Antiques Roadshow expert ‘speechless’ after inspecting items ‘usually faked across the world’
Antiques Roadshow expert Mark Smith has been left thrilled and excited over items dating back to the 1940s, that he explained ‘don’t come on the market’.
The moment came on the Antiques Roadshow as a small crowd and BBC viewers at home watched as one man presented a collection from World War Two.
The collection included paperwork, medals and badges from his father who was a SAS soldier during the war.
Speaking on the BBC programme, Smith told the man: “You said to me this morning ‘my dad was a soldier’ then you started to get this stuff out and I got so excited because this man was in the SAS, this is fantastic.”
The collection included medals indicating the soldier fought at Dunkirk in 1940, as well as a certificate which was signed by Paddy Mayne, the commanding officer of the SAS.
An excited Smith pointed out details un the collection as he explained: “Now, when you see these badges and things that you have here and you see SAS wings, usually they are fake.
“You have a Kings Crown Parachute Regiment badge. Even they today are hard to find and usually they are copied as well.
“You then have two of the shoulder titles for the 1st SAS. Now, I’m not certain that I’ve ever seen those before, in the flesh to actually touch them but there they are.”
One item, a beret worn by the soldier during the war, caught Smith’s attention as he gestured to a small badge on the front that he revealed was often “faked all across the world”.
Other items included a rare a photograph of the solider driving SAS jeep, which are often scarce to find as there are few pictures detailing their work in the field.
An excited Smith gushed: “These things just don’t come on the market, so to actually be able to stand here and touch the real thing, it’s fantastic!”
Switching to the valuation, Smith explained that just on their own the medals were worth around £200 to £300. Yet he then added that the collection as a whole is worth a lot more.
He revealed: “I think you’re actually looking somewhere close to £8,000.”
The crowd gasped at the estimation, as the man was left stunned by the value and said: “My father would be very surprised.”
Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.