A man’s jaw visibly dropped when he learnt just how much some glass bottles he’d found at the back of a cupboard were worth.
The “novelty bottles”, shaped as cannons, were discovered by his wife and sister-in-law as they cleared out their mother’s house.
He decided to bring them along to Antiques Roadshow but could never have imagined their true value.
Expert Marc Allum took a look at them on Sunday’s episode and explained how they were used to store gin and whisky from well-known spirit makers JT Gayen.
“They date from the second half of the 19th century and were exported to America, where they were very popular,” he said.
The brown glass bottles were estimated to come from the mid-19th century (Image: BBC)
Marc added that the bottles remain very popular with American collectors to this day – meaning they are worth a hell of a lot of money.
“If I were to tell you that I’d seen these bottles make in excess of £1,000 each – that’s quite a lot of money for a glass bottle,” he said.
“I think you realistically have £2,000-£3,000 worth of cased glass canon-shaped bottles here.”
The man was visibly gobsmacked at the valuation, saying: “Wow, that’s amazing.
“They’ve just been two brown bottles that have been hidden away for so many years and I’m now going home with a smile on your face.”
The man couldn’t believe they were worth so much
It is not the first time Antiques Roadshow guests have been stunned by the true value of what they owned.
A woman decided to get her own engagement ring valued and was left staggered to find out it was worth thousands.
Meanwhile, another guest recently found out an old Chinese table they owned was worth £120,000.
Marc told the man the table could have been a lost treasure from the Imperial Court in 1860 when the French and British armies raided the Old Summer Palace during the second Opium war.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
