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Edinburgh Live
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Edinburgh Live
Antiques Roadshow guest gobsmacked as five-figure value of family heirloom unveiled
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info A guest on Antiques Roadshow was visibly moved after learning the surprising auction value of her family heirloom brooch during a repeat episode from series 45, broadcast on Sunday 8th June. The programme transported viewers to Brodie Castle, where numerous guests had their prized possessions evaluated by the show's experts. In a particularly touching moment towards the end of the show, one woman was astonished when Susan Rumfitt, an expert from Antiques Roadshow, revealed the potential auction price of her treasured brooch. Susan praised the Art Deco-style brooch during her conversation with the owner, playfully remarking, "I hope you wear it every day." The owner replied in jest: "I do," but then clarified that she actually wears it for evening occasions, reports the Express. (Image: BBC) When asked if the brooch was part of a larger collection, the owner admitted to having additional pieces, but highlighted the diamond brooch as the standout item. Susan delved into the brooch's past, prompting the owner to recount its lineage from her grandmother, who, despite being a farmer's wife, dressed extravagantly for social events, hence the opulent brooch. Susan disclosed that the brooch dates back to the 1930s. She elaborated on the design philosophy, noting: "The style of jewellery was very similar to the '20s in regards to being bold and impressive as we're seeing here." Susan noted, "But we've moved away from colour and also concentrating on diamonds as well, which is quite extraordinary considering that in 1929 we had the Wall Street Crash and The Depression." (Image: BBC) She added, "Suddenly we're now concentrating on diamonds which does seem rather strange." The expert informed the guest that the diamonds were of modern brilliant cut, a characteristic uncommon in pre-1930s jewellery, when diamonds tended to be cushion-shaped and less refined. Susan explained that by the 1930s, advancements in diamond cutting led to more precise, symmetrical designs. While examining the piece, the expert highlighted its uniqueness, pointing out that most bow brooches typically come apart, but this one surprisingly did not. Intrigued, Susan asked the owner about her estimate of the diamond's carat weight, to which the woman guessed three carats. As Susan pulled a surprised expression, the guest hesitated: "Shall I reduce that slightly?" The expert's unexpected response followed: "How about 14? Obviously, that's going to help with the value, isn't it?" (Image: BBC) The owner was astonished, laughing and optimistically commenting on the potential boost to the brooch's worth. Susan concluded, "It's stunning. It makes us smile. In an auction, I'd expect this to fetch an excess of £20,000." Overwhelmed by the high valuation, the lady exclaimed: "Oh my goodness! That's taken my breath away that one, brings tears to my eyes!" Despite discovering its staggering value, she affirmed her decision to continue wearing the brooch. The crowd erupted into cheers as the woman admitted that learning about the real value of her grandmother's brooch was quite a surprise. Antiques Roadshow is currently available for streaming on BBC iPlayer.
Daily Record
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
First look at final ever Downton Abbey after star confirms they won't return
The first trailer for Downton Abbey: The Grand Fianle has been released, and it is set to be 'heartbreaking' Earlier this year, CinemaCon fans caught a glimpse of the Downton Abbey teaser, hinting at "plenty of tears" and the "heartbreaking" conclusion that marks the end of the much-loved period drama. The third and final film in the series, titled The Grand Finale, is notably missing the presence of the late Dame Maggie Smith. The first public trailer launched today and it revealed that the film will be set in 1930 and marks the return of Paul Giamatti as Cora Crawley's brother, Harold Levinson. The footage suggests a cheery outset; however, Julian Fellowes' writing may well forecast stormy weather ahead. With 1930 just a year after the Wall Street Crash and a poignant scene of Hugh Bonneville's Lord Grantham kissing the walls of Downton Abbey, fans are left speculating whether the future holds a National Trust destiny for the grand estate, reports the Express. The official synopsis for The Grand Finale states: "DOWNTON ABBEY: THE GRAND FINALE, the cinematic return of the global phenomenon, follows the Crawley family and their staff as they enter the 1930s." It added: "As the beloved cast of characters navigates how to lead Downton Abbey into the future, they must embrace change and welcome a new chapter." The film features a star-studded cast including Simon Russell Beale, Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Raquel Cassidy, Brendan Coyle, Michelle Dockery, Kevin Doyle, Michael Fox, Joanne Froggatt, Paul Giamatti and Harry Hadden-Paton. Also making an appearance is Robert James-Collier, Allen Leech, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern, Sophie McShera, Lesley Nicol, Alessandro Nivola, Dominic West, Penelope Wilton, Arty Froushan, Joely Richardson, Paul Copley, and Douglas Reith. It comes following the news that Matthew Goode will not reprise his role as Henry Talbot in the closing film. Though he featured in the 2019 film, the actor cited conflicting professional commitments and health problems for his absence from future sequels. In an interview with Radio Times, the 47-year-old actor detailed: "I was unavailable for the second because I was doing The Offer. Then, for the third, I was shooting this (Dept Q)," reports Devon Live. He also mentioned suffering a knee injury requiring surgery, noting: "But I also buggered my knee, and I had to have an operation. That takes weeks to get over, so I was never going to be able to do it. And let's face it, he was edging towards becoming a bit of a wet lettuce. So maybe it's a good thing." Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is set to hit UK cinemas on September 12, 2025.
Irish Examiner
17-05-2025
- Irish Examiner
Book review: Down and out in Donegal and New York — a forgotten victim of greed
New York City was in the grips of depression in the early 1930s. The wealthy who survived the Wall Street Crash ignored the reality; most of the rest staggered on as best they could while the New York Yankees, at the height of their pomp, helped to boost the morale of the city. Below these classes were the destitute — those whose life could hardly have sunk lower. The destitute never featured in many of the stories about New York. They were largely immigrants, or the descendants of immigrants, who never caught the train that was to carry them on to the American dream of success and happiness. Michael Malloy was one of the destitute. He is the subject of The Many Murders of Michael Malloy: The unbelievable true story of the Irishman who refused to die, by Simon Read. It is a tale from the darkest corners of the underbelly of the greatest city in the world. Malloy, who was in his late 50s at the time covered by this book, was born in Donegal and moved to live in New York. Simon Read succinctly sums up Malloy's life in one line: 'He arrived in obscurity and lived in anonymity.' In movies about New York, Malloy would be described as 'a bum'. But for all of that, he was a man. Because of prohibition laws on alcohol, bars were still illegal in the USA in 1933. Illegal bars were known as 'speakeasies'. Body of Mike Malloy after it was exhumed; the Donegal native was the victim of a murder plot motivated by a life insurance scam. Picture: Getty It is reckoned that there were about 30,000 speakeasies in New York, and policing them was not always a priority; even for the honest cops. The speakeasy at 3375 Third Avenue, The Bronx, was central to the fate of Michael Malloy. It was not a glamorous facility like many of the 'high-class joints' in Manhattan. It was a drinking den where the customers went to indulge their soulless addiction. Tony Marino was the owner of this speakeasy, an unpleasant person who suffered from syphilis and other diseases that were never treated. His premises attracted the lowest of the low; for them, money was a constant problem. Marino managed to make a successful insurance claim on the life of a woman he had lived with for a short while. It did not take long before the next financial squeeze came along, and he decided to try another insurance scam. This time, he wanted to go bigger. He and four others, who frequented the bar, hatched a plan to take out an insurance policy on the bum in the corner, one Michael Malloy, and then to kill him. Malloy was a nuisance, always hanging around, bumming drink when he had no money, and falling asleep on the premises. He had no known family and nobody knew where he went when he was not at the bar. He was an easy target. The gang came to be known as the Murder Trust, but they didn't know how to commit a murder. They also underestimated Michael Malloy. He may have been a down and out, but he had the constitution of a horse. Molloy turned out to be uninsurable. The gang had to give him a false name, Nicholas Mellory, and one gang member had to pose as his brother before they got their policies. Once he was insured, the attempts on Malloy's life began. First, they tried to do it with whiskey, then they tried poison. When that didn't work, they swapped methanol for whiskey. After that, they put broken glass and slivers of tin in his food. They then drove over him in a car, and still, Malloy turned up in the speakeasy looking for more drink. Malloy eventually succumbed to their efforts but, inevitably, the word got around about what was going on. One of the insurance companies became suspicious and a fatal falling out between the Murder Trust members got the police involved. The plot unravelled and the group was arrested and tried for murder. The Many Murders of Michael Malloy was first published in the USA over 20 years ago. It has all the ingredients of a black comedy, except for the fact that it is a true story. Greed and an absence of conscience brought about the death of the helpless and innocent Malloy. The book will sometimes shock the reader and is undoubtedly a fascinating read. It is a case history of man's inhumanity to man, except in this case of a destitute man in the Bronx, nobody mourned.
Telegraph
04-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
The real reason why capitalism always wins
One of the joys of Capitalism and Its Critics, John Cassidy's unexpectedly lively romp through the two-and-a-half-century history of capitalism, is its fine sense for dramatic reversals. Nearly a century ago, for instance, John Maynard Keynes looked into his crystal ball and saw a world of plenty. On average, the Cambridge economist wrote in Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren (1930), his generation's grandchildren would be eight times better off than his contemporaries in 1930. Better yet, if capital accumulation and productivity continued to rise steadily, by 1960 a 15-hour working week would be commonplace in industrial nations such as Britain. This was an odd moment to have had utopian dreams. Back in 1930, industrial capitalism seemed to be in a doom spiral. 'What the bourgeoisie produces, above all, are its own grave diggers,' Marx and Engels wrote gleefully in The Communist Manifesto, and to many across the West, the catastrophic global effects of 1929's Wall Street Crash might have suggested that capitalism was terminally ill. Across America, homeless encampments called Hoovervilles, after then-US president Herbert Hoover, were springing up; a National Hunger March arrived in London in October 1932; the following year, Adolf Hitler was sworn in as German chancellor, vowing to revive a nation crushed by hyperinflation and unemployment. And yet, despite Marxist predictions, the last top-hatted capitalist has not yet been strangled with his own entrails by horny-handed proletarians. Instead, in a dramatic reversal, capitalism may have buried its critics. In Cassidy's hands, rarely has what Thomas Carlyle called the 'dismal science' been so jaunty. Yes, Capitalism and its Critics is filled with Kuznets curves, post-endogenous growth theory and Gini coefficients; but I predict it'll become the intelligent beach read of the summer. It's effectively a zombie tale in which the mystery is why capitalism, having so many ill-wishers and so many chronic health problems, keeps rising anew from each crisis – be it the 1930s Great Depression or 2008 financial crisis – even stronger and more resilient. Over 28 punchy, rigorous yet engagingly peopled chapters, Cassidy not only explains the economic theories of Marx, Adam Smith, David Ricardo and Milton Friedman – people of whom no smart person has any business being ignorant – but introduces us to a fabulous cast of lesser-known characters: Gandhi's economist JC Kumarappa, degrowth guru Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen and the cudgel-wielding toughs behind Luddism. The last of these are especially intriguing: Cassidy suggests that the Luddites had a point in terminating the machines that destroyed their livelihoods and they might even offer us a blueprint for how to avoid being made redundant by AI. Cassidy depicts capitalism as a survival machine, rather like Richard Dawkins's 'selfish gene': imagine an amoral virus that picks the brightest ones who'll help it mutate. In the 1930s, for instance, Keynes nudged industrialised nations to accept the heresy that would have given Smith and Ricardo conniptions. He proposed that one of the foundations of free-market capitalism, Say's Law, according to which supply creates its own demand, was wrong. Imagine that you're Mark Zuckerberg in his Harvard dorm room in the 1990s, and you've just created a social network that will, in years to come, have billions of subscribers handing over their hitherto private data to be monetised by Facebook. Here, demand may seem to follow supply. For Keynesians, the world mostly doesn't work that way, certainly not in the Great Depression era, when demand was so weak that it called out for government stimulus in the form of public works. This was heretical stuff – yet from Roosevelt's New Deal to Attlee's nationalisation of the commanding heights of the post-war British economy, it became orthodoxy. Keynes defibrillated capitalism, bringing it back to life in such a flourishing way in the West as to confirm much of his 1930 crystallomancy. By 1957, prime minister Harold Macmillan could tell Britons that 'you've never had it so good', and not be laughed into opposition. Imagine if Rachel Reeves produced such a soundbite today. Capitalism boomed during what the French call les trentes glorieuses. Opec's quadrupling of oil prices following the 1973 Yom Kippur War catalysed a stagflationary crisis that, once more, had Marxists drooling at the prospect of capitalism's imminent demise – but something more interesting happened. In 1974, a young pretender to the Tory leadership called Margaret Thatcher met the British-Austrian neoliberal economist Friedrich Hayek, and was beguiled by his ideas that union power should be destroyed and that the state should have negligible economic role. Once in power in 1979, Thatcher took to handing out copies of Hayek's jeremiad against government, The Road to Serfdom, at cabinet meetings. This revolution spread across the Pond, where US president Ronald Reagan captured its ethos thus: 'The nine most terrifying words in the English language are 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'' Capitalism had cheated death once more by mutating into a new identity scarcely recognisable to Keynesians. It has been doing so for 250 years. Cassidy, a New Yorker staff writer, takes us back to August 1 1771, when inventor Richard Arkwright rented a piece of land in Derbyshire on which he and his partners planned 'to Erect and Build one or more Mill or Mills for Spinning, Winding, or throwing Silk Worsted Linen Cotton oil other Materials'. This, Cassidy tells us, heralded the factory system, which prompted a vertiginous rise in British productivity and trade. On page 15, he reproduces a graph showing global average GDP per capita in international dollars from AD 1 to 2022. It's the shape of a hockey stick: until the end of the 18th century, the line is flat, then it leaps almost vertically. Those unexcited by phrases such as 'global average GDP per capita' needn't worry. Cassidy is superb at bringing such issues to dramatic life. He offers gripping analyses of socialist communes, slavery, imperialism and monetarism; he takes us to the heart of such topical questions as whether tariffs are folly, as laissez-faire orthodoxy suggests, or essential to making America great again, as Donald Trump insists. But what struck me most profoundly after reading Cassidy's book is that in 2025 very few of us could imagine a happy future for capitalism like the one Keynes envisaged in 1930. You don't have to be a card-carrying member of the woke Blob to suppose that what economists euphemistically call 'negative externalities', such as our rivers being filled with human waste as water-company executives double their bonus packages, exemplify how something is rotten in the state of capitalism today. Like Keynes, Cassidy thinks capitalism can be reformed. Tech monopolies can be broken up, child poverty eliminated; even Greta Thunberg's tears over planetary despoliation can be dried. Perhaps if there's a sequel to this 500-page work, he'll tell us quite how all this can be done. On the other hand, before he gets round to writing it, perhaps Trump will unleash a global tariff-based economic doom spiral, and so dig capitalism's grave – just as Marx and Engels dreamed.
CNN
27-03-2025
- Business
- CNN
$100 million coin collection, buried for decades, up for auction
A vast coin collection, much of which was buried underground for more than 50 years, is expected to fetch in excess of $100 million at auction, according to experts. The Traveller Collection, thought to be the most expensive coin collection to ever come to auction, will be sold off over the next three years - with the first sale taking place on May 20. Whatever the outcome, it is the origin story of this valuable set of coins that is so remarkable. It features coins from more than 100 territories around the globe, ranging in age from ancient times to the modern era. But what makes the lot, set to be auctioned by Numismatica Ars Classica, even more extraordinary is the fact that the majority of the coins were buried underground for half a century. According to a press release about the sale sent to CNN, the original collector - who has not been identified - first began buying gold coins after the Wall Street Crash of 1929. He soon developed 'a taste for coins with great historical interest, beauty and rarity' and eventually had in his possession around 15,000 coins. The man and his wife spent the 1930s travelling extensively through the Americas and Europe, picking up rare and historically significant coins as they went - while also compiling a detailed archive of their purchases. The pair eventually settled in Europe, despite the dark shadow that Hitler's Nazi party was casting over the continent. The collector must have felt the imminent threat, however, as the coins were packed carefully into cigar boxes that were then transferred into aluminum boxes and buried underground - where they remained for five decades. 'The collection spans all geographical areas and contains exceptionally rare coins often in a state of preservation never seen in modern times. Several types have never been offered in a public auction, highlighting their considerable rarity,' the press release says. When they were finally retrieved by the collector's heirs, the coins were stored in a bank vault and later presented to the auction house for sale. Unfortunately, no further details have been made available about the hiding or discovery of the coins, due to the family's request for privacy. The collector's detailed records made it easier for the team at the auction house to research the provenance and value of the coins, some of which could be traced back to auctions of some of the greatest collections of late 19th and early 20th centuries. Among the highlights is a 100 ducat gold coin of Ferdinand III of Habsburg, which was minted in 1629 when he was Archduke of Austria, King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, the release says. Made up of 348.5 grams of fine gold, it is one of the largest denominations of European gold coins ever minted. Also featured is an 'exceedingly rare' set of five Tomans, minted in Tehran and Isfahan in the late 18th and early 19th century by Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar. Only five complete such sets are known, one of which is in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Arturo Russo, director of Numismatica Ars Classica, said in the release: 'The vast range and superb quality of the coins offered, the sheer number of great rarities and the fascinating story of the collection's formation will make these sales a landmark in the history of numismatics.' David Guest, director of David Guest Numismatics and consultant to the collection, said in the release: 'When it came to cataloguing the British coins from the Traveller Collection I had to keep pinching myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. 'Not only was the quality exceptional but many of the coins before me were of types not known to have been offered for sale in over 80 years and, in some cases, completely unrecorded.'
