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An Antiques Roadshow specialist was astounded by a ‘gold dust’ silverware piece, whose contentious past elevates its value to an entirely new level.
Crowds gathered in awe as expert Gordon Foster valued a pair of silver spoons at an astonishingly high price.
On a vintage episode of the long-running series, the experts visited Sefton Park Palm House in Liverpool.
Gordon met with a descendant of Captain James Cook, who had brought along two spoons once belonging to the famed explorer.
Cook is best known for charting New Zealand and the eastern coast of Australia, including the Great Barrier Reef.
As frequent viewers know, the Roadshow seldom showcases silver spoons unless they possess exceptional qualities, and the spoons presented today are indeed extraordinary,’ remarked expert Gordon.
‘Eagle-eyed viewers of the Roadshow would know we don’t often feature silver spoons unless they are something special, and these spoons you’ve brought along today are something special,’ expert Gordon said.
‘We’re looking at a Georgian silver spoon from 1750, an old English pattern .’
The spoons feature a delicate engraving of the initials JC at the top of each handle, etched in a cursive hand.
Gordon continued: ‘Quite often, we’re asked on the Roadshow when you’ve got initials engraved on pieces, “Does that make a difference to the value?”‘
The expert mentioned that initials typically don’t impact auction prices unless appraisers can connect the item to ‘a significant individual’.
Sharing his lineage, a descendant of James Cook disclosed he was the mariner’s ‘fifth grand-nephew’ and already owned a spoon that had been handed down through the family.
However, he himself had fetched the second spoon at an auction after discovering it had been part of a set.
Although he admits to being ‘strict’ with auction expenditures, he stated there is ‘no cap’ on what he would spend to acquire his grand uncle’s silverware piece.
When the time came to value the items, Gordon said similar spoons could be bought for ‘£40 or £50’.
Crowds gathered in awe as Gordon valued a pair of silver spoons (pictured) at the astonishing price of £10,000 each
‘But the question is, how much does the provenance add to the spoon?’ he said,’ before adding: ‘I can tell you provenance like this is gold dust.
‘This takes this spoon into a completely different stratosphere of value.
‘It’s quite incredible. I can say with a lot of confidence that one spoon is worth £10,000. And you’ve got two.’
The crowd gasped, taken aback at the startling price of the seemingly standard cutlery.
‘That makes £20,000, I think,’ the owner joked, taking in the value of his items. ‘That’s extraordinary.’
It emerged that the spoons accompanied Cook during his journey navigating and claiming Australia in 1770.
While Cook was celebrated in his day for mapping ‘uncharted lands,’ he is considered a controversial figure for his ‘colonial exploits and violent encounters with Indigenous peoples.’
And the nature of his conquest of Australia remains a contested narrative, opposed by the fact that Indigenous Australians had already inhabited the land for thousands of years.
The descendant of James Cook (pictured) revealed he was the mariner’s ‘fifth grand nephew’, and already owned one of the spoons which had been passed down as a family heirloom
Gordon thanked the distant relative of Cook for bringing his precious items and ‘sharing them with us.’
It follows a similar incident where the son and daughter of a Titanic survivor turned down an offer to sell their father’s ‘extraordinary’ letter that made it off the ship – despite the eye-watering sum from an Antiques Roadshow expert.
Antiques valuer Hilary Kay met with the children of Sidney Daniels, who was hired as a plate washer on the Titanic at the age of 18, to discuss the value of a family letter.
When the ship began going down, Sidney was instructed to help guests out of their cabins and into life jackets.
And when the time came for him to leap off the vessel, a handwritten letter to his family remained intact in his uniform pocket.
More than 100 years on from the nautical tragedy, Hilary spoke to Sidney’s children about his story.
The letter lay on the table between Sidney’s children and Hilary – the ink smudged and the edges frayed but, despite its journey, in good condition.
Of the letter’s value, Hilary said: ‘We’re talking around £10,000 – is the realistic value.’
At this, the siblings gasped, before immediately responding: ‘It’s very nice but it’s not going out of the family, it’s going to a museum.
‘Dad would have been pleased to know it had gone in there.’
Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC One and to stream on iPlayer
