Trading History

PBS America Weeknights from Monday 21 February, 6.15pm Previously broadcast by Yesterday, Trading History looks at the stories behind the kind of historical objects that come up for auction and, certainly in the case of some of the rarer and most collectible items, then disappear into private collections.

These are artefacts linked to key moments in history. They also often have fascinating family tales linked to them, as the series reveals by following the work of researchers who seek to confirm the provenance of different items.

The first episode, for example, looks at the story of the German battleship Tirpitz, which was blown apart in waters off Norway by the Royal Air Force in November 1944. But the following year a Royal Navy man, part of the crew of HMS Flint Castle, found a clock in the wreckage that once hung in the captain’s cabin – and claimed it as a trophy.