'Antiques Roadshow' guest almost in tears after expert reveals the staggering value of broken plates

Artifacts and collectibles are finding the recognition they deserve and fetching their true value thanks to shows such as "Antiques Roadshow" and "Pawn Stars." But, experts who appraise these items, also take their condition into account and damage can lead to a drop in the price. However, that was not the case in a UK episode of the show in which a guest had brought a plate broken in the middle and barely held together. It was the history and rarity of the item that trumped all other factors, as the antique expert claimed that it could be sold for thousands at an auction.

The guest had brought two plates - one in good condition and one broken in half. Both plates had a similar design, making it clear that they came as a pair. Ceramics and glass specialist John Sandon noted that the two plates were Delftware, a European imitation of Chinese porcelain as per Express.

You can watch a clip of the episode here.

The blue, white, and gold plates were thought to be from the 17th century. One had a humorous depiction of a man from China while the other had a portrait of a British king. Considering the period that the items were from, the expert deduced that the king that was depicted was James II, who did not boast a long reign.

“One tries to pick a date from the plates and looking at the designs, I've seen ones before with a similar king which depicts James II. I think that's probably who he is, so that goes back to 1685, it's a relatively short reign. So you've got a pair of plates here, probably made in London... but they're about as rare as you can get," Sandon explained.

When it was time to put a price on the items, the expert said that the plate in perfect condition with the Chinese man’s portrait could sell for £10,000 to £20,000 ($12,543 to $25087). However, it was the price of the broken plate with the picture of the king that reduced the guest to tears. 

"The broken one, it's got to be more than that, so at least £30,000 ($37,630)." The guest held her face in her hands upon hearing the amount, profusely weeping before revealing, "I brought them in my handbag.” This left the expert as well as the audience amused.

While some plates, like the one mentioned above, could sell for a lot of money, some are simply not as valuable, something that can come as a shock to the guest. In a 2019 episode of the show, a guest named Alastair Dickenson brought a magnificent silver-gilt dish. That sounds expensive but it turned out that it wasn't legal. “If we turn it over, it’s got some marks here on the back which have all got crosses right through them," the antique expert of the episode had said. “It’s gone to the London assay office and been put in front of the Antique Plate Committee, which is the adjudicating body that makes opinions officially on all things of a suspect nature. And this was thought to be an illegal piece of silver, that’s why it was sent.”

The guest was devastated when he learned that the value of the dish was only between £700 (~$879) and £1000 (~$1,255). What made it even worse was the fact that if it was an original legal piece, its value could have been 10 times more than the $1,004 that Dickenson had paid for it.