Campbell Cash in the Attic

Welcome to Cash In The Attic,

the show that searches out the hidden treasures in your home

and helps you sell them at auction.

I'm in Orpington in Kent, a county steeped in Roman history.

So I've taken a look at this, Crofton Roman Villa.

2,000 years ago, this enormous villa dominated the landscape.

Ten rooms have been excavated and archaeologists have uncovered a treasure trove of everyday items

providing a fascinating insight into Roman daily life.

We may not unearth quite so many items of historical interest today,

but let's hope we find plenty of valuables that do well when they go under the hammer at auction.

Coming up on today's Cash In The Attic:

We meet a bookie who hasn't got great expectations of his items.

Um, I'd say a grand total of about 50p!

And we take a punt on raising funds for a family day out.

Somewhere between one pound and 1,000!

But as we know, you win some...

You're quite pleased with that, then?

-..you lose some.

-Unsold.

-Unsold.

Either way, you can't count your winnings

until the hammer falls.

I'm on my way to meet a man who's called in the team

to help him take a gamble at auction

and raise some money for a special family day out.

This bungalow is home to retired bookie Ian Campbell.

He may have lived in Kent for 35 years,

but he's never forgotten his roots and remains a dyed-in-the-wool fan of his home team, Liverpool.

Ian hasn't enjoyed the best of health in recent years, but despite this,

he's still managed to fit in a fair amount of travelling

and his friend and carer, Maggie, is on hand to help him.

His dog Jack is also a faithful companion.

Ian is a devoted family man.

His daughter-in-law, Helen, a local florist,

and her four children, 14-year-old Luke, 13-year-old Jack,

Jamie, ten, and eight-year-old Tommy,

are regular visitors.

Like all doting grandads,

Ian loves to give them a treat.

-Good morning!

-Morning, Paul. How are you?

-Looking forward to today.

We're meeting a former bookkeeper so I hope he can do the maths today.

It could be a safe bet. It's a great house.

I know there's lots of lovely items.

You have a look and I'll meet the family.

Good morning!

-Hello!

-You must be Ian.

-Yes.

-Nice to meet you.

-And you must be Maggie.

-Maggie, and my daughter-in-law Helen.

-I understand you've got quite a few children?

-I've got four boys.

-That must be a handful!

-It can be.

It's to do with your grandchildren that you've called us in, Ian.

I'd like to take my four grandchildren

out to a theme park and give them a meal

because they can eat for England, Scotland and Wales!

That sounds great, doesn't it?

I'm not in the best of health so I'd like to do it while I can enjoy it.

How much money are you looking to raise?

I'd like to raise something like £500

because they can really eat.

If we're going to reach the goal we need to get,

we need to have a good look round to see what we can sell.

Paul's here already. He might have found something.

The house is literally stacked high with all sorts of paraphernalia.

Ian's obviously collected a wide range of items over the years,

just as well, as our expert, Paul Hayes,

loves to get stuck in.

It looks like he's already found something to write home about.

There you are, Paul. What have you got there?

One of my favourite things, an old stationery box.

-Look at that.

-Aren't they brilliant?

Bit redundant now, isn't it?

Yes, it's one of those things from a bygone era.

But when you do find a market for these things, people pay quite a lot.

We'd better find out whether it's for sale. Ian, are you around?

-Yes, Lorne?

-We're in the dining room.

-Ah!

Come through. Paul's found this lovely stationery set.

-That belonged to my grandma and grandpa. It's nearly as old as they were.

-Is it for sale?

Yes, by all means.

This one really goes back to the golden era of writing and stationery.

You're looking 1890 to about 1920, that sort of time.

These things were basically used to keep your bills or your personal letters.

You'd have your pens in the bottom here, and your ink.

The great thing is you could lock away and keep it personal.

This one is solid oak. It's in fairly good condition.

A bit of oak missing on the front here but that could be fixed easily.

Value-wise, I'd say 50 to 100, just to give it a chance with that restoration.

-How does that sound?

-No problem, whatsoever. Yes!

-Great!

-You're popular today. First find, and you seem very happy with that, Ian.

Oh, yeah. Yeah. If it's £100, it sounds wonderful.

Sounds like the writing's on the wall!

Not yet, it's not. Let's find some more things.

There's all manner of items here.

I'm enjoying a snoop in the living room,

Maggie's found a little Royal Doulton figurine entitled "Best Wishes".

Let's hope this little lady brings us luck at auction for 60 to £80.

In the study, Helen's made a fantastic find

that might provide epic results at auction.

The Lord Of The Rings. Have you ever read these yourself?

-No. I've seen the films.

-Right. That's what happens these days.

These wonderful old books are turned into an easier medium for cinema or DVD.

But the books themselves are wonderful.

The Fellowship of the Ring, The Return of the King, The Two Towers.

The Lord of the Rings, as we call it.

The first editions of anything are really good. This is a revised edition.

There was an American company that because of the success of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings,

they started to print the book without Tolkien's say-so.

To get round the copyright issue, Tolkien had to make a revised edition

that was under copyright and that's when this one came out.

The first ones are very rare now. The second edition is a bit more common.

The first editions is where the money tends to be.

It says here, "First published in July 1954."

And then second impression, third impression, all these impressions.

Then the second edition, revised edition, 1966.

If these were first editions, we'd be talking thousands of pounds.

But these are second editions. So I think, value-wise, you're looking around the £50 mark.

-OK.

-Do you think Ian would be happy with that?

-Yeah, he'd be very happy.

We should put them in with a realistic estimate,

say 30 to £50,

and if we get a little fella at the auction who looks like Gollum,

he might end up bidding for them!

-Great.

-All right?

-Yes, great.

There are a few "rings" at the auction, but I'll tell you about them later!

Let's keep looking!

Helen seemed sure it was OK,

but how does Ian feel about parting with this chapter of his life?

I've got no problem with selling that whatsoever.

It's going towards the boys and that's great.

Let's raise some more money towards that day out.

This fine pair of cut-glass decanters might be an option.

Complete with their silver labels and stands

they could sparkle at 70 to £80 in the auction.

I seize the chance to catch up with Ian

but there's something about his former life as a bookmaker that's at odds.

Let me get this right. You never gambled, but you ran a chain of betting shops.

How many shops did you have at your peak?

At the peak it would be 14.

It can be a dangerous job. Did you have any nasty run-ins?

I've been robbed three times at gunpoint.

There's a funny story with that. While they were taking the money,

a punter came up to the counter and said, "Is it OK if I put a bet on?

-In the middle of all this going on?

-Yeah!

People are strange, aren't they?

Did you have any nice things happen?

We used to see an old lady every morning.

She always used to come in and have a bet every day.

She actually won over £10,000.

-I suppose that would be equivalent to what, £250,000 today?

-Yeah.

You've got four boys. Who'll decide where you go for the day out?

-We'll get the biggest one, Luke, to choose.

-Right.

Then he'll just bash the others into place!

If you're going to get the day out you're entitled to,

we need enough money. Let's see how they're doing.

Meanwhile, the others have been making great progress.

Helen found another candidate for auction.

These recently-reupholstered handsome pair of his and her leather chairs

could bring in 200 to £300,

a great sum.

Meanwhile, friend and carer Maggie has pulled a rabbit out of the hat.

Paul, look what I've found over here.

Some figurines.

Oh, look at those. Beautiful, aren't they?

These are Beatrix Potter. There we are, Peter Rabbit.

I think he's probably the main character, isn't he?

If I remember rightly, he's the guy that tries to nick carrots from Mr McGregor's garden.

These are made by a firm called Beswick,

a pottery firm in Stoke-on-Trent.

They quickly cottoned on to the idea of making porcelain versions of these

and they became very popular. This was designed in 1948.

I think the first one was Jemima Puddleduck and she was '47.

This is early on in the whole range. What Beswick are very good at

is capturing the likeness and also the character.

He looks like a cheeky chap, doesn't he? So, Peter Rabbit,

the old woman who lived in a shoe, and Squirrel Nutkin.

Lots of different ones.

-If I said 80 to £150, how does that sound?

-Wonderful.

Right, that's £80 towards the kitty.

Let's keep looking, eh?

Ian's told me he's quite pleased to see the Beatrix Potter figures go.

It'll be a lovely addition for the day out for the boys.

Another Beswick find of these beauties.

Always popular with collectors, they could fetch anywhere between 120 to £150 at auction.

Paul's got sidetracked in the garage but not everything vintage is off to auction.

-Hi, Paul.

-Hi, Ian. Great car here, mate!

-It's lovely.

What do you think to these?

-Oh, some coins.

-Yeah.

That's a nice set. That's a specimen set or approved set.

The nice thing about this, it's been issued in 1937,

the coronation year of George V1.

But it was also the coronation year, or supposedly, of Edward V111.

Of course, he never got crowned.

That makes this year quite collectible.

Inside are all the coins from that year.

A farthing, which is a quarter of a pence,

You've got a halfpenny, one penny,

all the way up to a threepence, a sixpence, a shilling,

a half crown and the crown, the full lot, really,

except the half sovereign, sovereign and two-pound piece.

So these are all crowns,

which is 50 pence.

This was the old money and people would use these as a currency.

They worked out that because they're solid silver,

they have a scrap value and they didn't want them melted down.

So they started to issue them from nickel.

Value-wise, there's lots to go at here.

You've got an album, a beautiful specimen set.

And if I said around the £100 mark?

-Yeah, that's fantastic.

-That's £100 towards the target.

-Would your grandkids appreciate these?

-No.

-They'd rather have a good day out?

-Yes, definitely!

Right, let's keep looking. OK.

The house has a definite '70s chic from the light shades

to Ian's James Bond bar.

Maggie has found something that's a real blast from the past.

This is wonderful, the Magic Roundabout!

What's great about this is it's the first real TV memorabilia.

Magic Roundabout was a very famous cartoon, or stop-start animation.

It was originally French.

It was called Le Menage Enchante,

which I believe translates as the Enchanted Zoo.

It certainly was a very desirable set and this would have been very expensive in its day.

May I have a look? Great visuals on the front. Let's have a look.

Oh, wow. That's a train, that's Mr Rusty's train that goes round the edge.

In its box separately.

And the roundabout. You've got most of the accessories.

-I think you've got a great piece of memorabilia there.

-Yeah.

Have you ever tried to sell it before?

-No.

-No?

-No.

-Is it for sale

-or does your daughter want to keep hold of it?

-Yes, that's just another dust collector!

What sort of value is it?

Somewhere between £1 and 1,000!

-Really?

-I'd like to find out a bit more about it.

But I think you could do all right.

Ian, what do you think it might be worth?

Top estimate, what would you say?

Um, I'd say a grand total of about 50p!

50p?! Come on, we'll get more than that for it, for goodness' sake!

-What do you think?

-Um, I think about 150.

-150.

-I was gonna say the same.

-Really?

-150, yeah.

-OK.

-Have I got a guess as well?

-You have a guess.

Right, I'm gonna say between 300 and 500.

I hope you're right, actually.

I can't include this in the overall valuation

and we haven't time to do any more rummaging.

So you wanted £500, didn't you, Ian,

to take the grandchildren out for the day, which would be fantastic.

-Do you think you're near that figure?

-I've honestly no idea, Lorne.

Well, you have and you've exceeded it cos the value of everything going to auction

bearing in mind I can't include this cos I don't know its value,

is £710!

-Good heavens!

-Lovely!

The next time we see everything will be at the auction house.

-Looking forward to it?

-Yes!

We've been round the houses today.

We've found a few items to help us trip the light fantastic at auction.

They include...

the stationery box that was given to Ian by his grandmother.

As it's for a family day out, Ian is fine about sending it to auction for £50.

And the coin collection could stack up nicely in the sale

with an estimate of 100 to £150.

Coming up next on Cash In The Attic:

with the odds stacked against us,

there's no guarantee of a safe bet.

That seems so cheap for that - £50!

But auctions can change on the turn of a coin.

-You must be pleased with that!

-Gobsmacked!

Is it heads or tails? We'll find out when the hammer falls.

It's been a few weeks since we had a look through former bookmaker Ian's home.

We found lots of items we think will be a good bet here at Chiswick Auction Rooms.

He's looking to raise £500

so he can treat the children to a grand day out.

Let's hope the bidders are feeling generous when our items go under the hammer.

It may be overcast outside, but the weather is warm here in west London.

A relaxed mood has filtered into the auction house.

It's crammed full of potential purchasers

on the hunt for a bargain. Will they like our antiques? Paul would put money on it.

-Morning, Paul.

-Good morning.

-Literally, cash in the attic.

-Exactly.

Auctions can be like the flip of a coin.

-Nice presentation box. There is a huge collection.

-Yes,

quite a lot of coins here today. Hope we get some numismatists.

-Don't want to say that on a windy day!

-No, we don't!

-You're hopeful about these?

-Yeah, these are nice.

I like that stationery box.

I know it's past its function for the use it was made,

but it's still a lovely piece.

A bit of social history. It's a nice item.

It's very similar to my career - stationary!

As opposed to the Magic Roundabout, which goes round for ever,

have you decided on an estimate for that?

I'll tell you in a minute. We'll tell the family.

Let's hope we'll be smiling at the end of the day.

Ian and Maggie are here already, hoping their items won't get the run-around.

-Hello!

-Good morning! How are you?

-One last play, eh?

Yes!

What do you think in terms of price? You wouldn't say on the day.

Well, all of you had a guess. What did you say?

-I said 50p!

-Right!

You said 150, didn't you?

-Yes.

-And I said 300.

Well, I estimate between 70 and £120

and hopefully we'll get a bit more, so it's all right.

And if you're wrong and one of us is right?

Well, then the drinks are on me.

Hopefully you won't be right at 50p, for sure!

OK, let's go and get in position, shall we?

The auctioneer is limbering up and we've just time to file into our places

before our first lot goes up.

Let's hope it casts a spell on the bidders!

156A. The Lord of the Rings.

-We want just 30 to £50?

-That's a conservative estimate.

Let's hope we get some Lord of the Rings fans and somebody might pick up on it.

-OK. Let's see.

-They could be quite precious to somebody.

Two bids. No point in starting this less than I'm bid. I'm bid £80.

-£80 straight in.

-£80!

95. 100.

And five I've got.

And ten I also have. At £10. £110 I'm bid.

£110 for The Lord of the Rings. For £110. They're going for 110, then.

-Excellent.

-Wow, that's good, isn't it?

-£110.

-I think they cost me 25 shillings each!

25 shillings each? Ian, you made a wise investment there.

That's a resounding result and we're hoping the next lot will be a runaway success as well.

We're banking on 120 to 150 on these.

75. All done for 75, then.

-Disappointing.

-£75.

Oh, dear. The Beswick didn't exactly stampede their way into profit.

They are fine pieces and £75 is a little disappointing.

We hope it'll be a red-letter day for our next antique.

-Lot 166a is the stationery cupboard.

-What a lovely piece.

I hope people have opened it up cos it's delightful inside.

Nice lot. 166a. Can we start that for £30, surely.

-It's got to be worth more than 30.

-Maiden bid of 30. 35. 40.

-45. 50.

-Come on!

£50 there at the back. Seems cheap still for 50.

But it can go for £50. I'm gonna sell it, then, at £50.

For 50.

That seems so cheap for that! £50.

Again, not such an amazing sale.

But £50 is at the bottom end of our estimate so we're on target there.

Our next lot is a bunch of cheeky characters,

also made by Beswick, the Beatrix Potter figurines.

We're hoping for £80 for these.

Bit of interest in it. I'm bid already £65. 70.

OK, that's good.

At £70 in front of me for that Beswick.

It's going for £70. Nobody else want to come in?

In the room at £70. I'm selling it for 70.

A little less than we wanted, but only a tenner. There we are.

£70 is another let-down.

And when the little Doulton figurine, Best Wishes,

fails to bless us with her asking price, selling...

£45.

..for £15 under our estimate, we're feeling low.

What we need is a definite sale that will make us giddy with success.

178a in the Corgi box, Magic Roundabout toy.

So we want 70 to 100 by your estimate.

-Let's see.

-A lot of people have been busily viewing it.

So no point in starting this much below £170.

At the moment, you're nearest.

180. 190. 200. And ten.

£210. At £210. With me at 210.

To the left, bid of £210. It's going, then.

£210.

-I take it you're quite pleased with that?

-Very!

Ever understated, Ian is quietly thrilled by that sale.

£210 is a fantastic sum towards his family day out.

And when our crystal-cut decanters sell just over the low estimate...

£75, are you all done?

..it's high spirits all round.

We're doing really well with eight of our items already having gone under the hammer and all sold.

If the next lot goes well, we'll be sitting pretty for some time.

-Lot 196a. Two button-back armchairs.

-What do we want for this, Paul?

We're looking for about £200.

They're not antique, these, but they're very attractive.

They have a nice patina with them, a good colouring.

-£200 sounds OK.

-Let's see what they get.

What am I bid for those? Start me for £100. 100. 110.

120. £120 for those. £120 for the leather.

For £120.

-He might not sell them.

-For 120, then.

-Unsold.

-Unsold.

Oh, dear. The chairs failed to attract the bidders.

It's often the way with large items of furniture like this.

Perhaps Ian can leave them at the auction house for another sale.

Still, that's £200

we were hoping to have towards our day out - gone.

We're hoping the auction will change on the turn of a coin.

I think this is including the 1937 presentation set

but it's changed, hasn't it? The auctioneer,

to give them the best chance, has put them in separate lots.

-What do we want for this?

-I'm looking for £100.

I think the main item in this is that lovely 1937 proof set.

-Where shall we start this? At £50? 55. 60.

-Here we go.

Five. £65.

There at £65. 65.

70. 75.

80. 85.

-90.

-90.

-95. 100.

110. 120.

130. 40.

50. 60.

160 in front of me. At £160. 160.

New bidder.

180. 190.

200. 210.

220. 230.

240. 250. 250 to my left.

At £250. Anybody else?

250.

At 250, then.

-Yay!

-£250!

-You've got to be pleased with that!

-Gobsmacked!

Thank goodness! £250 more than makes up for our chairs.

And if that lot could attract so much attention,

what will this additional album of coins do?

Lot 150a.

Two albums of British coins.

£20 for the lot, please. £20 I'm bid. 20 there.

22. 24.

26. 28.

30. 35.

40. 45. 50.

55. 60.

65. 70.

-75...

-There's a man with his number up in the air,

-determined to get them.

-85.

90. 95. 100. 110.

120. 130.

140. 150.

-160.

-Wow!

-170.

-That's amazing!

-Ian, I'm so pleased for you. This is amazing.

230. 240.

250. 260.

260, standing, at 260.

270. 280. 290.

300. And 20.

320, to my left, at £320.

320. 340, there. 360.

There must have been a rare one amongst them.

The auctioneer is doing a favour to split them.

440. 460, sir?

440, then. Nearer to me at £440.

460. 480.

£480 to my left.

Did they have diamonds in the back, or something?

£480. 480.

-£480!

-I don't believe it!

Ian's lost for words. I think we all are!

An astounding end to our auction. What about our total?

That's the end of the auction for us.

You wanted £500, Ian, to treat the grandchildren for a day out.

You must realise we've done well because you made that in one lot.

-Yes.

-Your total is

-£1,365!

-Good heavens!

It's one week later, and the children and Helen, followed by Maggie and Ian

have arrived for their big day out.

With the funds we've raised, it's going to be a real humdinger!

The auction went really well.

I'm glad it earned so much money

because the kids have been saying they want feeding already,

and we've just got in here!

With the kids tackling the bigger rides, Ian and Maggie opt to watch.

Maggie is pleased to see Ian so happy.

It's wonderful for him to bring the kids here today.

He just wanted to see their faces. He's enjoying it so much.

The kids have absolutely enjoyed it.

The best thing was getting wet

which they wanted to do all day long!

Now they're starving hungry

and want more food to eat!

So I don't know which they enjoyed the most,

whether it was the rides or being fed all the time.

My grandchildren here today, it's been so good for me

to be able to see the look on their faces, and go on the rides.

They even got me on one of the rides as well!

I don't know how, but they did! It was brilliant.

A fun day at auction provided a fun day for the kids.

If you'd like to raise money for something special

by selling antiques and collectibles then go online at:

There's more details about Cash In The Attic. See you next time!

Subtitles by Moira Diamond Red Bee Media - 2008