BTW: Nearly all local auction houses (and, indeed, many of the major auction firms) will give you a free valuation on anything you take into them. They're obviously hoping that you'll then sell through them but it's not a condition of the service. (The only restriction is that they won't give you a valuation in writing for free. If you need such a valuation, e.g. for insurance purposes, they'll charge a fee for the service).
I once took a few items into Bonham's prestigious auction house in London and asked for a valuation. Within a couple of minutes I was greeted by one of the experts from the Antiques Road show, whom people queue for hours to see when the show is visiting their area, who was happy to give me loads of his time and provide me with free valuations of my items.