Fiona Bruce taken aback by ‘strangest thing we've seen' on BBC Antiques Roadshow
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WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Antiques Roadshow.
Antiques Roadshow's Fiona Bruce admitted experts had found it 'almost impossible' to put a value on a 'hideous' item they hadn't seen before.
The BBC daytime series ventured to Derby Roundhouse with experts on hand to appraise a wide array of valuable items, both personally and financially.
This time around, host Fiona Bruce stepped into the shoes of the specialists as she met with a guest who had presented her with a purse unlike any other.
Speaking to the camera, Fiona remarked: 'Can you guess what this is? There are three, what could be claws here, and then this lizard-like skin.'
When she then questioned what it was made of, its owner stated it was from a swan, prompting Fiona to reply: 'It's a swan's claw isn't it! And made it into a purse. It's hideous isn't it?'
(Image: BBC)
The guest laughed as she agreed with the sentiment before the presenter continued: 'Now swans have been owned by the monarch since, it's thought, the 12th Century so whoever had this either illegally killed a swan or was connected to the Royal Family in some way.'
Along with the purse was an Elizabethan coin which had been inside the swan's foot when it was originally purchased at an antiques shop, making it a 'pretty good start' when it came to dating the item.
The owner continued: 'It was part of his [the antiques shop owner's] own collection and he was just wanting to move it on.
'But he did say that he believed it was connected to the court in the Elizabethan times and would have been given to somebody who had done some sort of favour or was in favour with the court.'
(Image: BBC)
Fiona went on to explain: 'I was talking to our experts about this coin and there's no doubts in their minds that it's genuine, it's an Elizabethan coin, it's from the 16th Century.
'I was quite surprised to learn that it's worth about £40.'
She then once again turned her attention to the swan's foot purse as the guest shared that she had paid around £400 for the piece.
The host continued: 'Well I talked to our experts again about that and the thing is, no one here's ever seen one before so it's almost impossible to value.
'We had estimates ranging from £200 to £700 so £400 is probably about right.'
She then remarked: 'Certainly, I think it wins the prize this series for the strangest thing we've ever seen on the Roadshow.
'And on that basis alone, thank you so much for bringing it in!'
Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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