Winstanley Cash in the Attic

Welcome to Cash in the Attic, the programme that joins you in the hunt for hidden valuables around

your home and then sells them with you at auction.

Today I am in the very beautiful northern city of York

but I couldn't resist stopping off to take a much closer look at the very attractive Barley Hall.

The city isn't short of historic buildings but this is something quite special.

An authentic reconstruction of a medieval family house.

The foundations were discovered under a derelict office block in 1984.

And today form the basis of this wonderful living museum.

These discoveries relate to a period in York's history that goes back almost 600 years.

And we are about to uncover a few treasures of our own right now as we head off to our next location,

though I suspect they will be on a rather smaller scale than this.

Coming up on today's Cash In The Attic some rather unexpected finds.

You've had it all these years and that's the first time you've seen it.

I can't believe that.

I'm having to keep our expert in line.

-Paul?

-Yes. Oh, dear me, my ears.

And some unbelievable results at auction.

-Gosh.

-Do you know what that is, record price, that's amazing?

Let's hope we'll all still be smiling when the final hammer falls.

I'm on way to meet a mother and daughter

who have called in the Cash In The Attic team

because they would like to have a taste of la vie francaise, oo la la.

This large semi on the outskirts of York is home to Claire Winstanley

and her daughter Tamsin, who is a singer and aspiring actress.

Claire is partially deaf which led her to choosing a career as a special needs teacher

and she now works with dyslexic pupils at a sixth form college.

She's a self confessed hoarder but with a rather special European trip

on the horizon, she wants to turn some of the treasures into tickets.

-Good morning, Paul.

-Good morning, Angela, how are you?

-I'm really good.

Isn't York the most wonderful city with its cathedral, its history and all that varied architecture?

Do you know there is something for everybody in York?

It's a fantastic day out whatever age you are and my kids love it.

-It's near to my home, which is great.

-The other side of the Pennines.

-Other side, exactly, two hours away.

-And we've got some wonderful things we are going to see today.

-Great, OK.

Shall we go and meet the family?

-Morning, Claire, Tamsin, hi.

-Morning.

-Or should I say, "Bonjour, mesdames"?

Bonjour, Angela.

-I guess you want to be off to Paris, don't you?

-We do.

Now, I'm going to ask you about that in just a moment, but if you are going to go to Paris,

how can Cash In The Attic help you to get there?

Well, as Tamsin will tell you, I'm such a hoarder, I've got so much stuff

in the attic, around the house, and so I'm really trying to streamline and get rid of some things.

So, why Paris in particular?

Well, it was my 50th birthday a couple of years ago and we planned to do something a bit different

and we thought we'd go to Paris but then Tamsin was working down in Devon so we couldn't go,

so this is it, a couple of years later, we're treating ourselves.

And we really want to go to Disneyland Paris, so we thought we'd go there.

Your mum's the big kid in the family really, isn't she?

-She is definitely.

-I don't hear the words retail therapy here, does that come into it too, Paris?

Of course it does, definitely, definitely.

And how much is all this going to cost?

Well, if you add in the retail therapy it's going to cost hundreds, so £500.

Well, I think we should not chercher la femme but chercher le Paul and get him to work, come on!

Getting Claire and Tamsin some quality time on the Continent is

a wonderful idea so we need to get down to the business of rummaging.

Leading the search today is our expert Paul Hayes.

He's been working in the antiques trade all his life and we find him in the dining room.

-Ah, now then, hello.

-Hi. How are you all right?

I told you he'd be hard at work and he's found, is that the smallest

chest of drawers you've got in the house, is it? Where did you get it?

The first flat that my husband and I lived in belonged to this doctor

and she very kindly gave us this as a wedding present,

but it hasn't had a place and it's just sat in the attic for all this time

so I think it needs to go to a better home.

Well, you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned the medical profession.

This is an apothecary set and this is exactly the sort of thing you would find in the early 19th century.

And this would belong to an early form of doctor.

We are so used to now having doctors, the medical profession

having a role each, you'd have a surgeon, a doctor, a pharmacist.

This really goes back to a different time, this was almost quack medicine.

So you would have somebody who would go round, he would diagnose your illness,

he would prescribe something for you, he would have all the implements

you would need to conduct an operation

but also at the same time he would sell you an ounce of tobacco or sweets or something like.

An early pharmacist, if you like.

The outside looks a lot bigger than the inside.

Now then, you spotted it.

In here there's a secret compartment, did you know that?

-I didn't.

-OK, you might have seen it already before, there's four bottles on the front here.

But for the ones that are quite dangerous and perhaps a bit more expensive,

if I turn this round here, there's actually a secret compartment

-there, look at that!

-You'd never know that!

You've had it all these years and that's the first time you've seen it!

And this one is mid 19th century. It's quite easily done for me today.

It's solid mahogany but on the top it has an inscription, "1855".

That's the golden era, I always think of Sherlock Holmes

and dimly lit streets and somebody wandering around with something like this.

What would that fetch if we took it auction?

If this was complete we are looking at a lot of money,

the fascination tends to be in the bottles.

Some of them are shaped like coffins, different signs, skull and crossbones.

You can imagine the interest that you get there.

But I think value wise you are looking towards the £100 mark,

-but if I said £50 to £100 to give us a chance.

-That's fantastic.

-Great.

-You'd be happy with that?

-I certainly would.

-Well, great start.

£50 in the kitty already is just what the doctor ordered

but with a £500 target to reach, there's a way to go yet.

Tamsin has started her search in the garage

and she tots up the Paris kitty by another £40 to £80

when she digs out this four piece silver plated tea set

by James Dixon and Son.

Back inside it seems Mr Hayes has spotted another shiny lot.

This is beautiful. Where has this little ornament come from?

My father used to go to these auctions on his day off with one of his friends called Reg Hall,

and Reg gave him this on one of their outings together,

and I gather it's Continental silver.

Well, it certainly looks like silver doesn't it?

Let me just have a look on the bottom. What an interesting item.

Yes, Continental silver.

I can tell that by these three numbers here.

930.

Now, Continental silver is hallmarked

different from what we get here in the British Isles.

What they tend to use is a purity mark.

If you can imagine if you made this from pure silver, the whole thing would collapse if you picked it up,

so what they have to do is mix it with a harder metal to give it its strength.

The ratio is represented by these three numbers, so that means it's 93% pure.

That's a little bit higher than what we have Britain

and that's a good sign it's a Continental silver item.

But one thing I can tell you it's been sold here in the British Isles,

it's been imported and the import mark here is a large letter F,

that means it's foreign.

So, it's come into this country, it's been hallmarked and resold, so it has been sold here.

But what a lovely example.

You're right, it's solid silver, and it's a Roman chariot and it's beautiful.

-Gorgeous.

-Well, in the 19th century particularly there was

a fascination with anything to do with the classics and the actual style is called Neo-classical.

It was a rediscovery of everything in ancient Rome and Greece.

This style was really popular and they made lots of candlesticks

with Corinthian columns and Romanesque type things,

so I think that could create a bit of a stir actually.

If I was being quite conservative here, if I said at least £50 up to £100, how does that sound?

-For such a small item, brilliant.

-OK, let's ride on.

With Continental silver and a Parisian target,

we are developing a bit of French theme today.

Being partially deaf has not held Claire back one bit

and I am keen to find out a bit more about her life in teaching.

Claire, you have had a very long and varied career as a teacher,

which has sort of taken you towards children with special needs in particular.

I have, I started with primary school teaching and then did some supply work at Tamsin's school.

And then was recommended to become a learning support teacher.

So, I ended up in a secondary school with seven hours of support and it gradually mushroomed

and I applied to run at dyslexic unit that was being set up

in the school, and I did that for eight years.

Very, very rewarding, I'm sure.

Very rewarding, it's lovely to be able to have relationships with the students.

Clearly your eldest daughter Chloe has followed in your footsteps,

and is a teacher but Tamsin you must have inherited the performance gene.

Have you always wanted to be an actress and singer?

Oh, I think so. I started doing ballet when I was about three.

Then I did my first professional production at 11 and since then,

I think I've been bitten by the bug, so...

And it's been extremely successful, cos you've had a wonderful career up until now,

where you've got the next stage in your career, you're a member of a girls' tribute group,

-Girls Aloud only you are Girls Are Loud.

-Yeah, that's right.

-Who are you?

-I'm Kimberley, the fellow Yorkshire girl.

But it's really good and it's with a great group of girls as well,

four brilliant girls that I do it with,

so it's really good fun actually.

Well, in the meantime we've got this trip to Paris being planned,

what's so special about Paris, Claire?

We really want to go to Disneyland because when the girls were small,

we went to America a couple of times and just loved the whole Disney experience.

So, I'm itching to get there again. So, we want to go to Paris.

Are you happy just to go to Disneyland?

I am definitely but I think we'll be doing a bit of shopping as well.

And of course you are taking your sister Chloe with you.

-Yes.

-Is that the call of the Champs Elysees I hear?

No, I think it is Paul saying, "What are you lot doing, why aren't you rummaging?"

Otherwise we'll never get you across the Channel. Come on.

We need to put thoughts of croissants, coffee and shopping

aside now, as we need a lot more finds before we reach that £500.

Paul has been searching upstairs and he's certainly got money in mind

as he's found a gold sovereign necklace, dated 1964

with a nine carat gold mount and chain.

We're hoping it will turn into £50 to £100 worth of cash

when it goes under the hammer.

In the kitchen Claire has dug out a set of coloured German wine glasses.

They add another £20 to £40 towards the Parisian trip.

Meanwhile, Tamsin's found another lot for our Mr Hayes' attention next door.

-Paul? I think I've got some treasure.

-Let's have a look.

Look at these. Now then, do you know what these are?

-Sovereigns.

-That's right.

-Are these yours?

-Well, one was given to my mum from her great-aunt Dora.

And the other was my grandfather's so it has been passed down through the generations.

-So, these are family heirlooms?

-Yeah.

Well, technically this one is a sovereign, this one is a half sovereign.

It's often quite difficult to tell when you find one coin at a time,

when you get two together like that we can see quite clearly the different sizes.

And the idea is that this has twice as much gold in here as this one, so it is worth twice as much.

But this goes back really to a time when we used to use gold as a currency.

Now, when we go on holiday nowadays, we have credit cards and paper money.

At this time the only recognised currency that you could get if you were trading with India or Africa

or Indonesia, something like that, the only currency you could actually use was gold,

it was instantly recognisable.

But what used to happen, you'd go to your grocer's shop or your corner shop

and you would spend one of these.

And the trader would clip the edge of the coin.

Unscrupulously, he would just clip the edge of the coin and just put it back into circulation.

and what would happen at the end of the week, he'd have a little bag full of gold filings.

So, what they did they introduced this little edge, can you see that?

That's called a milled edge and that is on every coin we have today,

-and that prevents that sort of clipping happening.

-Oh, I see.

Isn't that lovely? These are 22ct gold, that one weighs eight grams.

So at the present value it's about £5 a gram.

So that coin alone for scrap value is about £40 bullion price in that,

and about £20 bullion price in that.

But as nice desirable coins, they are worth a little bit more.

-Any idea how much they might be worth?

-100?

I think you are getting too good at this!

I think you're dead right, if I put a value of £80, £120, someone would buy them as an investment, wear them,

-use them, keep them away and just watch them go up in value.

-Excellent.

-Does that sound all right to you.

-Brilliant, yeah.

-Great.

'Well, the coins really were worth their weight in gold

'and it's another big step towards the £500 target.

'Meanwhile, Claire and I have been carrying on the search

'in another room.'

-So, what have we got there?

-A baby's rattle.

-It's a baby's rattle?

-Given to me on my christening.

-And...

SHE BLOWS WHISTLE

..it's a whistle! Paul.

Yeah? Oh dear, you've hurt my ears.

Take a look at that,

-you say you got it at your christening.

-Yeah.

-Who gave it to you?

-It was given to me by an adopted great aunt

who used to be very fond of my father,

and she took us under her wing and she gave it to me on my christening.

Well, silver has often been given to child as a christening present, so that fits in definitely.

It's where the expression comes "Born with a silver spoon in your mouth",

so silver is often given as a christening item.

Now this one is solid silver and has a nice piece of coral.

Now that acts actually, almost like a teether, like a teething ring,

and sometimes they are ring shaped but this is stick shaped.

But that would help the child cut their teeth, they would chomp on it

and chew it and that would keep them amused for hours.

The beautiful thing about British silver is that when it's hallmarked, automatically it has a date,

you are able to date it to pretty much a year.

But what I've seen right at the bottom there

is a portrait of Queen Victoria,

and that tells me this was made while she was on the throne in her early years.

So, sometime 1830s, 1850s that sort of time.

It also looks to me, very Indian.

Now we know Victoria was Empress of India.

Would there be an Indian influence in the Victorian era in that, do you think, Paul?

Of course, Queen Victoria was the fashion leader at the time with her being the Empress of India.

Of course there were lots of Indian designs came onto the market, so yes.

But it is British silver, it's not been made in India.

-It is a British example.

-So, what sort of value might you put on it?

Well, that's a nice example. It's nice that the coral has survived.

Sometimes these are replaced by bits of mother of pearl or bits of ivory,

but the coral is quite desirable and the fact that it's British silver.

There are two bells missing but at least £50 up to about £80.

Does that sound all right?

-Fantastic.

-You'd be happy with that.

I certainly would.

I thought the coral holder was wonky and I thought it's flawed, it's a second.

In fact it's not that at all, it's just the shape of the coral.

And the fact that two of the little bells are missing

I thought would reduce the value, so I'm really thrilled that is raising so much, or could do.

'This house really is proving to be an Aladdin's cave,

'that's another £50 towards the trip.

'There's another good edition when Tamsin digs out this heart shaped pearl pendant necklace.

'Paul hopes that it will win the bidders' hearts at auction,

'and gives it a £30 to £60 price tag.'

Claire, with your father being a clergyman,

being now a retired Bishop, in fact,

the church in general has always had a very strong influence on your life, hasn't it,

but in particular, York Minster Cathedral.

It has. We lived in the shadow of York Minster for a number of years

and that was beautiful, and I went to school at one side.

I went to work in the Minster as well.

My father was given the onerous task of raising £2 million

when the central tower was in danger of collapse.

Of course, £2 million was a heck of an amount,

but one of the schemes they had was a minutes of history scheme,

where people could buy a minute of history.

It cost 60p, it cost 60p to run the Minster for one minute.

In return for this you were given a certificate and you needed a team of calligraphers,

and I was one of the first calligraphers there.

So you gained yet another skill.

I have and it comes in very useful.

I bet it does. As well as the skill you have as being a calligrapher,

you are also a bit of a dancer, because you love to salsa.

I love salsa, yeah. It's very sexy, very good for your hips as well.

I used to go with Chloe, we danced together and it was such fun.

And I just love the beat and the music and everything.

But I'd love to be able to dance like they do on Strictly. Beautiful.

Well, perhaps we can shimmy on down

and find Paul and see what he's up to.

'Dance moves aside, it's time to get our minds fixed firmly on the target

'as we do need a final few items before we can get the girls on their trip to France.

'Luckily, it seems our expert has been busy.'

-Tamsin?

-Yeah?

I've found some brooches. Are these yours or your mum's?

They're actually my grandmother's.

-Really? So these are family heirlooms.

-They are, yeah.

-Oh, right.

-My grandfather used to give them to my grandmother because she actually couldn't wear necklaces

unless it was proper gold, so he used to buy her brooches.

-Do you know I've heard that story before actually.

-I bet you have.

But people do have an allergy to semi-precious metals.

But amber itself is over 30 million years old.

-Really?

-Isn't that fascinating.

And what happens you know all those pine forests, the pine resin,

what happens the actual sap from the tree over a period of years

-it turns into amber and that's where it comes from.

-Oh, right!

And you do see lots of them with prehistoric insects in there,

because when the pine tree was growing it was very sticky,

and of course the insect went down the pine and it became amber,

and they are locked away in there for millions of years.

But this one is pure amber. There is nothing in there at all, it's perfect

and in the shape of a heart as well,

that's always a good typical Victorian symbol of a union or a joining.

I think what makes it very nice, it's every warm. The instant way to

tell amber, it's not like any other gemstone, it's classed really as a gemstone, but officially it isn't.

It's a lot warmer. Most stones are cold to the touch.

And this is gold mounted, of course, because only the best for your grandma.

But how do you feel about selling something like that?

Well, I think they are lovely but I don't think I'm a brooch wearer I prefer necklaces really.

But I think they are attractive.

OK, I think you are looking at least £30 to £50, something like that.

-Excellent.

-Does that seem all right to you?

-Yeah.

I am sure someone will love it.

Let's keep looking.

'Well, Tamsin may not be a brooch wearer but hopefully there will be some in the saleroom,

'as I think they are rather charming.

'Our search continues and I've found a rather impressive

'collection of coins on the landing.

'Paul hopes it will bank us £30 to £50 when it goes under the hammer.

'And Claire has made a first class addition to the kitty

'when she decides to part with these six albums of stamps as well.

'They get sent off to auction with a £50 to £100 price tag.

'It's nearly the end of our day's rummaging here in York,

'but I hope that Paul hasn't stopped work just yet.'

HE PLAYS PIANO

Paul, what do you reckon? Can we send this to auction?

-That's very nice, isn't it?

-Yes.

So is this something that your mum bought or is it yours?

Well, apparently it's been handed down through out generations.

It's from my maternal grandmother, who is from Hull.

And apparently it's actually painted by William Penny

who was from Hull as well.

-Wow, he is actually quite famous. Is it a genuine item, do you think?

-I hope so.

Well, there's a William Daniel Penny

and he was well known to be a pier head painter.

In other words he would stand around the harbour in Hull and

paint whatever boats were there at the time.

But he is very famous actually for doing things like steam liners and very rough seas. He was very good

at capturing atmosphere, so dark skies and rough seas especially on the north-east coast.

Very popular. But a little tip here actually.

It says on the front here 91 which will be 1891.

If I turn it round to the back, what I am looking for here

is to make sure that this picture has always been in this frame.

And the way to tell that, you can see these nails here.

Those are as they were in 1891 they have not been removed.

If those had been scratched out or bent around or altered in any way,

then the chances are the painting that's inside has been altered,

so there could have been a bit of skulduggery going on there.

I think that's very nice actually.

So, have you any idea how much you think that might be worth?

I'd like to say £500 but I don't know.

I think you would be right.

A genuine WD Penny is worth at least that sort of money.

But they did have their imitators.

Just in time, come on through.

I'm just saying about your painting here, it's beautiful, isn't it?

-It's lovely.

-It wants a bit more further research so I'm being a bit cautious.

If I say sort of £80 to £120, how does that sound?

-Smashing.

-Brilliant.

-Great.

Another £80 to put in the pot,

but let's in the meantime add our £80 to what we've already looked at.

Your goal was £500,

well, with a bit of "bon chance" and quite a lot of "ooh la la",

we ought be able to make about £560.

Excellent.

Brilliant.

That'll buy a couple of extra bottles of champagne whilst you are in France.

'We've had a great time with the girls today,

'and we've got a fantastic selection of items winging their way to auction.

'There are the coins of all shapes and sizes

'with the highlight being the gold sovereign and half sovereign

'which Paul hopes to turn into £80 to £120.

'The fascinating apothecary case with the hidden compartment

'that Claire had never seen.

'We're looking for £50 to £100 for that wonderful find.

'And, of course there's the beautiful nautical painting

'that could be by WD Penny,

'with an £80 to £120 valuation we are hoping that it sales to success at auction.'

'Still to come on Cash in the Attic,

'our family can't believe their luck with some of their results.'

-Great, congratulations.

-That really was yours.

'And some results have emotions flying sky high.'

Amazing.

Do I have to take you down off the ceiling yet?

'But will we have reached our target when the final hammer falls?'

What a lovely day we had with Claire and Tamsin at their home in the historic city of York.

And of course now what we're hoping is that we're going to be able to send them on a girls' weekend

to the glamorous city of Paris.

All of those lovely things that we uncovered in our rummage have been brought to sale today, here

at Bamford's Auction room in Derby, and with a bit of luck we'll be raising £500 towards that trip.

And hopefully when the hammer comes down, Claire will be saying "Je ne regrette rien".

'There are certainly plenty of buyers here today,

'so I hope that bodes well for our family's lots,

'as we've got a fantastic collection up for sale today.

'And of course Paul Hayes is here as well so hopefully he'll make sure everything goes to plan.'

Are you keep us all in order with that whistle today, Paul?

Of course. It's a nice thing, it's one of my favourite items.

It's a most unusual piece. I don't think I've ever seen a baby's rattle quite like that.

Well, the coral actually has a meaning.

It wards off evil spirits so hopefully it will cast a spell over some of the buyers today.

-Oh, you're such a romantic.

-I know.

£500 is our total today. We should do quite well.

Yeah, we should. We've got some nice gold items,

the sovereign bits and pieces, nice gold brooch, the silver rattle, the apothecary box. I think we'll do OK.

Oh, I can't wait to see Claire and Tamsin's faces.

And got to send them off to Paris.

-Of course.

-Oo la la, let's go find them.

'Let's hope the bidders are as enthusiastic about our lots as I am.

'The auction house is really filling up now so we need to find Claire and Tamsin before the sale gets going.

'I just hope our hoarder hasn't got side-tracked.'

Hi Claire and Tamsin, now you've got to put that back because we are here to sell.

-Aah, can't I buy anything?

-No! Have you ever been to an auction before?

I haven't. Very exciting and I'm tempted to buy so much.

It's your things that'll be selling today and we've got some great things to sell too.

We've have some really nice things.

And I particularly like, I'd forgotten all about that lovely silver chariot.

Yeah, so that could go quite well today and you've got some gold items.

And you've put a reserve on a couple of things, haven't you?

Yes, the silver chariot because it was my father's and I don't want it to go for sixpence.

And what about you Tamsin, are you happy to see things going now?

Just get rid of it. More money the better.

Paris, here we come!

Well, actually before Paris we've got to head for that corner over there,

-because your things are about to go under the hammer.

-OK.

'In addition to the reserve on the chariot,

'Claire has also put a £50 reserve on the 1960s sovereign necklace.

'As it is more modern than the other sovereigns,

'it might not prove as popular,

'and she wants to make sure it doesn't sell below Paul's £50 to £100 estimate.

'It looks like the sale is about to start, so we found a spot to watch the action unfold,

'and one of our most colourful lots is first up for sale.'

Now, there was a time when these Bohemian hock glasses were

very fashionable. You'd see them on everyone's dining room table.

That's right. They were very sophisticated items to have

and usually a Harlequin set, all different colours,

adds a bit of excitement to your wine drinking and so on.

And they are visual items, so I put these in at £20 to £40. Let's see how we get on.

And 20... 22... start 22... 25...

28... 30... and 2... 35...

38... 40... 2...

5... 8... 50...

50... no. £48 in front, at 48.

-That's great.

-Was that ours?

Yes, that really was yours.

'Claire can't believe her luck,

'and it's certainly a great start to our sale.

'I hope the rest of our lots prove just as popular as we've got a £500 target to reach.

'The pair of brooches are going under the hammer next,

'and Paul rather hoped that the bidders would fall in love

'with the heart-shaped amber stone,

'so he gave them a £30 to £50 price tag.'

Again bids on this and £22 starts with me at 22... 25... 28... 30...

2... 35... 38... and 40...

40 is it, 40... and 42...

At the back of the room at £40, 42 anywhere, at 40.

Excellent.

-Right in the middle of your estimate, Paul!

-Got one right!

-Well done!

Teacher's going to give you a gold star before the end of the day.

Great, looking forward to that, my first one.

Another great sale,

'but don't let this success go to your head just yet, Mr Hayes,

'there's a long way to go before we get the girls their Parisian trip.

'Can we make it three in a row with the silver plated teaset

'which Claire inherited from her father?'

You've got, what, £40 to £80 on it?

Yeah, these really now are used as ornaments.

I mean it is very rare people will have a cup of tea out of them, but they look amazing in the cabinet.

So, £40 is a good buy, I think.

And £40 for it please, 40...

40 is it, 40's bid... and 2...

42... 45... 48... £45

and standing right at the back, 45...

There you go, how's that?

£45, do you think your father would approve of that?

I think he would, better than sitting in the attic.

'That's the attitude, Claire.

'The family heirlooms really are coming up trumps for us today,

'and long may it continue as there's another of Claire's father's favourite items coming up next.'

We've got the silver chariot coming up now on which you've put

a reserve of £50, which was Paul's lowest estimate on it.

What do you think of this, Paul?

Silver is extremely collectible, bear in mind this is continental silver it doesn't really have

the same collectability as British silver, you can't really date it to a year, like you can here.

But it is such an unusual item, the chariot,

I have never seen one like this before, so I've said £50.

We are in the lap of the gods, the Roman gods in this case.

-And £40... for it, 40... 40...is it.

-Starting at £40.

40... is bid and five... 50... 55... 60... 60, no. It's at 55...

and standing right at the back, £55.

There you go, that's gone.

-Over your reserve by £5.

-Brilliant.

That's great, very unusual item, that.

-Somebody else can enjoy it.

-Yes.

It's another step towards our £500 target, and not a bad result,

but it would be wonderful to see some of our lots reach their

highest estimates today, or even more, of course.

Perhaps our next family heirloom will prove even

more popular. Granny is helping towards

the trip to Paris now, because the gold chain with the lozenge pendant belonged to her, didn't it?

It did. I never saw her wear jewellery, but I remember when she gave it to me.

Not something that you would wear, then?

No, not anymore, so hopefully someone else can benefit from it.

And £22 starts. 22. 25.

28. And 30. And two. 35.

38. 40. And two. 42, is it?

£40 then, standing at 40.

-There you go. How's that?

-£40!

Thank you, Granny!

Thank you!

We've had a steady sale so far, but none of our lots have sold sky-high.

As the gold sovereigns take centre stage,

perhaps they'll be the first to break through their top estimate.

Paul certainly has high hopes.

There are two values with sovereigns.

One is the coin value itself, people do collect that, but also,

it's gold, and gold always fluctuates with the price of the moment.

Gold is almost at a world-record high.

Put these in at £80 reserve, expect at least to get that, if not more.

Let's see how we get on.

And again there are bids on this. It starts with me at £120...

-120 already.

-Before we even start!

140. 150. 160. 170. 170.

180. 190. 190? No.

190? It's on 180 on commission, then, at 180.

Do you know what? That is a record price, amazing!

Amazing!

Do I have to take you down off the ceiling yet?!

The gold coins didn't let us down, making a whopping £180.

With that outstanding result, I have a feeling our target might be nearly in our sights already.

We've have had some terrific results in that first half of the auction today.

I really am going to have to scrape you off the ceiling, I think, before the day's over.

Now, £500 is the target, isn't it? Well, I think you are going to

have a great time shopping - we're only halfway through.

Any idea how much you've made so far?

-No.

-All right. I'm going to hold onto her!

£408 so far!

Fabulous!

Fantastic! Wow! Crumbs!

-That's excellent!

-We can go to Australia!

It sounds like Claire's starting to get some far-flung ideas, but it's time to get our feet

back on the ground for now, as the girls take a quick break.

Though Paul is still hard at work.

PLATE CHIMES

You tuning up for a chorus of Food, Glorious Food?!

There is method in my madness. That little ring tells whether an item is damaged,

if there's a crack in this plate. If it doesn't ring... It should ring like that, that's OK. It's perfect.

-Is that a perfect plate?

-Well, it isn't, actually, it's a second.

There's a scratch there, proving it's a second.

But it is Crown Derby, and we are in Derbyshire, which is fantastic.

This is made about five miles from this very spot.

You could stand 200 yards away, couldn't you, and look at that and know immediately it was

Crown Derby because of those amazing colours, the blue, the gold, and that lovely orangey colour.

It's like an Imari, a Japanese-inspired pattern. I actually call it

a cigar pattern. It looks like the ribs of the old cigars, remember?

But you can still pick up Crown Derby at auctions for reasonable prices?

Exactly. This is extremely cheap, this is £20-30 a plate, which is nothing.

Cost more in the shops. You could furnish your home very cheaply.

I think you and I could afford fish and chips off that!

I think we could. I could just see it now, mushy peas on the side.

Mushy peas on that? Ugh!

I know how to treat a girl!

It's a good thing the plate wasn't damaged, as that would have really affected its value, but in

perfect condition, even as a second, the plate, along with three others, sold for a total of £233.

Well spotted, Paul.

If all this talk of antiques inspires you to go to auction, then remember that salesrooms

have charges, such as commission, which are added to your bill, whether you are buying or selling.

Your local auction house can give you all the details.

The sale is still in full swing, so it's back to work.

After the first half, we're feeling pleased with ourselves, but we've plenty left to

sell, and I have a feeling that our next lot might be rather popular.

It's lovely when you come into an auction room and see there are lots of people

looking at your items, and there were lots of people looking at

the Victorian silver baby's rattle,

with that lovely bit of coral on the end.

Yes, this is a real nice item. Anyone who is fascinated with childhood,

these are very nostalgic things.

It's not long ago when children would have actually had one of these.

-We did see two ladies looking before.

-We did.

So, looking for about £50.

Victorian silver baby's rattle with coral teether there.

£50 for it. 50. 50's bid.

Five. 55. 60. And five. 70.

At £65 seated. 70, is it? 70 anywhere?

At £65. Seated at 65...

-Excellent!

-65!

50 was your lowest.

£65 for that rattle!

-Told you they liked it!

-All bells and whistles!

Well, the rattle certainly went down a treat,

and we start the second half of our sale at a cracking pace.

Hopefully our next lot will bank us a bit more cash as well.

It's the coin collection, which Paul valued at £30-50.

Here we go, a couple of bids here. 12.

-18.

-A couple of bids in!

-So it starts at 22. £25, is it? 25.

25 in the room. 25. 28. 30.

-32. 35.

-Already up to it!

At £32. Still on commission buy, at 32.

£32 on commission. What was the face value of those coins, I wonder?

About 32 quid!

Well, it seems that Paul was right on the money with that valuation.

As the four stamp albums try their luck on the rostrum,

will they have a similar success?

Claire collected the stamps during her childhood. Paul valued them at a sizeable £50-100.

-So we start at £35.

-35, we're in.

40. Five. 50. Five.

60. Five. 70. 70? No. 70?

At £65. Are you all done, 65? Are you quite certain?

All those hours working with those books!

It was worth it!

That's what I like to hear!

It seems he was right again.

The bidders are certainly taking a shine to Claire and Tamsin's lots today, and I have a feeling we've

passed the £500 for their French weekend already, but with three more lots to sell,

the girls could be looking at a real luxury break if our luck continues.

Its one of my favourite lots up next, the charming apothecary box.

Paul valued this at £50-100,

so fingers crossed that the bidders agree.

Three bids on commission,

one at 50, one 70 and one higher. So, 75 starts me.

There we go.

Fantastic!

90. 90. Five. 100.

Well, we've already hit your lowest estimate!

110. 120? It's at 110.

At the back of the room, £110.

-£110!

-How's that?!

-Fantastic!

Out second item to make more than Paul's highest valuation today.

It's a brilliant result, but there's no time to celebrate just yet,

as our only piece of artwork is coming up for sale.

620 is the late Victorian oil on board, ships in a harbour there, signed WD Penny.

Dated 1901, and £80 for it. 80.

£80. 80's bid.

85. 90. Five.

100. And ten. 110 for you.

110. 120. 130. 140. 150.

-It's one of those names that just...

-Yes.

160. 170. 170? It's at 160 to the side. 170?

You're all sure at 160 to the side? At £160.

Fantastic!

That's a pretty penny, that one, in't it!

I think we'll let you off the bad jokes after that result, Paul.

The bidders do seem to be digging deeper and deeper into their pockets as the day wears on, and with just

one item left to sell, will it be bon voyage for Claire and her daughters?

Now we've got a £50 reserve on the gold sovereign that's coming up now,

which is 1964, but bearing in mind how well we did on the sovereigns in

the first half of this auction, am I going to have to nail your feet to the floor again?!

We're excited about this now, aren't we?

I'm coming again next week!

It becomes an illness after a while!

So, £50, but we think we should make more.

Yes, but bearing in mind this one isn't quite

as collectible, with it being 1960s, it's not like an antique sovereign like the other ones were.

But £50-100 in today's market, who knows? Let's see how it gets on.

£60 is bid. 60. And five.

65. 65. 70. And five.

80. 80. Five. 85. 90.

100. And ten. 120. 130. 140.

140. 150 for you. 150?

Are you quite certain? It's at 140.

Lady's bid, then? At £140.

You know what? I've never known a sovereign be worth that sort of money. Incredible!

-Really?

-Gosh, yes, never, ever seen that sort of price.

-Honestly, yes.

-Thank you!

-Well done.

Even our expert was lost for words after that sale.

The sovereigns really came up trumps for us today.

With all of our lots winging their way to new homes,

all that's left for us to do is to see whether the family's trip will be four or five star.

Well, I think you can afford the shows, the shopping, Disneyland and several croissants

on the Champs-Elysees. Because you wanted to raise £500, didn't you?

-Yes, I did.

-And we did really, really well at halfway, didn't we?

-We did.

-If we add it all up together, it comes to £980!

-Never!

-It does!

-It's just amazing, thank you so much!

-That's nearly double.

-Brilliant.

-Fabulous.

Double the shopping, Tamsin!

After nearly doubling their target at auction, Claire and

her daughters Tamsin and Chloe are preparing for their French trip with a continentally-themed night out.

Had a great time at the auction, we got our target, got our money.

We are now able to book our hotel and our holiday in Paris, so we have come

here tonight to have a French meal to get us in the mood for Paris.

The ladies splash out on some authentic French wine and food,

and Tamsin clearly can't wait to hit the streets of gay Par-ee!

We just can't wait to go shopping and to Disneyland, so we're trying to practise our French because

mine's not very good.

-Ass-ette de...cha-ra-cut-erie.

-Assiette de charcuterie?

I think Tamsin has a little work to do on her French, but it won't be

long before she's up to speed.

As the ladies sample some top-quality French cuisine, I think their hearts are already in Paris.

I'm feeling very stuffed now, the food was gorgeous.

Mum did lots of French talking, which is always good, so hopefully we'll be fine in Paris.

We've had the most superb meal here, fantastic. We've had French wine and French cuisine, and now we can't

wait to go to Paris and have the real thing there, I'm so excited.

To Paris, cheers.

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