The Hour

It’s not every day you find out you’re in possession of a valuable antique, but that’s what Sam Taylor from Saltcoats was told, after Anita Manning took a look at a photograph of a very rare football medal of his.

The Celtic presentation medal in the picture was awarded to James Young in 1910, to commemorate Celtic winning the League Championship six years in a row, and is a real collector’s item, giving it a high value.

“Football memorabilia is greatly sought after, particularly the rarer pieces,” Anita explained. “In auction I would put a conservative estimate, now it’s conservative, at between £1000 and £2000. In auction this would be fiercely sought after, so I could see it doing even higher. This is a rare and wonderful item.”

Another viewer, Andrew Smith, also had an interesting item for Anita to examine, a charming cup and saucer set hailing from World War One, which he came across after clearing out his mother-in-law’s home.

Speaking about it’s history, Anita told him: “It is an interesting wee item. This would have been made in 1914 and it would have been made to commemorate the alliance of Britain, France, Belgium and Russian in the First World War, and it displays the flags of these countries and also the motto for right and freedom.

“It’s what we call commemorative wear, and some commemorative wear from the better factories made in limited editions can be worth an enormous amount of money.”

However, this particular set isn’t going to net Andrew a fortune, as Anita explained: “This wee cup and saucer has no back stamp, so it’s probably been made by one of the Staffordshire factories and it would have been mass produced.”

The expert estimated that if Andrew was to sell the cup and saucer, he would make around £30-£40 on it.

Are you an antiques fanatic? Check out The Hour’s antiques section, with lots of valuations, tips and advice.