A woman on Antiques Roadshow was stunned into silence as she learnt the eye-watering value of her broken teddy bear which garnered a loud gasp from the crowd.
On Sunday night’s instalment of the BBC show, two guests brought a black mohair teddy bear named Teddy from the German brand Steiff to the experts at Belfast’s Botanic Gardens.
Recognising the brand and rarity of bear, Marc Allum said: ‘I’ve been working in the world of antiques for some 36 years and I’ve handled many amazing items in that time, but I have never handled a black Steiff bear like this.’
He added: ‘This is a real honour for me to do this today. It’s an object that has a connection to Belfast too.’
Marc explained that Edward was part of a collection of black bears issued by Steiff in 1912 after the sinking of the Titanic in April of the same year, making him a ‘mourning bear’.
He added: ‘Edward himself was part of what I would call a strict convention of mourning and he would’ve been treated with reverence and respect for the many people touched by the great tragedy of the event.’
A guest on Antiques Roadshow was stunned into silence as she learnt the eye-watering value of her broken teddy bear which garnered a loud gasp from the crowd
On Sunday night’s instalment of the BBC show, two guests brought a black mohair teddy bear named Teddy from the German brand Steiff to the experts at Belfast’s Botanic Gardens
Recognising the brand and rarity of bear, Marc Allum said: ‘I’ve been working in the world of antiques for some 36 years and I’ve handled many amazing items in that time but I have never handled a black Steiff bear like this’
Marc said Steiff had only sent around 600 of the bears to Great Britain which were still ‘expensive’, even all those years ago.
He pointed out that the scarf had been put on Edward as it was not part of the original toy, with the owner speculating it must have been his mother.
Marc went on to tell the man and woman that he could ‘instantly tell’ that Edward was a Steiff bear as the condition and form of originality cannot be copied.
He highlighted that all Steiff bears have a button in their ear but Edward’s was missing, with just a small hole left where it should be.
Edwards paw had also been chewed by moths, creating a series of holes that exposed a material called excelsior which is similar to wood shaving strands.
Marc noticed the bear’s shoulder was broken due to being ‘dragged around’ by the arm.
The antiques expert confessed the valuation was a ‘difficult one’ to pinpoint.
The guests look shocked as he revealed the figure: ‘To be frank, these bears have made more at times. I think he’s worth £10,000-£15,000 at auction.’
Marc explained that Edward was part of a collection of black bears issued by Steiff in 1912 after the sinking of the Titanic (pictured) in April of the same year, making him a ‘mourning bear’
Marc highlighted that all Steiff bears have a button in their ear but Edward’s was missing, with just a small hole left where it should be
Edwards paw had also been chewed by moths, creating a series of holes that exposed a material called excelsior which is similar to wood shaving strands
The guests look shocked as he revealed the figure: ‘To be frank, these bears have made more at times. I think he’s worth £10,000-£15,000 at auction.’
The crowd that had gathered round in a circle to watch let out a huge gasp in unison with each other when they heard the whopping estimation.
‘Oh my word,’ the guests whispered, absolutely stunned at the sum.
Marc added: ‘It’s a significant amount of money. But there’s a significant story locked up in this wonderful bear.’
Steiff recently re-released the Titanic bear as part of their Teddies For Tomorrow collection, which can be purchased for £165.
Last December, another guest on the show was left speechless when her Steiff bear was valued at £15,000.
Revealing how she came to own the item the lady explained: ‘It belonged to my great aunt and when she passed away it went to my mum and now I’m the custodian of it at the moment.’
An Antiques Roadshow guest (L) was left in tears after she discovered the huge value of her childhood teddy bear, that been kept for years in a carrier bag. (pictured with expert Bunny Campione, right)
The furry bear also housed a water bottle and left expert Bunny Campione almost speechless when she clapped eyes on it.
She said: ‘Well, I must admit, I hope I didn’t give too much of a shock when I saw you coming to my table. I think I screamed didn’t I?”
An excitable Bunny then went on to praise the item, before eventually giving her jaw-dropping valuation.
‘So, we are talking about a Steiff teddy bear, circa 1904, incredibly rare colour, a rare size because most of them were smaller than this, and a value wise, £15,000’.
Totally in shock and awe the guest asked ‘What, £15,000?!’ before admitting: ‘It’s just been put in a bag in the wardrobe’.
Antiques Roadshow airs on BBC One and is available to stream on iPlayer.
