Antiques Roadshow expert undervalues My Little Pony collection

A mother and daughter told collectibles expert Mark Hill their My Little Pony collection was worth three times his estimate.

Albertina Lloyd
·Contributor
Updated ·3 min read
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Watch: Antiques Roadshow expert gives My Little Pony collection stunning valuation

What did you miss?

An Antiques Roadshow expert stood corrected after he underestimated a collection of My Little Pony toys.

A mother and daughter told collectibles expert Mark Hill their My Little Pony collection was worth three times his estimate. The guest revealed their hoard of the original 1980s toys had been given a much higher valuation than Hill's estimate.

What, how, and why?

Woman impresses Antiques Roadshow with her My Little Pony collection
The value of the My Little Pony collection was beyond even the Antiques Roadshow expert's estimate. (BBC screen grab)

The mother and daughter appeared on the most recent episode of the BBC's antiques and collectibles series - filmed outdoors at Crystal Palace Park in south London - with a small selection of their 600-strong hoard of My Little Pony toys. The daughter has continued her mother's collection, which began in the 1980s and the toys are in great condition.

Host Fiona Bruce said: "When you say some is this it?... 600?!" She asked the daughter: "Are these yours, do you love them?" Her mother replied: "She does, but I started it off."

Woman impresses Antiques Roadshow with her My Little Pony collection
Antiques Roadshow expert Mark Hill underestimated the My Little Pony collection by £20k. (BBC screengrab)

She then told expert Hill: "I had my first three in the 1980s and it all grew from there." The expert observed: "These are all in beautiful clean condition - and condition, as with any collecting area, is critical."

The collection included a blue figurine with blue hair and a white moon-shaped gem encrusted symbol on her back - the e Princess Saphire Variant III variant, which the owner revealed a version of which recently sold or between £1k and £1.5k. Hill replied: "That does not surprise me whatsoever."

Woman impresses Antiques Roadshow with her My Little Pony collection
Antiques Roadshow host Fiona Bruce was amazed by the size of the 600-strong My Little Pony collection. (BBC screengrab)

The expert then said: "What are we thinking about a global value for your collection, for the whole thing? Can I say £10,000?" But the guest replied: "Erm, it's a bit higher than that. So when I last valued it last year it was coming in at around £30,000."

Woman impresses Antiques Roadshow with her My Little Pony collection
The Antiques Roadshow guest's daughter has continued the My Little Pony collection she started in the 1980s. (BBC screengrab)

Hill commented: "I'm not surprised. That's not unusual with things like Barbie or Corgi or Dinky [toys]. And this is the future, in many ways, of collecting, it's always changing. I feel that money is safe and I think, I'm going to guess and say that, over the past five or so years, particularly during lockdown, you've seen prices go up."

What else happened on Antiques Roadshow?

Antiques Roadshow viewers have been left shocked after a woman's £2 charity shop items were actually ultra-rare vases.
Antiques Roadshow viewers have been left shocked after a woman's £2 charity shop items were actually ultra-rare vases.

A recent guest on the show was stunned to find out the real value of a rare pair of vases she had picked up for £2 at a charity shop and had been about to bin.

Antiques expert John Sandon told her the unexpected news that the vases dated back to 1870 and that they could sell for between £700 to £1,000 each.

Antiques Roadshow airs on BBC One at 7pm on Sundays.

Read more: Antiques Roadshow