trenchtrotter Posted 30 March , 2016 Share Posted 30 March , 2016 Tonight's episode saw a memorial plaque and trio ( missing star), original cap badge, super portrait of soldier in uniform, ephemera and his violin valued at £150. He was an original Lonsdale (11th Border Regt) and hic cap badge was theirs too. Went for £1500 and they say what did we miss? The auction house failed to amend also. TT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archangel9 Posted 30 March , 2016 Share Posted 30 March , 2016 A lot of the so-called experts haven't got a clue and most of these 'antique reality' shows are deeply flawed. There is one BBC program for example (name escapes me at the moment) where the 'experts' travel around buying from antique shops then compete to make the biggest profit at auction on their purchases. To begin with every shop they go to seems to give them at least 50% off any item and their first offer is almost always accepted. They then proceed to auction and, amid much hilarity, make a loss on almost all purchases. These same 'experts' appear on many other 'antique reality' shows, where you can see them giving their expert opinions on virtually anything, including Great War memorabilia. Its cheap tv I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyH Posted 30 March , 2016 Share Posted 30 March , 2016 We witnessed an episode of 'Bargain Hunt', being filmed last year at a major Antiques Fair. From what we saw the experts seem to vet the stalls beforehand and choose which items the 'teams' select as their lots. So not as spontaneous as it appears on T.V., but then what is! The BBC programme you mention is 'Antiques Road Trip' sometimes with 'celebs' involved. Would agree with the huge 'discounts' negotiated, much above the 10 or 15% normally available, but then it is all for charity. There is one expert who is really good on military items, a Scot, can't recall his name. Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hartley Posted 30 March , 2016 Share Posted 30 March , 2016 The deep flaw with antiques programmes is that they buy from dealers and then sell at auction. The daftness being that that's where the dealers will have bought it in the first instance. Hardly surprising that they usually fail to make any money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Maria Posted 30 March , 2016 Share Posted 30 March , 2016 I always get annoyed on Flog it when someone sells their relatives medals or war memorabilia thus depriving future generations of the family the chance to own them. Paul Laidlaw is the expert who is good on military items and is the only one who seems to appreciate their value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trenchtrotter Posted 30 March , 2016 Author Share Posted 30 March , 2016 Paul Laidlaw has an on line militaria shop. Some good stuff. TT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark holden Posted 30 March , 2016 Share Posted 30 March , 2016 And an Auction house which also gets some nice military bits! Paul Laidlaw has an on line militaria shop. Some good stuff.TT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWF1967 Posted 31 March , 2016 Share Posted 31 March , 2016 I always get annoyed on Flog it when someone sells their relatives medals or war memorabilia thus depriving future generations of the family the chance to own them. Paul Laidlaw is the expert who is good on military items and is the only one who seems to appreciate their value. Narks me too. I'm glad P. L often asks why they want to shift them on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khaki Posted 31 March , 2016 Share Posted 31 March , 2016 Better to be sold to a collector who cares about them rather than be split up, lost or neglected by those families who have no interest in them. khaki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraemeClarke Posted 31 March , 2016 Share Posted 31 March , 2016 Hi What REALLY annoys me is, when asked what they will do with the money, the stock answer appears to be "Take the family out for a meal" !!!!!!! Regards, Graeme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1620 Posted 31 March , 2016 Share Posted 31 March , 2016 Or give they will money to the grandchildren. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seadog Posted 31 March , 2016 Share Posted 31 March , 2016 Of course what the owners do with the money is entirely their own business, one thing though I am glad that we realize that these "shows" are scripted reality. There must be thousands of war and victory medals around plus memorial plaques so what is a family to actually do with them, put them away and forget I guess. N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Jacket Collector Posted 31 March , 2016 Share Posted 31 March , 2016 One of the stock excuses for offloading family heirlooms is 'downsizing'. How much room does a set of medals take? People should think more about what the soldier went through to earn those medals in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Broomfield Posted 31 March , 2016 Share Posted 31 March , 2016 Better to be sold to a collector who cares about them rather than be split up, lost or neglected by those families who have no interest in them. khaki I agree with you. I suspect many (most?) families don't give a flying fig what great granddad did in the war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted 31 March , 2016 Share Posted 31 March , 2016 I'm a little puzzled as to why the item fetched so much - how do you make it add to £1500? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
healdav Posted 31 March , 2016 Share Posted 31 March , 2016 Most people, when asked why they want to sell memorabilia, say that, either they have no children, or that they can't split a lot between several or that they aren't interested (says a lot for today's youth, but there we are), and want them to go to someone who will appreciate them and look after them. Let's be fair, most people don't have a clue what to do with these things. They don't have room for a proper display, and don't know how to go about getting them mounted, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trenchtrotter Posted 31 March , 2016 Author Share Posted 31 March , 2016 I'm a little puzzled as to why the item fetched so much - how do you make it add to £1500?. Well a original Lonsdsle cap badge could be £150. Violin £? Memorial Plaque and medals to one of the original Lonsdales very sought after even if missing star. Plus large portrait and ephemera. Makes me wonder what my 1/7/16 casualty trio would fetch? The 11th Batalion are well collected. TT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Maria Posted 31 March , 2016 Share Posted 31 March , 2016 Better to be sold to a collector who cares about them rather than be split up, lost or neglected by those families who have no interest in them. khaki The present generation may have no interest in them but what about future generations of the family , I think they are being short sighted and selfish myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Maria Posted 31 March , 2016 Share Posted 31 March , 2016 Most people, when asked why they want to sell memorabilia, say that, either they have no children, or that they can't split a lot between several or that they aren't interested (says a lot for today's youth, but there we are), and want them to go to someone who will appreciate them and look after them. Let's be fair, most people don't have a clue what to do with these things. They don't have room for a proper display, and don't know how to go about getting them mounted, etc. I can understand if there is literally no family left to inherit , it's when they say " My children don't want them ", I just think what about their children or their children's children ! especially so with medals and photographs, badges etc that don't really take a lot of storage space . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
healdav Posted 31 March , 2016 Share Posted 31 March , 2016 I can understand if there is literally no family left to inherit , it's when they say " My children don't want them ", I just think what about their children or their children's children ! especially so with medals and photographs, badges etc that don't really take a lot of storage space . OK, give them to a child who doesn't care. What will they do with them, immediately. Think about the children he may not have and wait, or sell them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffsyeoman Posted 31 March , 2016 Share Posted 31 March , 2016 On the Antiques Roadtrip they often pair Mr Laidlaw - against whom I have no beef personally, but some his online shop prices are a touch on the high side - with some woman called Margie something who goes to great lengths to turn her nose up at anything military related and make a noise of undisguised disgust. On one recent episode, Mr Laidlaw achieved something like eight times what he had paid in the auction for a piece of "ugh, militaria", thus considerably aiding his victory in that round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Broomfield Posted 31 March , 2016 Share Posted 31 March , 2016 The present generation may have no interest in them but what about future generations of the family , I think they are being short sighted and selfish myself. But then the risk is run that when the holder pops his (or her) clogs, someone bins the medals because they see no value in them. Sorry; I have quite a few things which my great great grandchildren (should there ever be such things) might want, or might not want, but really I have no idea. I agree with the premise that a collector who will research the medals and the men (or women) behind them is a better keeper of unwanted family heirlooms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffsyeoman Posted 31 March , 2016 Share Posted 31 March , 2016 Mr B, I hope you are braced for the tidal wave of hate mail from the "medals should never, ever, ever be sold" contingent who pop up like Figure 9 targets on here whenever such a view is aired. Me? I'm with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Posted 31 March , 2016 Share Posted 31 March , 2016 There is a real problem in being the very last of the line (no other blood relatives, no children) in that anything which is connected with the ancestors ends up in your home or being given to you. You end up being the custodian of other people's lives at the expense of your own. The last time we were called upon to relieve an executor of a load of family relics, we removed all the rear seats from a Grand Scénic to fit in 18 large boxes of stuff (which was in addition to objects we had already taken home). You end up in a state of disbelief and despair. It took me an entire week just to go through those boxes in order to triage what needed sending to the tip. No, if you spotted it, please don't trace us. We don't want it back. We know what the relatives went through to be awarded those medals, and yes I suppose they don't take up much space. Nor, individually, do the shopping lists, Victorian baby teeth, little girls' plaits, broken fountain pens, bits of sealing wax, ornaments someone brought back from Southport, photos of unknown people, and so on, but collectively they all add up. We can't run our homes like museums. The WW2 uniforms we were handed in a bin bag were absolutely crawling with parasites and moths. You have to make a realistic decision based on what is practical. Do I want an infestation in my own home? It's not as if the uniforms were rare. As a descendant, you try to do your best by the person. If he or she didn't make testamentary provision for things, or indicate reasonable proposed homes for them, some of your decisions will be open to other people to condemn. I don't think there is a right answer, but I think as long as the descendants make a principled and responsible decision, no-one has the right to criticise them. Gwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Broomfield Posted 31 March , 2016 Share Posted 31 March , 2016 Mr B, I hope you are braced for the tidal wave of hate mail from the "medals should never, ever, ever be sold" contingent who pop up like Figure 9 targets on here whenever such a view is aired. Me? I'm with you. Quite prepared. Thank you for your support. I will wear it always! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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