The antique silver collection of the late BBC Flog It! expert Michael Baggott has fetched £124,614 at auction – more than double its £60,000 estimate – just months after his unexpected death in January.
Baggott, who died of a heart attack aged 51, was a recognised authority on antique silver who appeared on the BBC programme from 2004 to 2018.
The first part of his extensive collection went under the hammer at Woolley & Wallis auctioneers on Wednesday, with all 150 lots finding buyers.
The collection is believed to be the most comprehensive set of silver assayed in York ever to reach the open market.
The remaining 290 lots from Baggott’s carefully curated collection will be dispersed across two future auctions.
Baggott joined the popular BBC antiques programme in 2004, where he became known for his transparent and honest approach mixed with great humour.
The show’s format saw members of the public bring objects for valuation, with contestants choosing between a cash payment or gambling on an auction result.
The Birmingham-born expert had previously worked at Christie’s auction house and served as head of silver at Sotheby’s Billingshurst before becoming a private consultant. He specialised in early spoons, boxes, provincial and continental silver.
— michael baggott (@baggottsilver) January 28, 2025
His collection comprised silver from York, Liverpool, Chester, Dundee, Newcastle, Bristol, Exeter and Aberdeen. The York silver alone numbered over 500 pieces, according to Woolley & Wallis.
Flog It! ran for 17 years and 1,000 episodes before ending in 2018.
Among the sale’s highlights was a rare George III York silver tontine chamberstick and snuffer by Hampston and Prince, which sold for £8,190 against an estimate of £1,000-£1,500.
Tontines were popular investment schemes in the 18th and 19th centuries, with participants’ names and death dates engraved underneath.
A Victorian provincial ceremonial spade by John Bell sparked fierce bidding, eventually selling for £4,032 against a £1,000-£1,500 estimate.
The spade was inscribed as being presented to the Lady Mayoress of York in 1863 to commemorate the Prince of Wales’s marriage to Princess Alexandra of Denmark.
A Victorian silver vinaigrette featuring Witley Court in Worcestershire, made by Nathaniel Mills of Birmingham in 1843, fetched £2,142 against an estimate of £300-£500.
Silver spoons were a particular passion of Baggott’s. A George III provincial silver caddy spoon by Hampston and Prince from circa 1795, sold alongside a George IV example by Cattle and North, achieved £819 against an estimate of £150-£200.
A George IV silver-gilt sideboard dish by renowned Birmingham silversmith Edward Thomason sold for £5,040 against an estimate of £2,000-£3,000.
A George IV silver-mounted naval snuff box inscribed as being made from wood from Northern Discovery Ships fetched £5,170 against an estimate of £600-£800.
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Rupert Slingsby, silver specialist at Woolley and Wallis, said: “We have been so thrilled with the interest in Michael’s sale from worldwide collectors and every lot in the sale was sold.”
He noted there was “unprecedented amount of interest” in the collection, mainly from private collectors.