

to have lots of fun, and we're going to have lots of fun.

-Now the money moment, £300 apiece. There you go, £300, £300.

-Thank you.

You know the rules, your experts await and off you go, and very, very good luck.

400 teapots, eh? Cheers!

Now, time to meet our experts.

Teaching the Reds a thing or two is lecturer in bargains, David Barby.

And helping out the Blues, someone with all his faculties, Mark Stacey and a 2:2.

Time to start shopping!

Some nice stuff here.

They're nice, Mum.

Oh, no. What's the best you can do?

The absolute base would be 120.

-120.

-What do you think about it?

-Well, it's a little silver necked decanter.

-What do you think of that?

It's attractive. But it's a spoon.

Come on, get your teeth into something, you lot!

These are nice. They are from Nottingham.

What's the date on them? 1837, nice and early.

-Ken.

-Yes.

-Come and have a look at this.

-Yes, OK.

-These are quite interesting.

-I like that.

-Oh, his mark.

-His mark. That's particularly useful.

-Yes.

This was typical.

Often you wouldn't get a signature, somebody else would write the name

and then the person would just put a cross or some other form of imprint to show that they had agreed.

-And it's all hand-written as well.

-And it's fairly local as well.

-It's a local one.

-Are they from the same place?

-Sutton Boddington.

-It's Derby.

This one is Nottinghamshire.

Obviously boundary changes.

That's interesting, isn't it? I love anything to do with history.

Social history, and you couldn't get anything more basic than housing.

-It's more and more popular.

-It is indeed.

We need a good price. A good price, we'll go for that.

I think they're a little bit on the top side for £12.

-What do you think or not?

-I wouldn't want to go above ten for each.

Why don't you offer 16 for two?

Go and have a word, the dealer's over there.

Certainly if I lived in Sutton Boddington, or it was my name, I'd be very interested in that.

Oh, I think so as well.

To see whether the cottage still exists is the interesting factor.

Yes. How are we doing, Bruce?

-Deal done.

-How much?

-£16.

-That's not bad.

I think that is very, very good.

£16 indeed. For some old deeds.

I think it's a nice little bowl.

-Nice colour.

-It's quite nice because it's got its paper label as well.

What is the price again, sir? 125?

We said 125.

-125. Oh, gosh. I think it's a little bit too much.

-Yeah.

Come on, girls!

Now what about this, do you like bits of jewellery and things?

-Holly, Holly, Holly!

-What?

-That.

Oh, the little jewellery box.

I mean, that is quite pretty, isn't it?

That is beautiful.

-Why do you like this?

-Just it's very, very pretty.

It looks a little bit Art Deco-y to me.

The top's a bit worn, but I just think it's really pretty.

Well, you've got your arts mixed up. It is more art nouveau.

-Right.

-What does the ticket say? Does it give a date on it?

120. Birmingham 1913.

So we're slightly off the art nouveau period, but you've

still got that slight sort of, you know, organic shape to it,

to the decoration, but it's pressed out in a mould, really, and cut out and then applied to the box.

Then you keep your pins in there, and of course you keep your little

-valuables in there, your little silver...

-I think that's really, really pretty.

-What is the price on it?

-120.

-That's quite a lot.

-It is.

-Would you like to know what I think if we put it into auction?

-Yes.

I would say we're probably looking at an estimate of around about 70-100.

-It is a nice shape though, isn't it?

-Yes, it's beautiful.

-Heart shape. Is it something we'd like to negotiate on?

-I think so.

-I reckon so, yes.

-Because you both kind of lit up when you saw it.

-Yes, I like that.

-Now, it's got 120 on it.

What's the best you could do?

Best price is £80.

£80. That's not too bad. If you remember what I said, I said an estimate wise of 70-100.

What do you think about £80?

-I reckon so.

-I think we should go for it.

You are sweet to us, is there any way we could tweak you down a little bit, do you think, maybe 70?

Please.

Cash?

It's worth a try. I mean, they're really sweet to us.

-Oh, yes, he'll meet you halfway.

-I think we're happy with that.

-Absolutely.

-Thank you very much indeed, that's very sweet of you.

We've only used ten minutes and we're still all loved up after that heart-shaped trinket box.

How much is the box, please, with the Ruskin stone?

-400.

-Oops!

Have you got anything within our price range?

What have we got here? A Keswick trivet.

This is Keswick School of Industrial Art. And it's typical with the design, actually.

It's nice.

It is nice.

But I rather like this little

ink stand here.

That's actually Imperial Zinn and it's stamped under the lid with the Imperial mark.

-What do you think?

-It's nice.

-I like the shape of it, certainly.

-It's good.

-So what age is it, roughly?

-It dates from about 1900.

-This is quite clever. I like it immensely.

-I do.

-What does that say?

-That says 60.

-What is the very best you can do on that?

I'll take ten off. 50.

-Is that your very best?

-I'll take 40.

That's good. We'll go for that. 40. Thank you very much.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-Enjoy it.

Wow, two items purchased within the first 15 minutes.

I like your style, boys.

I tell you what we'll do, if we do this middle section - because there are three levels -

if we do the little middle level there, and then we can go down the round level after that, OK?

Yes.

If you woke up this morning and found that you'd got £50, you had a lucky touch last night,

and you didn't know what to do with the £50, you could have come to an antiques fair like this

and bought a selection of objects, actually, for £50.

Let me show you what my selection is for you today.

Well, here's an unusual object.

It's a horn spoon.

I know, I can hear you say, surely that's plastic not horn.

I didn't know you could get horn that's quite as clear as that.

Well, you can.

And this is an unusual Scottish spoon. It's got a silver shield

on it, onto which you could engrave your initials, and down the sharp end, there's something that looks

like a whistle - which actually IS a whistle.

Next, in our galaxy of treasures we have this little fellow.

It's a Triceratops, but what, I hear you ask, is a Triceratops doing on top of a weighted 925 silver base?

Well, the secret's in this little clip on his back, because this

thing is made as a menu holder, but just in case you haven't got a menu

to put on the dinosaur stand, I just happen to have acquired this little fellow.

It's a Victorian photograph of a quadricycle.

A very rare and extraordinary form of bicycle,

except it's got four wheels, two big ones opposite one another and these two little ones on either side.

Now this is a rare and esoteric type of bicycle, and as such this image is quite unusual.

But look how nice it looks when placed on this dinosaur menu holder.

The three items would cost you a total of £50.

£20 for the Scottish horn whistling spoon, which is a jolly

good price, because I think in Scotland the thing's worth about 60.

£20 for the solid silver dinosaur menu stand,

which must be worth £30 or £40, and £10 for the bicycling card.

What else would you have spent your £50 on?

I like those. Those are very pretty.

They're lovely, they're quite early. What do you think, Holls?

-Not my first choice.

-No, quite.

-It's not for you.

Let's have a look, they're lovely quality, and I

-love blue and white so it's worth considering those.

-Absolutely.

This is Minton, containing within this little bowl is the history of the early art movement in England.

Mildly boring to me.

Boring? Each to their own, Ken.

It's £108. You might be able to negotiate on that.

We'll come back to it, I think.

It's entirely up to you.

I think we'll think about it.

If it's meant to be, I'm sure the bowl will still be there later on.

I actually really like that.

-That's very pretty.

-It is very pretty, actually.

Minton, Perth pattern vase. You're not impressed, are you?

-Not really. I can imagine it as a pair.

-What a gorgeous pansy vase.

-Thank you, it is.

-Are you into pansies?

-No, but I very much like that, I think it's very pretty.

-Transfer printed, isn't it?

It is transfer printed, then coloured by hand, but quite nice.

It's one of the chintzy type designs.

-Won't be much money, will it?

-No.

-How much do you think?

-55 is the best price.

-Is it?

-I've got £30 in my mind.

-Have you?

Well, that's only in my mind.

-No, that's nearer to where it needs to be.

-I might be going out of my mind.

-You having a nice time?

-Yes.

-We are, yes.

-You bought one item, we're about half an hour into it.

-We are.

-So pansies or not, buck up!

Hello, hello. The Reds are having a mid shop tactic chat.

-I want to spend some money.

-Yes.

-What about you?

-Well, yes, if it's worth it.

-I agree with that.

-That's OK.

Let's spend some money on something good. David, find us something!

Don't just stand there, go and spend it!

Now, what do you think?

It's a little postal balance.

It's carved as a bear.

Now, the price is 295.

-295. Well, you said you wanted something unusual.

-Yes.

-Quirky.

Yeah.

-Expensive.

-That is

-all those things.

-But bears are very collectable.

What do you think?

I'd like to look a bit longer. It's a lot of money.

-I'm forming an opinion.

-Depends on how much it would come down.

-I'm forming an opinion.

Why don't we ask the guy?

Excuse me, sir, what's the very best you could do on that?

Well, I've got 295 on it.

I'll do it for 225.

Is that your very best?

Is that your very, very best?

The very, very best I could do, I'd take £200 for it.

I think it's quite charming.

I would agree with that. I would agree. It's charming.

It's a hefty section of our budget.

You wouldn't take just under the 200, would you, sir?

No, that's as good as it gets.

I can tell. Fair enough.

It's a lovely thing.

Nice to meet you. Thanks very much.

Oh, it's a shame there's not three or four of those.

-I thought you wanted antiques!

-I do!

-We're looking at a Pete Townsend guitar there.

-£25!

Oh, sorry, that's the poster.

-Goodness me! So what are you asking for that?

-£5,000.

-I've got good taste.

I like expensive things.

I've got enough for a plectrum!

Now look, this is an antique, girls.

I'll give you that, Holly.

And look at this now. You've heard of the Nanking cargo?

-I have, yes.

-And we've got a nice label on there.

-This was before you were born, I should imagine!

-Yeah.

They discovered this, Holly, from a cargo that had been

lost at sea, so this had been under the water for 200 years.

But what do you think?

-I like that.

-Do you like it, Holly?

-Yes, I like that it.

I like that. I think we should have that.

Well, I think we should try and negotiate. I mean, this one is cracked, mind you,

but you know, if we sort of

asked him what he would do the best for the two.

Do you want to ask? Do you want to ask him, Holly?

-I reckon £35 for the pair.

-No, but I think less than that.

-And me. A lot less.

-What's your best price for the pair?

What have I got on there? 25.

37.

I tell you what, I'll do them both for 25.

-You see, I like round numbers.

-£30.

-20.

-I'll knock another couple off. £22, how about that?

-Yes.

I think we're happy with that, 22.

-Thank you very much.

-Where's your money then?

So now they are head-to-head, each team has two purchases but time is marching on. What is the plan?

Right. What about the bear?

-I like the bear.

-He likes it.

I got worried by him saying it's speculative.

Well, the only way you're going to make a profit is being speculative.

-Yes, true.

-And you've got to speculate to accumulate.

Right. Ken?

My view is we'll go and look at the bowl, and I'll change my mind again.

We'll go for the bear.

-All right?

-Yes.

The bear. We'll go.

Decision made, it's the bear. Will it still be there?

Run, boys, run!

-I love that, Mum.

-Which?

-That little teapot thing.

-Oh, Holly, that's horrid.

That's cute!

-Do you want to have a look at it?

-I do, yes.

-Hello there. Can we have a look at this? Do you mind if we...

-You can.

-Is it a set?

I'm not sure, I think it's obviously

made at the same time, and looking at it it's probably 1930s.

If you look at them they're different shapes.

I think it's still cute, though.

But it's not right, Holly.

I mean, if that was going in for sale it would probably make,

oh, if you were lucky £30, £40, and it is marked up at £75.

-It's quite nice.

-I know.

But it's not a set, girls.

I mean, those two are the best part of it

and those are later.

But it's not a complete set, so people are going to be...

-Yeah.

-Very anti from there.

Well, I still like it. I would still - I'd buy it.

-Is it your sort of thing?

-Yes.

Do you want to negotiate on it? Do you want to find out the best price?

I reckon so, yes. What's the best price you could do for it?

Probably £65 would probably be my lowest.

-You couldn't do it for 50 then?

-55 and that would be it.

Do you reckon?

I think you will struggle with it at auction, to be honest.

I can see why you like it, because it's very 1930s, the chrome and the white and it's very young.

It appeals to a young market.

I can see that, but it is fundamentally three different pieces. But it is your choice.

I mean, I can only advise you, and I know by your face, Holly, you're

going to completely ignore what I say and do what you want anyway.

-And it is on your head.

-I like it.

-I like it. Well, then you buy it.

-My mum likes it as well.

Well, your mum and you must buy it and completely ignore me.

Nothing personal, Mark!

52 and I'll take it.

Go on then.

-Deal.

-That's it.

-Why am I even here?

-Oh, you love it.

-I like it.

-You love it.

So, the Blues are all done, but is the bear in the bag for the Reds?

We've thought long and hard, this is the one that interests us.

It's an intriguing piece. It's speculative.

Speculative, that's the problem.

And it's our money supply that's the problem.

Is there any way, just ten more?

-£10 off. Go on. £10

-£190.

-OK. £190.

-Well done.

-Thank you very much indeed.

Thanks very much.

Right. That's it. Time's up.

First, let's remind ourselves what the Reds have bought.

Bruce managed to negotiate the 19th century legal documents down to £16.

The boys found a pewter ink stand which they bought for £40.

And finally, Ken and Bruce chose a Bavarian bear postal scale for £190.

Now, spring into step.

Listen, you two, I thought you were going to peak early there.

-You made two purchases in quarter of an hour.

-We did, very early.

-Then desperately mucked about.

-We saved the best till last.

Confidence in the last piece.

You may have confidence in it, but it's a lot of mucking about in the meanwhile.

Yes, I don't know whether my heart can stand it. It's pounding away.

-I know. Now you spent up. Did you spend 246?

-246, I think.

We've got 54 for expert delivery.

£54 goes across David. There we go, that's all complete, David.

What are you going to do with your £54?

I've already got my eye on something as we've been going round.

-I bet I know what it is.

-Don't try to second guess him.

Sorry, sorry.

He is such a cunning fox, this man, he may have laid a false scented

trail to an object that you think he's going to go for, but actually,

-like the dilettante that he is, he will flit off and find something else.

-Completely strange.

Brilliant. Jolly good. I am glad you've had a nice time.

Very good, David, but for us let's find out what the Blues have bought.

The girls fell in love with a heart shaped pin cushion trinket box, theirs for £75. Ah.

Plucked from the sea bed, a couple of Nanking cargo saucers, salvaged for £22.

Finally, Holly and Bev bought a four-piece tea and coffee set for 52 smackers.

Right then team, how much did you spend?

-149.

-£149. Now, do you think that's a lot, Holly, or not?

-No.

No, says Bev. Just like that.

It's a lot to me.

So I would like £151, please.

-Who's got the 151? You don't like giving that back, do you?

-No.

-OK, £151.

-Thank you, Tim.

Have they behaved themselves, these girls?

No. Absolutely not. I don't know why I was here.

Your opinion is going to count a lot for that £151 and they could be depending on you with this, Mark,

so I think you're going to have to stiffen up, old fruit.

And very good luck. But for the rest of us we're heading off to Buckinghamshire.

What could be more divine than that?

This is Claydon House, a manor which was passed

from generation to generation of the Verney family for over 400 years.

It sure is a fine example of 18th century architecture, both inside and out.

But today, I'd like to show you something rather personal.

This is very strange up here, isn't it?

Originally a landing, it's been converted into the Verney family private museum.

Now, Sir Harry Verney, in the 19th century, had an extremely famous sister-in-law.

She was none other than Florence Nightingale.

And, not surprising, in this cabinet we've got a memorial to Florence.

And you can see some images of her here.

There she is, standing on her return from the Crimea.

Below, here's a photograph of the harbour at Balaclava.

And of course Florence Nightingale's most famous achievement in

the Crimean War was establishing the British Hospital at Scutari.

And, intriguingly, two of these bands, which would either have been

worn as a sash or as armbands on her nurses, survive in this cabinet.

But I think one of the most charming pieces of memorabilia is this,

which on the face of it looks like a small cricket ball.

But, if you read the label, it says "Orange, given by Florence Nightingale

"to a sick soldier during the Crimea,"

which has been preserved by him and kept for 160 years and was

re-presented back to the family to go into their little museum.

Isn't that charming?

Sir Harry's son, Sir Edmund Hope Verney, was in India at the time of the civil war,

and as a result of that conflict, the British had to reconquer those parts of India held by the rebels.

That meant deposing some of the Maharajahs, and as a result of that, these spoils of war, which are

exquisite gold Damascened steel pieces of armour and chain-mail,

found their way into the museum.

The most spectacular and eye-catching display in the museum though, has to be this array

of musical instruments running up the centre.

This little lot collectively is known as a gamelan, and these were made in Java.

But they were commissioned specifically by Sir Stamford Raffles, who was the man who founded

Singapore, and they're an incredibly important survival illustrating Javanese performing arts.

So keen was Sir Harry Verney to buy this set that he had to persuade his

wife to give up six months of her allowance so that he'd have the cash to make the purchase.

The big question is today, of course,

are our teams over at the auction going to be in tune?

Mark and David have been busy, though, searching for their bonus buys.

With any luck, today's bargains will be music to the ears of our auctioneer.

Well, we've had a quick whizz across from Derby to Nottingham to Mellors and Kirk's excellent sale room.

It's a treat to be here, Nigel.

-Very nice to have you, Tim.

-Now, Ken and Bruce went with these documents.

What do you make of these fellows?

They're obviously unique in one sense, and yet in another they're not.

They're the sort of material which, in enormous quantity, survives still

in lawyers' offices the length and breadth of Britain.

If it's your own home or piece of land they relate to, they're great.

And what do you call these documents, Nigel?

Well, this particular one is an indenture. Because of this wavy line, and it means that the agreement is

absolutely unique, and that only the other half is the genuine part to it.

So the solicitor at the time that we signed up our agreement

cut it in half, my half like a jigsaw puzzle, and it makes it go against your half?

Absolutely. It's completely unique.

Well, I never knew that. Isn't that interesting?

Gosh. Now, that bit of information, of course, is going to enhance

-the value dramatically, isn't it?

-Not a jot.

-What's it worth, then?

-I think a tenner for the two, probably.

-Do you? They paid £16. Next is the pewter inkwell.

-Yes.

Which I think is rather a poor example, I have to say.

-I agree.

-How much do you think it's worth?

Probably 30 or £40.

-Maybe 50 on a good day.

-They paid 40, so that might be a bit dodgy.

Their main hope, to wit they're pinning all their colours, is this little Bavarian bear.

Well, at first sight, it's a sweet little object, isn't it?

-But I have some serious reservations about this one.

-Do you?

I don't think it started out life as a postal scale, I think there's a question about that.

Because, why would you put a mechanical gadget like this that completely hides and obscures

the beautifully carved little bear?

That would affect your opinion of value, then?

It will. I think if others are of the same view, I think it's probably going to be maybe £40-£60.

Oh, lordy. £190 they paid for this!

I think that's probably rather too much.

If you're right and they're wrong, they're going to need their bonus buy.

So let's go and have a look at it.

Now, Kenneth and Bruce, you spent 246.

You gave him £54 to spend on the bonus buy. What did you do with it?

-Great consideration on this. I sought a second opinion.

-It's very small.

It is small, but I think quite rare.

Now, this is a carved nut.

-Both of you are...

-...carved nuts!

Both of you are of a scholastic, scientific inclination.

This little piece here, we call it Scrimshaw.

Possibly done by a sailor, who might have gone to Tasmania,

and spent the hours of boredom just cutting into that.

I think 20 minutes, rather.

Oh, no, a little bit longer than that.

It's got all these sort of lines going across, which is quite extraordinary. What do you think?

It's a very tactile little piece, it needs handling and turning around in the hand.

You shake it, it's still got the nuts inside.

David, I had huge faith in you at one stage.

-The big question is, how much?

-£15.

£15 for a little piece of Scrimshaw.

See how great Bruce now thinks this is?

I think there's a possibility there, David, of helping us towards a plus.

-I think, good buy, mate.

-Really?

-Well done.

-I'm going to pass it back.

So, from one nut, to another nut, to a serious nut!

Well, you don't pick it now, you pick it later.

Maybe after the sale of your first three items.

But let's find out now, for the audience at home,

what the auctioneer thinks about David's little nut.

Well, you've got to be a nutcase to be an expert on Bargain Hunt, I tell you.

I'm afraid it's modern. It's a reproduction.

Yes. What do you think it's worth?

I dare say £20, maybe, as a guess.

-£15 is all they paid.

-That's not unreasonable.

-It's a bit of fun.

-It is.

That's it for the Reds. Now for the Blues.

What an amazing collection of stuff we've got here. I just love it, don't you?

-Yes, it's great.

-To kick off, then, we're going to have this silver pin cushion, which is, I suppose,

for people who are intensely in love with needlework, is it?

I think it's for hatpins, actually, Tim, rather than needlework.

It would have sat on an Edwardian lady's dressing-table.

Right.

It's made of silver, it doubles up as a little jewel box.

Lined in velvet with a padded top.

-What's your estimate on that?

-40-60.

£75 paid.

Well, I don't know, but I feel a bit of a surprising result perhaps coming from that. I do hope so.

Now we span a few centuries in ceramic terms. What do you make of those?

Well, they're Chinese porcelain made for export to the West, and

they're from the famous Nanking Cargo that was sold at auction 250 years later than it was intended to be.

The date is middle of the 18th century, 1750 or so.

So there we have it. How much?

£20-£30 only.

£22 is what they paid. You're estimating £20-£30, and they may therefore turn a small profit.

-Let's hope so.

-Much more encouraging, though, is this brilliant set of chromium-plated clad earthenware.

There's no missing it, is there?

It's right there in your face.

-Absolutely.

-They've got a few interesting features, haven't they?

They have. It's earthenware with a chromium-plated

metal casing for insulation purposes, at least in the case of the two pots.

And the design is great.

Are we talking Festival of Britain here?

Are we talking just after the Second World War, do you think?

I think probably just after the Second World War, yes.

Actually, a stunning set. What's your estimate?

I suppose £30 or £40.

OK, £52 paid. It just depends on who's at the auction, doesn't it?

-Yes, it does.

-But, looking at this, they may well need their bonus buy, so let's go and have a look at it.

How exciting is this, girls?

Are you gagging to find out how much Mark has spent of your £151?

-I'm intrigued to more than anything.

-I can tell.

Put them out of their agony, will you?

Now look at that, girls. Isn't that wonderful?

This is gilt-bronze,

French Champleve enamel, in that sort of Japanese style of the last quarter of the 19th century.

But wonderful detail and quality.

And I didn't spend all of your money.

I spent only £95.

-For one?

-No. I've got

the matching pair, discreetly in my pocket, to surprise you.

What do you think of those, girls? Aren't they knock-out?

As it's a pair, definitely. I thought you'd only bought one for a moment.

-I just think they're absolutely delicious.

-They're quite nice.

Not what I expected from you. I quite like those.

-I'm impressed.

-I think they're absolutely marvellous.

-And you paid how much again?

-95, Tim.

£95. For the top, top grade Champleve and gilt bronze?

Absolutely.

-You're happy, girls?

-Yes.

You pick later if you want to, but for the audience at home, let's find

out what the auctioneer thinks about the candlesticks. Well done, Mark.

-So, Nigel. They look Oriental, they smell Oriental, but they're not Oriental, right?

-No, they're not.

These were made either in France or England, and I'm inclined to think they were made in France.

Although they're unsigned, they're very reminiscent of the work of the bronze founder Ferdinand Barbedienne.

-Great gilding, isn't it?

-Super gilding.

Is that not just how really rich gilding ought to look on bronze?

-The whole thing works really well, and they're super quality.

-Very, very smart.

A signature would greatly increase the value, but there's no doubting that they're circa 1880.

-What sort of estimate?

-100-150, I think is nice and competitive.

Very good, £95 was paid.

Very reasonable.

I think they're an absolutely brilliant, belting bonus buy

which we look forward to seeing sold in a moment.

So, you cool cats, are you pretty excited?

We are. The bear is going to go for big money.

-Really?

-We're going to make a lot of money on it.

The auctioneer thinks it's a cobbled together thing.

He thinks the bear is the bear, and the scales are the scales, and they didn't start off life together.

-That's his view.

-What does he know?

Your first lot is coming up now. And it's the indenture.

Lot 205, two deeds, one an indenture.

£20 for them, please? £10?

Ten I'm bid, thank you.

15, 20?

£15, all done?

Paid 16, minus one. It's nothing.

Lot 206 is the steel cast pewter inkwell. £30 for this?

£20?

20 I'm bid, thank you. 25, 30? 35?

£30, in the centre of the room, selling for 30.

£30, minus £10, you're minus 11.

Lot 207 is the Swiss limewood carving of a bear.

Several bids on this, including one of £80.

80, 90 for it? 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170.

At £170, a commissioned bid.

Selling at 170.

-That's very good.

-Not quite wiping its face.

-But it got near.

-That was very good.

Far better than the estimate of £40-£60.

Minus 31, that's where we're at, minus 31. What about this nut now?

-No question.

-Could this nut save your day?

No question, we're going for it.

-It's a nice piece, we're going for it.

-So that's it, then.

We are going with the nut!

Lot 214 is this interesting

Scrimshaw type decorated terrestrial globe in the form of a nut.

£20 for it?

20 I'm bid, thank you. 25 anywhere?

At £20, 25 I'll take.

Selling then at £20.

£20, only one nut about, I'm afraid.

Was that the one that bought it or the one that purchased it?

So, you are minus 26.

Minus 26 is very respectable, it could be a winning score.

-Don't say a word.

-Our lips are sealed.

-We'll have to trust you boys on this.

-Thank you very much.

-Perky?

-Yes, definitely.

I love it. You've not been talking to those boys, have you?

-No, no, not at all.

-Absolutely not.

They're wicked, they are. First up, then, is your trinket box in the shape of a heart.

What could be more lovely? Here it comes.

Lot 235, the silver heart-shaped pincushion.

£30 for this lot is asked and bid. 35, 40, 45, 50?

50 for it? 50, madam. 55 here, 60?

70. In the room and selling.

-Did he sell it for 70?

-70, yes.

-Oh, dear, that's minus 5.

Lot 236, two Chinese saucers from the celebrated Nanking Cargo,

mid-18th century. £20 for these? Any interest?

£20 I'm bid, thank you. 25 for them?

25, 30?

We're in profit.

40? At 35, then.

£35 I'm selling.

That is plus 13 on that, that's super.

Lot 237, the chromium-plated

metal and earthenware composed tea and coffee service.

£20 asked for it. Is bid at 20.

25 anywhere?

Come on!

35, 40, 45 to either of you?

£40, then, with me.

-Come on, a bit more.

-If you're sure. £40.

-That's a shame.

-£40.

-Sorry about that.

That's minus 12, you were plus eight, you're now minus four.

-Oh, petal.

-So near yet so far.

-We've got one more to go.

-You have.

-Now, you're minus four, now that could be a winning score.

-I hope so.

No mucking about now. This could be a winning score.

Serious now. Serious.

Minus £4, are you going to stick at minus four and maybe win the show,

or risk £95 of the left over lolly on the candlesticks?

We've got faith in you, go for it.

-You're going to do us proud.

-I hope so. I do like them a lot.

So, you're going to go with the bonus buy, and here it comes.

Lot 244 is the pair of French

gilt-bronze and Champleve enamel chinoisery candlesticks.

Very nice things indeed. And £150 for them is bid.

160, 170, 180, 190, 200,

220, 250, 280 for them?

280, 300, 320, 350, 380, 400.

At £400 and I sell at £400? If you're quite sure.

£400! That is something else, isn't it?

You are up £301!

Now, did that come at you out of the blue?

-Oh, yes.

-Made my day.

-Kiss him, for God's sake.

-Oh, my God!

I can't believe it!

Look, don't say a word to the Reds.

It's so exciting.

Well, well, well, we've had a surprising programme today, I have to tell you. Have you chaps been

-chatting at all?

-No.

-You've managed to restrain yourselves all round?

As the audience knows, one team has done spectacularly badly,

and another team has done spectacularly well.

And the team that's done spectacularly badly are the Reds.

Actually, not that spectacularly badly.

Minus £31, they got a nice bonus buy out of David Barby, making their end score minus 26.

Which, in normal circumstances, would be a winning score on Bargain Hunt.

But they have not reckoned with the unbelievable skills of the Blues.

Who, I have to say, at a moment were minus £4 and looking dead dodgy

until in came Mark Stacey,

steaming to the rescue.

Steaming so much to the rescue

that he produced £305 of profit on a single bonus buy object.

£305 profit! How about that?

That's something else.

Which means, overall, you are £301 up.

So, what does it feel like, to be having £150 apiece with your mother?

Where's my pound?

-Does it feel great?

-It certainly does. He was fantastic.

Wasn't he fantastic! I quite agree with you.

-We'll have David, we'll have David!

-We've had a thoroughly lovely

-programme, join us soon for some more bargain hunting, yes?

-Yes!

Subtitles by RED BEE MEDIA LTD

E-mail: [email protected]