The Bidding Room

First through the door today is mystical Claire. The oddity of her quirky crystal ball augurs well, but is it desirable enough to help her find a fortune? Next up facing the dealers are Sally and Linda from Durham, with a range of medical posters their dad rescued from a skip. Condition will be key, so what will valuation expert Simon Bower's diagnosis be? Third to try to make a sale is wheeler dealer Greg, with a chest he believes came from a historic White Star ocean liner. Objects associated with the Titanic and its sister ships are always of interest, but they need perfect provenance if they're going to make a tidy profit. Unlike Greg, Samantha can guarantee her offering is authentic: a letter sent to her by Mother Teresa after they met at an awards ceremony. It's the type of lot Simon usually advises should be put into a specialist auction, but will any of the dealers be tempted to make her an offer? And last but not least, in what initially sounds like a follow-up to one of Dickens's finest works, it's a tale of two Nigels in the valuation room. There's a French travelling salesman's case up for grabs, but it's something of a mystery item, as nobody is quite sure what it would have displayed.