Top 20 Incredible Finds on Bargain Hunt

#20: Russian Silver Filigree Casket

Filigree caskets are used to hold jewellery but today these delicate antiques are largely ornamental. Even though one of its legs was slightly broken, an expert could easily repair that – or you could leave it as it is, since it’s not really affecting anything. Costing the reds only £25, the auctioneer was extremely impressed at the little find, and began the auction at sixty-five pounds – certainly a vote of confidence. It ended up going for £110, netting them an £85 profit. This is a decent haul on “Bargain Hunt”, where constants often go home with a net loss. It was right in line with the auctioneer’s valuation of £100 to £150.

#19: Clarice Cliff Crocus Vase

This nifty little vase turned out to be a boon when the red team accepted it as their bonus buy. It could have been a huge gamble, since it cost £130, but the auctioneer was confident it would at least make a bit of profit. He was bang on the money, it turns out, because a ferocious bidding war broke out right away. Though it’s too small to imagine any particularly large flower going into it, the trinket turns out to be coveted by lots of people, including those bidding online. The price shoots up until eventually going for over £200. They get a £90 profit, which is more than people usually get on cheap items, let alone a pricier bonus buy.

#18: Victorian Water Closet

How much would you pay for a really old toilet? Perhaps not this much, especially since it was actually still dirty. We’re surprised anybody let it go to auction without at least giving it a rinse since it’s practically a biohazard, but you never know what’s going to happen on “Bargain Hunt”. The auctioneer said that with the right buyer, you could make some decent cash on this – and it turned out that they DID find the right buyer! Despite initially getting no bids, the price slowly but surely begins to climb, until they end up with £160. That’s a £110 profit on an old bog! Now the real question: has its new owner installed it, or is it on display as a bizarre art piece?

#17: Steam Engine Builder’s Plate

Popular antiques expert Natasha Raskin Sharp, who was serving as auctioneer in this episode, was convinced that this old Glaswegian locomotive plaque was going to be worth something, and what do you know, she was right. It turns out there’s a healthy market for railway memorabilia, though that’s hardly a surprise when Britain is a country of railway fanatics. They paid only £18 for this old plaque, which supposedly dated all the way back to 1919 and was made in Scotland’s prestigious railyards. Though Natasha can’t be 100% sure that the date is genuine, the buyers don’t care, and it goes for a very healthy profit.

#16: Doll’s House

This adorable toy was named Wood Bine Cottage, and turned out to be worth rather a lot. If you’ve seen doll’s houses when they appear on “Antiques Roadshow”, you’ll know that some of them go for a small fortune. This wasn’t quite on that level, but considering they paid £179, getting any profit on “Bargain Hunt” is definitely appreciated. But there was no need to worry; a lot of people wanted Wood Bine Cottage, with the bidding opening at £170 right away. It eventually goes for the whopping sum of £300, netting a cool £120 profit for the reds.

#15: Suffragette Brooch

This fascinating brooch was another Glasgow find, and was a brooch most likely belonging to a suffragette once upon a time. It was another special buy, costing the low, low price of £40 – but upon seeing it and learning its history, it was obvious that it was going to make a solid profit. And it absolutely did, with the price very quickly getting up to £140, an immediate profit of a hundred; but it didn’t stop there! The auction kept going, with the audience invested in one bidder who was trying to buy the brooch in spite of his wife advising him not to. Eventually, it sold for £180; that’s £140 up!

#14: Mouse Doorstop

Natasha returned to sell this unassuming doorstop, estimating it would go for £30 max. Considering it was bought for thirty-eight, this was worrying, but this time around, the experts were wrong. For whatever reason, the demand was high in the room for a little, novelty doorstop, with people desperate to get their hands on the fellow. The bidding began at fifty quid, already a profit, but one woman in the room really wanted it, running the bids all the way up to a hundred and ninety. That was a £152 profit, and the bidder was very pleased with her new doorstop.

#13: Polynesian Bowl

Apparently, there was a good market for this bowl, but the market didn’t really matter when it had been bought for such an extraordinarily low price. Yes, for only six quid, they got this tribal bowl all the way from the Pacific, bringing it to auction where it opened at a spectacular £60, multiplying their investment by ten from the get-go. Though many people in the room wanted it, it eventually went to an online bidder for £150, a £144 profit. Even better, this was the first item the blue team had for sale that day, giving them a healthy profit to kick the competition off.

#12: Hochst Porcelain Jug

Porcelain is impossible for a layperson to value; some of it’s worth nothing, and some could be worth thousands depending on its age, who made it, and the general craftsmanship. Well, this isn’t quite worth thousands, but the auctioneer suggests it could go for up to £300, which is a good start for something the team paid a hundred for. They risked it all with this bonus buy and it absolutely paid off. Bidding began at the incredible sum of £200, doubling their investment immediately; they were over the moon. It ends up going for £270, a £170 profit overall.

“Hochst” = https://youtu.be/QDjMHs7TxQc?t=77

#11: Edwardian Centre Table

As regular antiquers will know, pieces of unassuming furniture can sometimes be worth their weight in gold – or perhaps even more! We’re not quite on the level of solid gold with this small, Edwardian table, but when it cost only £48, there was a lot of room for profits to grow. The auction began at fifty quid, with one dedicated bidder clearly setting his heart on getting that table. Perhaps he had the perfect place for it already in mind, because he just kept putting up his card. He didn’t win it, cashing out at £240, but the reds definitely weren’t disappointed because they’d netted a £192 profit.

#10: Solitaire Diamond Pendant

This stunning necklace was purchased for just £50 by the blue team contestants, aided by antiques expert Christiana Trevanion. And that price turned out to be a real steal, as it’s revealed that the pendant is 0.33 of a carat - not the cleanest of diamonds, but for £50 you really can’t say fairer than that. A diamond is a diamond, after all. It’s eventually sold for £190, netting the blues a lovely profit of £140. Not bad for a few hour’s shopping! This tidy bit of business just goes to show that diamonds really are forever.

#9: C Fore Brass Sculpture

How come we never find anything this interesting in the charity shops? Tim Wonnacott and his team of experts think this abstract sculpture is “hideous”, and scoff at the artist’s marker pen signature. It’s unusual, for sure - you don’t see many of these on the windowsill. But the intense bidding war that ensues when the item is put up for auction suggests there’s at least two people out there who think this unique cast bronze sculpture is perfect. The £145 profit is pretty neat, too. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, so they say, and that’s exactly what this divisive sculpture proves.

#8: Pewter Tea Caddy

Purchased for £180 by the blue team, this alloy jar looks like a bit of a risk. After all, this is Britain - we’re not exactly struggling for places to store our tea! But all it takes is two people to want to buy an item for the price to start skyrocketing, and that’s exactly what happens here. Another bidding war ensues, as the blue team’s hopes rise like steam from a teapot. Eventually selling for £320, and bringing in a hefty £140 profit, the caddy ends up being an inspired purchase by the blue team. Who knew tea jars could be so expensive - and so ornate?

#7: Hot Air Balloon Ceiling Light

The red team’s spirits must have been flying high when they came across this remarkable item. The light fitting was purchased for just £60, a real bargain considering how unique it looks. Tim doesn’t think much of it, but it turns out he’s just full of hot air, as it sells for a big profit of £210. It’s clearly not the most functional item ever - but it’s a conversation starter for sure. Quirky, individual, and like nothing else we’ve ever seen on the shelves before. An awesome item, found for cheap and sold for a big profit - what more do you want from this show?

#6: Manifesto Racing Game

Giddy up! If you’re still a big kid at heart then this old school Jacques horse racing game will be a real winner for you. Complete in its original, rather fetching wooden case, the game has some of the coolest metal playing pieces we’ve ever seen, and is full of retro charm. It’s rare to find one of these in such good condition, so to stumble across this set with only minimal playwear is great luck. And the £240 profit it returns at auction is pretty darn tidy, too! Costing just £140 to purchase, this was a real steal. The red team really backed a winner with this one.

#5: Jacqueline Stieger Bronze Sculpture

Stieger is renowned for her distinguished sculpture and jewellery, and so when the blue team stumble across this magnificent bronze up for grabs at just £65, it seems like a safe bet to take a punt on it. And a safe bet it was, as the punters decide it’s worth snapping up for £240 at auction, netting the blues a more than welcome profit of £175. But with a find as ornate and intricate as this, the money is less impressive than the sculpture itself. After all, it’s not everyday you stumble across a Stieger in an antiques fair is it?

#4: Tiffany Ashtray

For many a punter, Tiffany is the go to for fancy jewellery, and to pick up an antique item for cheap is a real dream. But that became a reality for the blue team, who, with the assistance of antiques expert David Harper, sourced and purchased this incredible 1930s ashtray for just £26. You don’t usually associate this luxury brand with mere ashtrays - but we reckon this vintage piece is more likely to be star of a mantlepiece than collecting butts on a beer garden table.. A profit at auction seemed pretty likely, but the return of £184 is such a huge markup that even Tim Wonnacott is dancing with joy about it. What a find.

#3: Chinese Clay Teapot

It’s always the things you least expect that end up selling for the big bucks. This pretty teapot was picked up for just £30 by the red team. But it turns out to be worth considerably more, ending up selling for a staggering £520 at auction! The highly collectable teapot is one of the show’s most profitable items ever, and it’s easy to see why. It’s stylish, functional - and, as it turns out, extremely rare and desirable too! We think the cups of Rosie Lee are on the red team after that profit!

#2: Cockerel Tea Cozy

This is easily the most ridiculous purchase the show has ever seen. Tim and his experts all laugh when they see it, and it’s easy to see why. It is quite literally a tea cozy in the shape of a large cockerel, from the 1930s. But against all the odds, this £25 novelty item sells for a huge mark-up of £250 at auction, bagging an incredible £225 profit. It’s far from the biggest sale the show has seen, but it’s surely the least expected item to have ever made such a handsome profit. Better double-check the loft to see if that old rubber duck is worth a few bob...

#1: Faberge Flowers

It doesn’t get more incredible than this. Famed for his precious metal eggs, jeweller Peter Carl Faberge needs no introduction. But he’s also renowned for his extremely rare jewelled flowers, only 34 of which were ever made in the UK. Auctioneer Charles Hanson is understandably blown away when two arrive in a shoebox at his auction house, and he sells them on a special episode of the show for a whopping £340,000. Only on Bargain Hunt could something so rare and so valuable rock up inside an old shoebox at an auction house. So don’t be so quick to chuck your old boxes away next time you’re doing a spring clean - the contents might just be worth £340,000!

Let us know in the comments if you’ve ever been a contestant on “Bargain Hunt”.