Antiques Roadshow in Belfast: Rare Titanic 'mourning' teddy bear could fetch up to £15,000

The show’s experts were greeted by members of the public with a range of hidden treasures, from glassware to military memorabilia, paintings and jewellery.

When expert Marc Allum was handed a Steiff teddy bear, he immediately recognised its rarity.

He said: "I've been working in the world of antiques for some 36 years and I've handled many amazing items in that time but I have never handled a black Steiff bear like this."

Marc admitted it was an "honour" to speak with the owners, revealing the object had a great connection to Belfast.

The guest revealed the teddy bear's name was Edward before Mark explained how the bear was issued in 1912 to mark the sinking of the Titanic.

"And that's why Edward is black," Marc said. "He's a mourning bear."

The expert revealed that German company Steiff sent around 600 of the bears, which were "expensive" at the time, to Great Britain.

Moving on to the current value of the bear, Marc said: “I think he's worth £10,000-£15,000 at auction."

He added: "It's a significant amount of money. But there's a significant story locked up in this wonderful bear."

Other treasures on the show included a collection of dress medals belonging to Blair ‘Paddy’ Mayne, one of the founding soldiers of the SAS. The medals, donated by Blair Mayne’s niece to the War Years Remembered museum in Newtownards, were given a valuation of £50,000 by expert Mark Smith, who said it was “a real privilege to see such a set of medals.”

Another guest was astounded to learn the value of autographs from iconic members of the rock world: Jimi Hendrix, Noel Redding, and Mitch Mitchell.

The autographs’ owner revealed that she had backstage press passes for the concert, which had been part of Queen's University Festival in Belfast, and had got the three musicians to sign the back of her tickets.

She revealed the concert was on Hendrix’ 25th birthday.

"The organisers at the festival have arranged to have a birthday cake for him, and they presented it to him backstage,” she said. “Because we had press passes, we were allowed to go backstage. So he was there, and the cake was on a table; I don't think he was eating the cake from what I can remember! He was drinking a bottle of whiskey."

When she was told the memorabilia could fetch somewhere between between £5,000 and £7,000, she responded with disbelief: "What? ! You're joking! That's crazy, crazy, crazy."

Book expert Justin Croft was thrilled to find an early edition of one of the world’s best-loved children’s books, Guess How Much I Love You, written by the late Sam McBratney from Lisburn, which had been brought along by his wife.

Charlotte McReynolds, curator from National Museums NI, showed a stunning hand-embroidered floral Lennox quilt, made in the early 1700s.