An Antiques Roadshow guest was left blown away by the staggering value of a shilling rescued from the Titanic wreck site. During Sunday's programme, the BBC One show travelled to the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea, where one person revealed the item recovered from the 1912 shipwreck site. The guest brought an image of her great-great-uncle, Reginald Hale and an Edwardian silver shilling that had belonged to him, explaining that he had emigrated to American in his early 20s and spent several years working there.

She went on: "He came back to the UK because his father died and he wanted to be with his mother. He spent the winter here, and then in the spring of 1912 he'd always intended to travel back to the States. The first opportunity he had to go back to the States was on the Titanic. Reg boarded the Titanic and he didn't make it."

More than 1,500 people died when the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, after hitting an iceberg, though the exact death toll has never been confirmed.

Over 1,000 bodies were never recovered, with only 334 found, several of which were buried at sea.

She continued: "He was found, the decision was made to bury him at sea. What was sent back were the effects in his pocket and in his possession, and this shilling is one of those items."

Expert Lisa Lloyed replied: "I actually checked on the Titanic register after speaking to you earlier, and found Reg there. He was body number 75, and he was picked up on the second day.

"There are extensive lists of what was found on the bodies. It says that he had 16 shillings, a $10 note, gloves, a purse and some keys, and they presumably were then returned to his mother."

Eventually, the shilling was passed down through the family, to the guest's great-grandfather.

His other effects are unknown, but possibly divided up between his 11 surviving siblings. "It's a bit of a mystery," she admitted.

The expert replied: "What is really important, obviously, is that we have a cast-iron provenance as to where this shilling came from and who it belonged to.

"If it were to come up for sale at auction, I'm fairly certain it would have a sale estimate of £10,000 to £15,000 and it would make that quite comfortably."

Blown away by the astounding sum, the guest replied: "Gosh, for something that in itself is seemingly so insignificant, that's incredible."

"I'd love to know where they were and whether there are more envelopes out there that we've not found out about yet," she pondered, as the expert explained that the 15 other shillings may be with distant family members.

Antiques Roadshow airs Sundays at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.