The final instalment of the silver collection from the late Flog It! star Michael Baggott has sold for £112,891. Baggott, who died in January 2025 aged 51, was an authority on antique silver, specialising in early spoons, boxes, and provincial and continental pieces.
The latest lots from his private hoard went under the hammer on Tuesday at Woolley And Wallis, significantly surpassing their estimated value of £71,100 to £97,700. This successful sale follows two previous auctions of Baggott’s collection, which collectively exceeded £200,000.
Among items was a 1672 Charles II provincial two-handled porringer by Thomas Mangy, achieving £3,810. This shallow bowl was used for dining or as a status symbol. An engraved James I West-Country silver dish, dating from 1620 by Edward Harsell, sold for £5,334, exceeding its top estimate of £4,000.
Another intriguing piece was a silver ingot from June 1840, produced at Mr Treffry’s Smelting House in Par, fetching £762 – well above its £300 top estimate.
This practical block was used for storage or trade. It was accompanied by a handwritten note stating: "The first produce from Mr Treffry’s Smelting House at Par, by which the silver is separated from the copper raised at Fowey Consol mine. Mr Treffry June 1840."
Baggott’s York silver collection, over 550 pieces from the late 17th century to 1858, was hailed by specialist Rupert Slingsby as "the most comprehensive collection of silver assayed in York ever to come onto the open market".
Baggott's lifelong passion for antiques began early, saving £22 in school dinner money for a Chester silver vesta case. His career included roles at Christie’s and as head of silver at Sotheby’s Billingshurst.
The Birmingham-born expert, who penned titles like An Illustrated Guide To York Hallmarks 1776-1858 and As Found: A Lifetime In Antiques, became a familiar face on the BBC’s Flog It! in the 2000s.
In 2025, the head of BBC daytime and early peak commissioning, Rob Unsworth, described him as as one of Flog It!’s “most memorable characters”, and an “expert in all manner of collectables but in particular with unrivalled knowledge and enthusiasm for antique spoons and silver”.
The Antiques Roadshow-style programme – which saw members of the public having their antique items appraised by experts before being given the option to sell them at auction – began in 2002.
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