Antiques Roadshow: ‘What!?’ Guest stunned at £200 bicycle’s real valuation

The BBC programme was in Newcastle Civic Centre where experts provided valuations for a new crop of contributors.

One guest had brought along an old rusted bike which looked like a small penny farthing.

Antiques Roadshow expert Adam Schoon was on hand to tell the man what the piece actually was and how much it could expect to fetch if it went to auction.

First, the guest explained where he had got it from as he said: “I got it from a house clearance shop in North Shields, locally. It was lying at the back of the shop beside this old sofa and I just saw it lying there and I had a feeling this is going to be worth a bit of money.

I’ve never seen anything like it before

Antiques Roadshow guest

“So what I did was I went and did a bit of research on the internet and I discovered there was one in America that was worth quite a bit of money so I thought how am I going to get this on the cheap.

“I went and picked a few of the items in the shop, a few lights and things like that and I made the guy an off of £300 for the whole lot. Overall it cost about £200.”

“Is this all very recently?” Adam asked as the contributor replied: “It was about a year ago.”

Adam continued: “The bike is made of two things. Wood and iron. An original handle there and what was this?”

The guest detailed how he had replaced a missing handle as he said: “It was an old file handle so I drilled the end and I carved it a bit and I varnished it with a bit of coloured varnish.”

“Are you an engineer or something?” Adam inquired as the contributor confirmed that he was.

Adam then went on to discuss the origins of the piece as he declared: “When I first saw it, I really didn’t know whether it was a fake or whether it was real.

“Let’s have a quick look just here and here, there are two rivets which you can see are handmade. This is a hand-wrought bicycle.

“It’s got tyres made of iron. This is before pneumatic, pump-up tyres. Originally it would have had a leather seat, a bit of token comfort.”

He added: “What must’ve charmed you is the fact that it’s for a child.”

While the guest commented: “I’ve never seen anything like it before, it’s quite fascinating.”

Adam continued: “I think you’ve probably got the feeling that it is actually a period one from the 1880s and indeed, it is an American one. They call them high wheelers and the men who used to ride, penny-farthings as we call them, they’re called wheel men, or wheeler men.

“It owes you the equivalent of £200, in this condition it’s clearly worth £2000. You have done well.”

“What?! Goodness. Knock me over with a feather. Goodness me. £2000?!” the contributor excitedly replied.

“You have a very good eye, good for you,” Adam complimented as the guest thanked him: “Incredible. Thank you very much.”

Antiques Roadshow continues Sunday at 8pm on BBC One.

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