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TV antique expert's silver set to be sold

Woolley and Wallis/PA Wire A number of silver items, a golden spoon in a red case, and a golden plate with intricate artwork.Woolley and Wallis/PA Wire
The collection owned by Flog It! expert Michael Baggott includes more than 550 items tested in York

A collection of York silver belonging to late Flog It! antiques expert Michael Baggott could be the "most comprehensive" set to be sold publicly, an auctioneer has said.

Baggott, who worked on the BBC series, died earlier this year aged 51, after a heart attack.

His antiques collection, expected to sell for more than £200,000, includes an extensive selection of silver assessed by metal testers in York.

"It includes over 550 pieces from the late 17th Century to the closure of the [York] assay office in 1858," Rupert Slingsby, silver specialist at Woolley and Wallis auctioneers, said.

"The Baggott collection is probably the most comprehensive collection of silver assayed in York ever to come on to the open market," Mr Slingsby said.

It also includes items assessed in assay offices in Liverpool, Chester Dundee, Newcastle, Bristol, Exeter and Aberdeen.

Baggott family archive/PA Wire A man with dark hair and a beard looks at the camera to his side.Baggott family archive/PA Wire
Baggott died in January from a heart attack, after suffering a stroke in October 2024

According to the auction house, highlights of the collection include a rare George II provincial mug, a Victorian novelty Jester pepper pot and a George IV gilt sideboard dish.

Baggott was born in Birmingham and his interest in antiques began at an early age.

He worked at Christie's auction house and was head of silver at Sotheby's Billingshurst, before becoming a private consultant, known as an authority on silver.

He joined BBC daytime show Flog It! in the early 2000s, and valued various silver objects.

The programme showed members of the public having their antique items appraised by experts before being given the option to sell them at auction, but it was axed amidst BBC One daytime schedule changes in 2018.

Earlier this year, the head of BBC daytime and early peak commissioning, Rob Unsworth, described Baggott as one of the show's "most memorable characters".

He was an "expert in all manner of collectables but in particular with unrivalled knowledge and enthusiasm for antique spoons and silver", Mr Unsworth added.

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.

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