Taylor Cash in the Attic

Welcome to Cash In The Attic the programme that find valuables around your home

and then sells them at auction.

Today I'm in Yorkshire and to get a feel for some of the history of the area

I've come to the imposing Temple Newsam House.

Steeped in history, this magnificent Tudor manor overlooks 1,500 acres of land.

Much of it was landscaped by Capability Brown in the 18th century.

This is also home to magnificent a collection of classic paintings,

silver, furniture, textiles and Leeds pottery.

So, who knows? Maybe today we'll uncover some special treasures of our own

as we go in search of a host of antiques and collectibles that we can take to auction.

Coming up on today's Cash In The Attic, Paul shows his age.

When I first started, these used to be thrown away. I would refuse to take them.

'A candelabra teases us with its elegance.'

-What sort of price would you put on it?

-Solid silver, about £6,000.

The auctioneer faces his toughest challenge to date.

I can try and sell most things but this is beyond me.

Oh, dear! We'll see what happens when the hammer falls.

I'm on my way to meet two people

who have called in the Cash In The Attic team

to raise money for a very special family day out.

This large four-bedroomed property overlooking Fairburn Ings Bird Sanctuary near Leeds

is home to Yvonne Taylor.

When Yvonne's sister died 18 years ago, she became guardian to her nephew, Liam.

A promising footballer when he was younger,

Liam has played professionally and now works full-time as a PE teacher.

-Good morning, Paul.

-How are you?

-I'm well. You're taking in the view.

Isn't it absolutely fantastic?

It is magnificent, isn't it? That's Fairburn Ings Nature Reserve down there.

No time for birdwatching, you're doing antiques-watching.

-OK, that's what I'm here for, so you lead the way.

-And I'll go and meet Yvonne and Liam.

-OK.

Yvonne and Liam - having a bit of a trip down memory lane here.

You know, you have the most amazing view here. Is that what attracted you to this?

It was originally.

They said Fairburn Ings was going to be a nature reserve. They wouldn't build in front of you.

So, that's the reason we chose it as a site as well.

Perfect, so, that's why you chose to be here but why have you called in Cash In The Attic?

Well, we've got that much rubbish in the loft.

I said if we could get some money together, we would have a family day out.

-How many people does that involve?

-Roughly eight or nine of us.

-What have you got in mind to do?

Hopefully, something like go-karting or something quite intense.

A great day out for the boys but what about the girls?

-They'll give them a run for their money.

-I bet! How much will it cost?

We would be looking to getting maybe £500 which would cover the whole day go-karting and maybe a meal as well.

So, time to get Paul up in the attic.

Let's go and see what he's found.

Yvonne's house is so immaculate, it's hard to imagine we're going to have anything to find.

A glance around reveals that she has an eagle eye when it comes to collectibles.

With his 20 years' experience sniffing out gems, our expert Paul Hayes is in for a treat.

And he's hoping that something remarkable has appeared from the top of Liam's ladder.

-I take it's a sewing machine, is it?

-I think so.

-They normally do come in these sort of compartments.

There we go, look at that.

That is a machine and a half. That's a Singer.

-Not one, but two Singer sewing machines.

-What's going on here?

Clearly this isn't something that you ever use, so do you know where it came from?

It's from my grandma's who lives in Harrogate.

All these sewing machines were made for factories

and Singer had the idea of making them for individual houses.

It was an instant success and he was a multi-millionaire.

-Is there a market for them now?

-When I first started, these used to be thrown away.

I would refuse even to take them.

The only thing you could do with them, the actual tables were made into pub tables.

They'd take the machines and make them into legs.

These now, people are starting to realise they are well-made machines.

They give that instant antique look.

What sort of price would you put on them?

Value wise, we've two of them. They're all a standard sort of price.

If I said £70 to £100, how does that sound to you?

-For the two of them?

-For the two of them, yes.

-Brilliant.

-You don't want to keep one to do your football socks.

-No, I'll be OK.

We're off to a great start but there's a long way to go if we're to stitch together that £500 target.

Liam has cut to the chase in one of the bedrooms.

This set of silver-plated knives could bring home

£20 or more at auction. And in the master bedroom,

Yvonne has been raiding the family jewels.

Paul!

Ah, look at that. That's nice, isn't it? Whose is that, then?

-It's my husband, Bill's.

-Is this his signet ring, then?

-Yeah, I think it was given to him by his grandmother.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-You don't see many gentleman wearing rings now?

-No.

-It doesn't seem to be as fashionable

but my dad had one similar to this on his little finger.

In the '60s and '70s, they used to put them in black onyx

which gives a good contrast to the actual lettering.

But you can tell this one is fairly modern for the simple reason

the original idea with these were the B would actually be carved in backwards.

-They used it to seal letters with wax.

-Oh, right.

But as the time progresses, we get more of a modern theme, it became someone's initials, someone's name.

But one little thing to look for, well, two things actually.

Check for the weight and the quality of the gold.

You can feel that's quite a light one and if you have a look at the bottom,

-you can see it says 9CT gold so it's 9 carat. So, does Bill ever wear it now?

-No.

-You'd have to ask him first.

-I'd ask him first, but I think it would be OK.

-All right.

But if he does decide, you're looking at least £30 up to about £60. How does that sound?

It doesn't sound too bad for something he doesn't wear any more.

-And it will go towards the fund, won't it?

-Towards that great day out.

It fits me perfectly. Might change my name. THEY LAUGH

Yvonne seems fairly confident that her husband won't be sad to see the ring go.

In fact, the family have left her quite a few items over time.

This little silver watch that belonged to her mother might polish off £50 to £70

when it goes to the sale

and this attractive watch trimmed with 9 carat gold could fetch £50 as well.

We seem to be progressing steadily towards that £500 target for the day out on the track.

So, while Paul continues the hunt,

I'm going to find out why Liam came to live with his Auntie Yvonne and Uncle Bill.

Well, I know we should be rummaging, we've left Paul to it,

but I can't resist coming out here and finding out about the family

because you've only lived with Yvonne since you were six years old.

-She's your auntie, isn't she?

-She is, yes.

-How did that come about?

Well, when I was six, my mother died of cancer and so myself and my three brothers

all got separated between family but still live within close vicinity.

That was a brave decision for you to take, wasn't it?

It was hard at the time but it was nice to keep the boys together,

they used to play together, went on holidays together, went to school together.

Was it the family football that got you into football?

-Very much so. I ended up getting a scholarship at Hull City.

-So you were a professional footballer?

-Full time for three years.

-Now, you're a PE teacher working with youngsters.

Yes, I do, I find that, especially within sport, you see a lot of the better side to young people.

-Presumably this day out is a good excuse for you Yvonne to get all the family together again?

-It is.

It sounds as if you are going to have a fabulous time

and I know you've still got lots of things for us to look at.

So, enough chat, let's go and see what else we can find.

With only £220 of antiques appraised so far, we're still some way off reaching our £500 target.

So, Paul's doubled his efforts and found this silverware.

-There you are.

-Hello, how are you?

What a fantastic candelabra. It would look elegant on that table.

Where did it come from, Yvonne?

It came from Bill's mother's house in Garforth, and they used to do a lot of entertaining.

Have you used it in here with candles in when you've dined by candlelight?

We have at Christmas time and that's about all.

It takes a bit of room from the table when everybody's sat round, to be quite honest with you.

The idea was these would come in pairs. It is a good job actually this is in remarkable condition.

Normally by now they are starting to wear away.

This is silver-plated, not solid silver, that's the big thing.

With the nature of silver-plated items, when you polish,

the item you take a small bit of silver off it.

It's good to find them in this sort of condition.

It's a candelabra and that's basically a candlestick with arms or branches,

that's where the term comes from.

It has all its sconces, that's important.

This is by a firm called Barker & Ellis, so it's quite a recent one.

I would say maybe 1930s, 1940s, that sort of time.

But top quality and in great condition.

So, what sort of price would you put on it?

Solid silver, about £6,000. THEY LAUGH

-I wish.

-But a silver-plated item like this in great condition, you are looking at £60 to £100.

-Sound all right?

-Yes.

I'm not a cleaning person when it comes to polishing silver and brass.

I won't be sorry to see the back of it.

This house is as neat as a pin but everywhere there are small treasures waiting to be found.

I've come across something that might encourage the bidders to spend their pennies.

This golden sovereign could attract £70 to £100.

While Paul's been looking at the fine art,

Liam has been inspired to pull out something that he thinks fits into the frame.

Here you are, Paul, this is the mirror I was talking about.

-It's seen better days, hasn't it?

-It certainly has.

That's what we call a triptych mirror. So it is in three pieces.

These are what you call chocolate box.

They sometimes actually were the top of the chocolate box - that's where the term comes from.

Pretty pictures that someone's placed in there.

Maybe from a pub. Did he ever own a pub?

No, we inherited them from a late Uncle Tony that we had.

The mirror in that is shot all together and needs doing up but I can see potential with these.

It's amazing - good old solid frames are always collectible.

These are actually solid oak and they date from the 1920s.

If you don't like the pictures, you could put something else in there that would do the job.

These two frames here, very nice indeed, that one needs a bit of work.

-But if I said £50 to £90, how does that sound?

-It sounds brilliant.

-All right.

Speaking of racing, Paul has found this Olympic memorabilia.

Collections like these can fetch a competitive price at auction

and he thinks a value of £25 to £35 would go well.

We've certainly made tracks today but we're not on the home stretch yet.

But I've found something that might work a charm on our total.

-Paul.

-Yeah.

Look what I've just found in the bedroom.

A lovely gold charm bracelet. These are back in fashion at the moment.

-Do you think Yvonne might want to sell that?

-We should ask her really.

-Yvonne!

-There you are.

-Liam.

-We're assuming it's yours. Not yours, is it, Liam?

-Where's this come from then, Yvonne?

-It belonged to Bill's mother

and Bill's dad gave it to me when she died but it something I've never worn.

The fashion originally was started by Queen Victoria.

She had a lock of hair to do with Albert, who recently died, then she had his photograph.

And she's often seen with this big gangly bracelet.

And the fashion caught on and the middle classes started to wear these charm bracelets.

This one looks like an old bracelet.

This bracelet here dates from 1890, 1900, but I think these charms have been put on later.

People used to go abroad and used to buy these individual charms

and make up the bracelet. You wouldn't buy it like this.

-That one looks Italian.

-That makes sense

Bill's dad had a big thing for Italy. He was stationed in Italy during the war.

He could have brought it back.

How much would it raise at auction?

I would say £150 upwards. How does that sound?

It sounds all right.

-Sound good to you, Liam?

-Sounds good to me.

-Excellent.

We should ring this cash register. THEY LAUGH

If we're going to add that £150 to the things that you've already looked at, Paul,

I can tell you that you're well on your way to the family outing

-because, hopefully, we're going to make £575.

-That's brilliant.

-Would that be good?

-That would be brilliant.

So you are on your way to a great day out but not until we have our day out at the auction.

And that's where anything can happen.

It's been a cracking day and I think we've got some items that could have the auction really sewn up.

They include this fine old pair of sewing machines

with this beautiful embossed design at a value of £70.

This versatile candelabra

could light up the room for anything from £60 to £100.

It's this delicate bracelet

with its charms lovingly collected by Yvonne's mother-in-law that really stands out.

At between £150 and £200, we're hoping it will steal the show at the auction.

Still to come on Cash In The Attic.

Some of our items cause a bidding frenzy...

13, 14, 15 bids, the estimate.

..whilst we'd struggled to give others away.

30, 20, 10, 5...

I can try and sell most things but this is beyond me. Sorry!

Three weeks ago, we were rummaging through Yvonne's beautiful house

with that stunning view over the bird sanctuary.

And today, here we are at Bamfords auction rooms in Derby, ready to sell all the things that we found.

If you remember, Yvonne and her son Liam want to raise £500

so they can take a whole day on a rip-roaring day of motoring.

Let's hope no items stall when they come under the hammer today.

And it looks like we might be off to a roaring start this morning.

There's certainly no shortage of potential bidders eager to find a bargain.

And we're hoping that one or two of our items will have them revved up.

-Ah, hello.

-Thinking of running up a quick suit?!

I was gonna ask if you needed anything.

Oh, no, ever the practical, ever the practical.

There's lots of money resting on these, isn't there?

There is and it's going to be interesting. I've thrown away loads of these in the past.

I've refused them, but there is market for them now and I'd love them to do very well.

I have to say when you see them like this they look pretty.

They look like sort of decorative objects almost.

That's the idea, somebody will buy these for that Victorian look. Fingers crossed.

We've got quite a lot of jewellery coming up.

We've got the sovereign necklace, we've got some gold chain, some other bits of jewellery

-and of course, that signet ring.

-With a B on it.

-Exactly.

-So, let's hope that there's a Basil or Bill or Bertie in the auction room.

-Or a Beatrice.

Or a Beatrice. Could be a lady, the possibilities are endless.

-So, shall we go and see how Yvonne and Liam are feeling about today's auction?

-Let's have a look.

There are people from all over the area today and Yvonne and Liam have travelled from Yorkshire.

They're hoping that their antiques will dazzle the crowd.

-Good morning.

-Hello.

Having last thoughts about this?

-No, definitely not.

-Ready to see it go?

-Yes.

Well, we hope it's going to metamorphosise into a great profit for you today.

It's also handy in a power cut. If it's thunder and lightning, you never know, do you?

Liam, have you ever actually been to an auction before?

-No, never.

-So, what are you looking forward to most?

-Just the whole atmosphere.

Obviously I've seen it on TV, people bidding and it looks quite enjoyable.

Have you put any reserves on anything at all today, Yvonne?

Just one or two things - the lady's gold bracelet and the man's signet ring.

-That's all really.

-Is that sensible, do you think, Paul?

Yes. Are they the estimate I put on them?

-Just on the lower estimate that you said.

-That's fine.

It gets dodgy with the auctioneer if it is a lot higher than we're expecting, so that's fine.

-You want to get a good price, otherwise they're going home with you.

-Yeah.

-Are the family looking forward to their high-speed motoring day out?

-Yes, they are.

Shall we motor off to our corner of the auction room because it is about to start.

If you're thinking of buying or selling at auction,

do please bear in mind that various charges will apply including commission.

Well, we take our places at the back room, ready for the first lot and we're hoping for a swift sale.

The Olympic Games of Montreal, 1976.

There we are, souvenir programmes and the ephemera there.

And I have one bid, and that bid is £22.

-£22, how's that?

-25 now. At 22.

25 beats it, 28 do I see?

25, 28 now?

25 to the right. At £25, I'm selling. Anywhere else?

-£25.

-GAVEL BANGS

-464.

Not bad for £25.

A gold medal result. The programmes scored well.

But how will our next lot fare?

The pictures look good but those mirrors have some damage on them.

Will that reflect in the sale?

There's this mirror and a couple of items.

Three items in all but it's a restorer's lot.

Needs a bit of restoration. Let's see how we go.

The Edwardian ebonised over-mantel mirror and £10 for them, please. £10.

Anybody want it at 10? £10 bid.

15, 20, 5.

30, 5. At 35, 40.

£35 has it. 40 anywhere? 35.

-Is that all? 40, 5, 50. With you at £50.

-We're in.

-At £50. With you at £50 and 5 do I see?

-GAVEL BANGS

-Excellent.

-Pleased with that.

-What a relief that was.

-Yeah. A bit slow.

-Had you teetering on the edge a bit, Paul.

Yeah, when it started at £10, I thought, "Oh, dear what's going on here?" £50, we got there in the end.

We are making great progress.

The delicate wristwatch goes before the bidders.

50, and 5, 60. Lady's bid at £55.

And makes just over its lower estimate, in at £55.

Followed by another sale of the silver knives.

-£22. Anywhere else, at 22?

-GAVEL BANGS

-£22.

-Within the target.

We're cruising along with four items coming in on estimate.

We're hoping that our next item will help us keep up the pace.

The silver-plated candelabra looked lovely on your table. What do we reckon, Paul?

Yeah, this a really nice example but it doesn't quite fit in with that modern style,

you want an antique look.

A pair of these would be extremely expensive

-and they are very hard to find, but it's a nice example, isn't it?

-Yeah.

The silver-plated three-light, two-branch table candelabrum.

I can start the bidding at £50. 55 do I see?

-He's got £50.

-At 50, and 5,

60, and 5 beats it. £60 with me.

-At £60, are we all sure? At 60.

-GAVEL BANGS

-£60.

-That's all right, isn't it?

Another sale right on target. We're going great guns here

and when the slender silver wristwatch comes in...

£48.

Spot on.

A tad under estimate but we're not too bothered.

We're six items down now and have been doing really well in our bid to raise £500 for a family racing day.

Our next lot is the sewing machines, they're really beautiful to look at,

but the market for these can be a bit shaky.

Paul hopes he hasn't been over optimistic.

Let's hope we get about £70 but I think I must have thrown away about 70 in my time.

Don't you think they look attractive in the saleroom?

Suddenly you saw them almost as objects of virtue almost.

They are quite decorative but I'll be glad to see them go.

Lot number 680. I've been selling auctions for just under 20 years

and I must have seen two to three thousand sewing machines

and I've never seen any with an estimate of £70 to £100 that look like that.

70?

£50?

£40?

£30?

Somebody might want them.

5. I can try and sell most things but this is beyond me! Sorry.

Oh, dear, maybe we got carried away with the nostalgia from a bygone era when valuing them.

Our next lot can only do better, surely.

-You've got £30 to £50 on it.

-Yeah.

Someone might make a beeline for it.

28 do I see? 28? 28?

26 we're in.

£28 do I see? No, that's not sold.

-He's not sold it.

-Is that all right with you?

-Yes, it's fine is that.

Yvonne might be happy to take it back,

but things are looking really bleak -

two items in a row that didn't sell.

If we are going to achieve our £500, we really need our bidders

to be showing us money but will our next item have the Midas touch?

Paul, at the moment, gold is really sky high, isn't it, and sovereigns always make a lot of money?

Are we hoping that we are going to do really well with this Victorian sovereign?

Yeah, it's all about condition. There's two values of these -

the value of the gold bullion which is about £50 to £60 at the moment

and then you have the added value of the rarity of the coin itself.

So, 1882 is not a well-known year but it's not a rare year.

So, £70 to £100 is about right.

The Victorian gold sovereign, 182, on the gold chain and mount.

-And one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight...

-You see.

..ten, eleven, twelve bids.

-12 bids.

-The lowest bid is £90.

There you go.

All the bids within three or four pounds and the top is £106.

How's that?

107 do I see? All the bids so close on the gold.

-At 106. 107 now. 106.

-GAVEL BANGS

-Brilliant. Great result, Liam.

-Happy with that.

-Bet you are.

It's a good comeback and £106 is no small change

but with two items not sold, our last sale really needs to notch it up another gear again.

Let's hope the next lot does seduce the room.

I suspect that what will happen to this is that the bracelet

will be sold separately and then each charm could be sold off to a jeweller's at a later date.

It would take a while but it would be a good.

So, I think £150 is right, that's the reserve price,

but gold has been doing very well here today so fingers crossed.

Should be a goody.

13, 14, 15 bids.

15 bids before we start.

And all of them are above top end of the estimate.

I can start it £240.

-Wow!

-That's good, isn't it?

270, shakes his head.

At 260. With me, 270 where?

-Come on.

-270.

280, 290, 285 if you like, if that helps you, no. At 280 with me.

At 280, absentee bid, at 280, anywhere else?

£280 - so much for an old-fashioned charm bracelet!

I'll put my hands up. I was wrong.

What a fantastic result!

It's been a high octane ride, but have we crossed the finishing line

or are we stuck in the pits?

-Some highs and lows, weren't there?

-Yes.

Now, £500 was what you wanted to raise for the day out motoring.

I'm delighted to be able to tell you that you have had such a great day at auction

because you've not made £500, you've actually made £646.

-That's fantastic.

-That's really good.

-That will definitely see us through the day and more.

It will, won't it?

It has been a week since the auction and Yvonne and Liam have rallied the troops together.

Lined up is an adrenaline-fuelled day of excitement at Croft Racing Circuit in North Yorkshire.

We were surprised how much we made as a couple of the items didn't sell.

After a full safety briefing, it's time to head out onto the track.

And there's no stopping Liam who has dreamt of driving a super car all his life.

It's not just Liam and his two brothers who are enjoying the fruits of a successful day at auction.

Yvonne's husband Bill couldn't miss a day out like this.

Great experience. It beats them all.

And Yvonne is more than happy to watch all the excitement unfold from the safety of the pit lane.

It's been a dream to drive the cars that they've driven

and Cash In The Attic's made it possible for them.

What we made on the day has paid for a fabulous day out which they'll remember for ever.

That was such a terrific result for Liam and Yvonne

and as a result the family had a very high-octane, high-speed and competitive day

behind the wheel of some very fast cars.

If there is something you'd like to raise money for

and you have things around the house that you'd take to auction, why not get in touch with us?

Just fill in our application form at...

..and come and join us on Cash In The Attic.

For more information about Cash In The Attic, including how the programme was made,

visit the website at bbc.co.uk/lifestyle

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