Beachcombers Find 18th Century Navigational Device

Beachcombers are a common sight on Long Beach Island. But the occasional lost class ring or buffalo nickle can't hold a candle to what Diana Adam found in a tidal pool one October morning ten years ago.

A metallic object, obviously deposited after a blowy nor'easter, was there just begging to be picked up and added to her collection of "beach junk." So she did, labeling it a "sextant" in her mind on the way home.

Recently, however, appraisers at the Antiques Roadshow said the quadrant would sell for $1,000 at auction but belongs in a museum and is priceless because of its age and the nature of its discovery.

Antiques Roadshow Appraisal Goes High, Jade Goes For Much Less

If you watched PBS' Antiques Roadshow last night, you saw one of the biggest appraisals in the show's history. But her attempt to sell them in the "real world" came in far below expectations.

The story: a woman from North Carolina brings in jade objects that her father brought home from China after World War II. The woman wasn't sure how much they were worth, but the appraiser gives her the "wait for it" high mark of between $710,000 to $1.07 million.

Nervous laughter and stunned silence. But it turns out that her imperial bowl and other items weren't as exciting to prospective bidders as they were to the appraiser, selling for a relatively unimpressive $494,615 when the nice lady brought them to Skinner's in October.

Yikes.

The sale’s top lot, a Qianlong period bowl with Imperial marks, sold to a phone bidder for $303,000. It was estimated on the Roadshow and for the Skinner catalog at $400,000/600,000.

Still the consignor and her brother did well, bringing in other items they found after the appraisal and putting them up for auction - netting around $850,000 when all was said and done.

"Cambridge Ripper" Arrested For Plundering Valuable Books

A former Cambridge University student has been arrested after selectively gutting horticultural volumes worth £50,000 ($100,000US) from the Royal Horticultural Society's London library.

William Jacques, 40, who has no fixed address, will appear in custody at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court. He was arrested on Christmas Day in Selby, North Yorkshire, after more than two years on the run.

The former Cambridge University student is alleged to have stolen 13 volumes from the Royal Horticultural Society's London library. Scotland Yard said he disappeared after being released on bail by police in April 2007.

Jacques was accused of stealing Nouvelle Iconographies des Camellias by Ambroise Verschaffelt.

The volumes contained an array of colored plates of camellias by the 19th century Belgian author and explanatory text. It is alleged Jacques stole them by signing in to the library under the false name of "Mr Santoro" and then hiding them under his jacket.

Old Is Good (We Keep Saying) As Steam Train Rescues Stranded Passengers

Electric trains running between Ashford and Dover came to a standstill today as cold weather in the area numbed the electric rail and left a hundred passengers stranded.

Until a Darlington-built Tornado - Britain's first mainline steam engine - announced itself with a cheery whistle and took the grateful passengers home "in style."

The weather-related disruption included three days of cancellations for Eurostar services through the Channel Tunnel.

Tornado, a £3m Peppercorn class A1 Pacific based at the National Railway Museum in York, was in the South East for one day, offering "Christmas meal" trips from London to Dover.

Its "Cathedrals Express" service, the last mainline journey in its first year of operations, was about to depart when staff heard about the stranded passengers.

About 100 people were offered free seats, according to Mark Allatt, chairman of The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust - the charity which built Tornado.

"It was a nice way to finish for Christmas, though I think some of the rescued passengers didn't realise they'd even been travelling on a steam train until they got off."

Mr Allatt, who was on the service at the time, said he only saw a handful of other trains between London and Dover throughout Monday.

He added: "If any of the train operators want to modernise their services by using steam trains, I would be happy to give them a quote."

Notch one for the "old days."

"Miracle On The Hudson" Pilot's Cap Passes Under The Hammer For $5,800

Whether you're tired of all the foofraw surrounding the helluva good job Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger did aboard U.S. Airways flight 1549 or can't get enough of the hero captain, it was interesting to see that Sully's flight cap was just auctioned off for $5,800 - on eBay.

The signed cap, stripped of its U.S. Airways insignia, passed this morning, with all the money from the sale promised to two local schools. The good captain is a class act and a local boy and we're glad things went well for him and his passengers that fateful day in January, but Antiqueswest thinks the least they could have done would be to throw in a bag of those airline peanuts to sweeten the deal.