An Antiques Roadshow guest was left in disbelief at the valuation of her old train ticket, playfully accusing expert Mark Hill of “winding” her up during the show’s visit to Walthamstow Town Hall.
The BBC series saw a variety of guests present their inherited treasures, including a vintage railway ticket that caught Mark’s attention. He began by asking the owner when she last took a train, to which she responded it was “sometime last year”.
Upon his inquiry about the fare, she chuckled: “Got it cheap but not as cheap as this one.” Puzzled, he asked: “Why do you call this cheap?” leading her to explain that it dated back to the era of “because that was bought a long, long time ago when they had pound shillings and pence.”
She recounted how her husband had inherited the ticket and insisted she bring it to the show, despite his own reluctance to attend. She told Hill: “My husband inherited it and told me to bring it along and I’ve been trying to persuade him to come today and he said: ‘Have you been seen yet? Have they told you how much it’s worth?’ And I said: ‘Come along, come along’, now he’s turned off his phone.”
Mark humorously reacted to her story, saying: “Charming! So he sends you on an errand and basically only calls you when he wants to!”
He then proceeded to delve deeper into the details of the rare piece of railway memorabilia, reports the Express. “What we’ve got here is a ticket for the Midlands County Railway and this is a ticket for the opening of the railway. Dated on the bottom as you can see, 30th May, 1839. The Midlands County Railway which was opened then, came about effectively for the drive and the keenness to supply coal to Leicester.
“In 1844, it was quite a short-lived railway, it merged into the Midland Railway. So you effectively paid nothing for this. You inherited it. So if I was to say to you £1,000, what would you say?”
The guest paused before questioning: “What for that? OK then – well yeah.” Mark continued: “Rare, rare, rare. Railway memorabilia is really hotly collected. On a ticket like this for the opening of such a railway is hotly sought after. This is a rare and desirable object and £800 to £1,200, £1,000 seems very fair. I had a chat with a colleague and they agree.”
The guest’s jaw dropped and she remained silent for a few seconds, clearly unsure of what to say next. She then asked: “You are – you’re having a mumble aren’t you? You’re winding me up aren’t you?” to the audience’s amusement. But he assured her: “Not a shadow of a doubt my friend.”
The guest went on to joke how she had broken the frame’s glass earlier that day but Mark said it was better she broke the glass rather than the ticket itself.