An Antiques Roadshow guest was taken aback after she learnt four teacups bought at a car boot sale were worth £2,000 and they had a fascinating link with the Titanic.
The BBC Sunday night show visited the Ulster Folk Museum near Belfast last weekend, where expert Steven Moore valued the set, originally from a luxury ocean liner.
Noticing the intricately decorated white, gold and red crockery, Steven then learnt the guest bought the teacups when she visited a car boot sale.
“I was looking for a cake stand and I bought a couple of different boxes of crockery,” she explained.
Evaluating the cups, which were in mint condition, the TV presenter said: "First of all, this is the right pattern and these are cups and saucers from a White Star ship.
“Not the Titanic, that would be quite difficult. If they were from the Titanic, I would be standing back and saying these are worth a lot of money.”
The White Star Line was the British shipping company behind the Titanic, which famously sank in 1912, leading to the deaths of about 1,500 people.
Steven then revealed that four cups and saucers were worth £500 each, meaning they were £2,000 overall.
The guest was shocked and pleased, adding: "Seriously, for those? Oh my goodness that’s so exciting.”
He later added: “These cups are £500 each, if you were to go down to the wreck of the Titanic, those cups would be worth tens of thousands of pounds - and that’s the magic of provenance.”
The same episode saw viewers amused over a sea coconut- also known as a coco de mer- which had designs carved into and was described as "very rare".
A number of viewers felt the item- which was later valued at between £800 and £1,200- resembled thighs and a bum, with some taking to Twitter to share their opinion.
One viewer tweeted: "It's a beautiful looking a**e." Another commented: "Call it a sea coconut all you want. It looks like something else."
Two weeks ago, fans were left baffled as a guest on the show brought on items of clothing from the seventies - with one shirt being auctioned at around £3,000.
Many fans were puzzled as they claimed the clothing is "not antique" - due to the fact it is from recent years.
Lisa Lloyd valued two shirts - including a Vive Le Rock T-shirt by British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood - from the punk era on tonight's episode of the BBC1 show.
The guest, who claims he was a "young punk", saw one of his military-inspired shirts from 1979 valued at £3,000 even after having alterations - which left him gobsmacked.
Generally speaking, an item should be at least 100 years old to be defined as an antique, otherwise it falls under the term vintage, and some Twitter users were left unimpressed.
One person wrote: "Punk clobber. Not antique is it? I don't mind though as I like a bit of punk. I have a mate with a suitcase full of Vivienne Westwood from SEX and seditionaries. #antiquesroadshow."
A second shared: "Sooooooo stuff from 1977 is an 'antique'? #antiquesroadshow."
Antiques Roadshow continues on BBC One on Sunday at 8pm.
