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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Entertainment
Gemma Jones

Antiques Roadshow: Seven most valuable items including flower worth £1million

Sunday evenings are the home of Antiques Roadshow on BBC One which has been on the air for more than 40 years.

The programme features people from near and far bringing their most prized possessions to be valuated by experts. Antiques and collectables on the show can range from pictures and plates to medals and miniatures.

Whether the item owners are collectors looking to turn trash into treasure or ordinary folks hoping nan's old painting might now fund the kids' education. Items featured on the programme often have an interesting story attached to them or have some connection to that episode's venue.

READ MORE: Antiques Roadshow: Who are all of the experts on the BBC show

While some items that are brought in are worthless, others are worth a fortune. We take a look at seven of the more valuable items ever featured on the show.

A document signed by Queen Elizabeth I

Back in 2017, a guest brought in a rare document from 1563. While the item may have looked like just a scraggly piece of old paper, it was actually special as it bore the signature of Queen Elizabeth I.

The item was actually a licence. It had been written to allow an Elizabethan adventurer to go and discover gunpowder.

Book expert Clive Farahar was blown away by the valuable item. He valued it at a whopping £35,000 leaving the guest absolutely speechless.

Fabergé flower

In the same year, there was a record-breaking jewellery estimation made on the show. Two British soldiers appeared on the show to get an item that belonged to the British army regiment valued.

They brought on a Faberge flower which was crafted out of gold, jade, diamonds and silver and standing in a carved rock crystal base. The soldiers were blown away when Fabergé jewellery expert Geoffrey Munn valued the special piece at £1million.

John Lennon's guitar

A guitar created quite the commotion when it was brought to a roadshow in 2019. Not just any guitar, the musical piece was once owned by Beatles John Lennon and George Harrison.

The prototype fretless guitar from the 1960s was owned by a musician who had been gifted it after impressing the two rockers with his skills. Expert Jon Baddeley decided that the instrument was the real deal after seeing it on a photograph, showing it among George's collection.

The expert hailed the piece "by far the most expensive thing" he'd seen in his 25 years on the show.

Signed First Editions by Beatrix Potter

The year of 2017 proved to be a valuable one for the show as yet another item was given a high price tag in that year. A set of first editions gifted and signed by Beatrix Potter herself were featured at one Roadshow.

Although looking worse-for-wear with some missing splines, the unique books were still worth a hefty fortune. Book expert Clive Farahar revealed that the rare editions were worth £25,000.

Star Wars helmet

In 2014, a collector brought in an item from the Star Wars movies to the Roadshow. It was a helmet - an original prop from the original 1977 Star Wars movie.

The collector was on a mission to track down Star Wars memorabilia from around the world. They were taken aback when the piece was valued to be worth a staggering five-figure sum.

Charlotte Brontë's ring

A guest brought on a piece of jewellery, expecting it only to be worth around £25. They had found a ring in a box that was hidden in an attic for many years.

The ring looked unremarkable but it had an impressive hidden past. It was revealed that it once belonged to none other than Jane Eyre author Charlotte Brontë and making it even more special, it was also discovered that the ring held a lock of the famous author's hair.

The piece was valued at an impressive £20,000 - much more expensive than what the owner had expected!

Shakespearean notebook

A tiny notebook that a guest took a chance on and brought to the roadshow back in 2017 turned out to be an incredibly valuable find. The miniature volume reviewing Shakespeare's work turned out to be from the 17th century.

According to expert Matthew Haley it had "enormous scholarly value". The notebook featured "scientific scholarly notes" written during the Bard's lifetime and was predicted to fetch more than £30,000 at auction.

Antiques Roadshow airs tonight at 7pm on BBC One.

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