Dass Cash in the Attic

Welcome to Cash In The Attic,

the show that helps you find hidden treasures in your home and then sells them at auction.

Today we are in Chelmsford in Essex.

Now, believe it or not, this is the birthplace of radio.

Which is the on button?

Guglielmo Marconi opened his wireless telegraph factory here in 1898

and this unremarkable little hut was actually home to the first regular radio broadcasts,

starting in February 1922.

Today the Writtle Hut, as it's known, is part of the Sandford Mill's educational centre,

part of Chelmsford Museum.

It stands as a reminder of the amazing leaps in broadcasting

that have been made over the last 90 years.

Yes, we can even broadcast from people's homes these days, can't we, Deirdre?

I'll leave her with her cup of tea because we're going to go over to another house now

and let's hope we can find a shed-load of antiques to take to auction.

Coming up on today's Cash In The Attic, our expert is feeling rather overwhelmed.

My goodness, postcards! Thousands of them! Hundreds of them!

Where did they all come from?

And not all his valuations are quite as expected.

The bad news is I'm afraid they're brand new.

-OK.

-They're made in the last five years or so.

-Oh!

But there are some pleasant surprises in store, come auction day.

-That's excellent!

-That's brilliant. Are you happy with that?

-Very happy.

So, will we have reached our target when the final hammer falls?

Now, today we're going to meet a young couple

who called the Cash In The Attic team because they want to raise some cash

for a far-flung family reunion.

This cosy bungalow in the heart of Essex is home to fencing coach

Sanjiv Dass and his wife Sona, a nurse in the local hospital.

The couple have been married for just two years and their passion for antiques fairs and boot sales

means their tidy home has collectables hidden in every nook and cranny,

but with an important family trip on the horizon,

they need to raise some funds, so it's time to trade in the treasures.

-James, nice to see you. What a lovely day!

-It makes a change, doesn't it?

It does. You're won't see much of it because we want you to work hard.

The good news is that we have a young collector inside.

-He loves an antique or two.

-I'm the antique, but he sounds like a man after my own heart.

He does. Let's meet the family while you start your rummage.

-Hello, gang. Busy at work already? I like to see that! You must be Sona?

-Yeah.

-And you're Sanjiv.

-Yeah. Hi, Chris, how are you?

-Who called the Cash In The Attic team?

-Well, Sanjiv wanted to call Cash In The Attic, but I called it for him.

-Were you too shy?

-Yeah, a bit. Yeah.

-We're all very nice people, so don't be shy. Now, why have you called us?

Sanjiv's got this massive collection and we just moved in.

We have to go to India

so we just wanted to call you guys to do this

-for a bit of a contribution for the flight.

-Right, OK.

We'll do our best. What sort of things are we going to find in your house?

Well, we're going to find Royal Doulton vases, figurines and some silver stuff.

-So, you're an avid collector, are you?

-Yeah.

-And how much money do you want to raise?

-A lot, but at least £500 towards the ticket.

£500. Now that sounds like a lot of hard work.

-Yeah.

-So there's no point freezing out here.

-Yeah, it's getting cold.

-Let's get inside.

-Let's go.

-OK.

-Follow me.

'Getting this couple on their far-flung trip

'is a fantastic target for us, so hopefully their collectables will prove to be just the ticket.

'Leading our antiques expedition today is our expert James Rylands.

'With a lifetime of experience in the auction trade, he never misses a saleable lot.'

Hi, Sanjiv. Well, listen, this is the first thing I've found. Did you buy them?

-Yeah, I bought them from an antique shop.

-OK.

-Yeah.

And what did they sell them to you as? What did they say they were?

They said it's a Victorian.

OK. Well, I mean, basically they're very, very much French and Victorian in style.

You've got this wonderful little bronze cherub here

and he is holding a couple of what we call sconces, which are light fittings,

and they and the base are made out of ceramic material,

which is glazed and then gilded and with these nice little blue flowers,

so they actually look about sort of 1870 in date, something like that.

The bad news is I'm afraid they're brand new.

-OK.

-They're made in the last five years or so.

-Oh.

-Oh, drats!

-Well, it is a bit of that, but it's...

-They are sort of made to look...

-Like antique, yeah.

-..older than they are, you know.

And they have been clever, the way that with the bronze

on the cherub here, they sort of rubbed it back to make it look as if it's sort of older than it is.

As such, I'm probably going to give you quite a wide estimate

-and I'm going to say they're worth between £70 and £120.

-Oh.

But someone may go on and pay more for them just because they like them.

-Let's face it, they look the part.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-They look real.

-Yeah.

-It's a good start, and you know why I say start?

-Yeah.

-Do you know what the next bit is?

-Yeah.

-Carry on working.

-Yeah.

-Come on.

-Come on.

They may not be genuine 19th century, but hopefully someone

will still take a shine to the candlesticks when they go to auction.

With a £500 target to reach, though, we need to get on with today's search.

Sona's dug out this very impressive vase by Royal Doulton.

It's one of many collected by Sanjiv over the years and James gives it a £30 to £50 price tag.

And our collector himself adds to the kitty when he digs out these figurines

from the 1980s children's book series Brambly Hedge.

James values the pair at £20 to £30.

Our search is going well so far

and it seems Sanjiv has yet another item for our expert to take a peek at.

James?

-Oh, Sanjiv, what have you got there?

-I don't know what is this.

-Can I...

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-Now, let's have a look.

-I think it's a cigarette case. It is a cigarette case.

-Yeah.

-And do you know what this material is?

-No, I don't know, really.

Well, it's called shagreen.

-OK.

-OK, and what it is, it's, basically, in this case, it's actually sharkskin.

-It's sharkskin?

-Yeah.

From a ray or a shark. And what they do is, because the skin is very, very rough,

they actually sand it down so you then get all of the sort of individual

little sort of nodules here, and then shagreen's almost always stained green.

Well, what do we think something like that's worth? I think it's very stylish indeed.

I think we should put something like £30 to £50 on it?

-Yeah, really?

-So, are you happy for that to go?

-Yeah, I really am. Really happy.

OK, well, that's great. That's another thing in our pot. See if you can find me something else.

-Yeah, sure.

-Great stuff.

Well, Sanjiv's definitely pleased and it's another few pounds towards those all important plane tickets.

Our search is racing along and our expert tops up the fund again when he finds this silver club-shaped tray

and it gets packed off to auction with a shiny £30 to £50 price tag.

With the rummage in full flow, I'll leave things in our expert's capable hands for just a few minutes.

James is rummaging, so it's nice to have a break.

I just want to ask you guys, why is it so important to get back to India?

It's been that my mum has been ill twice

before we actually came into this property.

We would have postponed the date, considering that we have just moved into the property and all the bills,

but because they've not been keeping so well, we want to go in January and not move the date any further.

-Tell me, you said you've got this interest in antiques and...

-Yeah.

-Where did you get this interest from?

-I get this interest from Cash In The Attic.

I watch Cash In The Attic.

So, we're to blame for you buying all this!

-Yeah!

-Is that bad, Sona, is that...?

I think when he buys, tries to buy anything, I always say, "No, no, no."

But when it actually comes to the house, I don't give it away!

You're not ideal for Cash In The Attic, are you, you two? You don't want to give anything away!

-So, we've got to get going, because it's time to get rid of your stuff. Come on.

-All right, then.

With this pair of collecting addicts there's certainly plenty for us to search through today,

so I hope our Mr Rylands has been busy.

He's leaving no room unrummaged and he's even been outside tackling the shed.

He's spotted an impressive silver fish knife

which gets packed off to auction with a rather tasty...

And I've noticed something hiding under the bed.

It's a box containing this large amber brooch.

James hopes it'll make us another £30 to £50.

Sona's been working hard, too, and digs out more of Sanjiv Royal Doulton collection.

This pair of brown vases

tops up the Indian fund by another £50 to £70.

I've been having a rummage around in an outhouse and it seems I've come up trumps,

but what will our expert make of my find?

Ah, fellas, look what I've found in here.

-Cricketing legends. Hey, look at that.

-Oh, yeah.

Go on, if you take those, I'll put these down.

-Feast your eyes on those.

-These are some of the greats. Viv Richards, Sir Viv Richards.

Dickie Bird the umpire, looking particularly grumpy,

as if he's just given, "You're out, son. All right?"

-So, where did you get these from?

-I bought from boot sale.

It goes without saying that, you know, there is a market for things like this, you know.

Sporting memorabilia, very, very popular.

-But, Chris, you're cricket mad, actually.

-I am cricket mad. I do love a game of cricket

and what I notice, as you were saying, not only cricketers but legends of the game

and obviously that makes a big difference.

-One auction of Bobby Moore and they went through the roof.

-Absolutely.

So there's a potential, I suppose, is there, James?

I would think that collectively we would probably put a mean estimate

and go between £30 and £50, but could do a lot better, actually. Could do a lot better.

OK, well, you've mentioned one legendary Yorkshireman, and you mentioned Geoffrey Boycott,

and he'd say, "You don't get nothing without hard graft!"

-So come on, we'll carry on doing some work.

-Let's go.

That's another step towards our £500 target and in the spirit of hard work,

we move closer still when the couple decide to part with a third Royal Doulton lot.

James values this pair of blue vases at a very affordable £30 to £40.

Sanjiv's been giving the shed a final once-over and it's a good thing he did

as he spots two small silver snuff boxes shaped like a banjo and a violin. They may be tiny,

but James hopes they'll get the bidders singing to the tune

of his £30 to £70 valuation.

Our day's rummaging with Sona and Sanjiv is very nearly over, but it's time for that final push.

We've been searching in every nook and cranny,

but I think our couple have one last surprise up their sleeve.

My goodness, postcards! Thousands of them! Hundreds of them!

-Where did they all come from?

-They're different collections over a period of time.

-So, you've bought them all.

-Yeah.

-But at different times.

-Yeah.

-Well, I can see a huge number here.

You've got a cupboard full over there.

This one is interesting because it's the Coronation procession of 1911 with George V

and to some historians they love these ones because you can look at the buildings

and see if they're still there and how they've changed,

so from an architectural historian's point of view it's interesting.

Value, well, I guess you've got thousands and thousands here,

so we'll have to do a ballpark figure,

but I think I'm going to probably say for the whole lot somewhere between £300 and £600.

-How does that sound?

-Brilliant!

-Yeah?

-Brilliant.

Did I hear money being mentioned there?

-Was it £300 to £600?

-Yeah, absolutely.

-Wow! Now, I've been doing a bit of totting up.

-We've worked hard. Do you want to know how much we think we've got?

-Yes, please.

-Added on to that... Well, you wanted £500, didn't you?

-Yeah.

-You want a flight to India to see your family.

We think, conservatively, if all goes well at auction,

we could come up with a grand total of £680.

-Are you pleased with that?

-Oh, that's very nice, yes.

-Yes? A smile on that face there, Sona!

-Yeah.

Good effort, James, for a day's work?

It doesn't matter what I say, it's the auction on the day,

-that's what's going to prove it, whether I'll be your friend or you'll hate me.

-Oh!

I'm sure we'll love you on the day.

-Good luck. So, £680, fingers crossed. It's off to auction.

-Yeah.

Sanjiv and Sona's home really did us proud today with treasures tucked away all over the place.

Off to auction are the cherub candlesticks

which James valued at £70 to £120, despite not being genuine Victorian,

those lovely black and white cricketing photos

which I took rather a shine to,

James hopes they'll make at least £30 to £50,

and, of course, the massive collection of postcards

with thousands in the lot

and a £300 to £600 estimate,

there's a big chunk of our target relying on this first class find.

Still to come on Cash In The Attic, some tips of the trade from our antiques expert.

Do you know what my dad said? "A man who never lost any money never made any."

And I'm having to keep our minds fixed firmly on the target.

-It's gone.

-Yeah.

-It's money in the bank.

-Yeah, of course.

-It's towards the tickets.

-Yes.

-Come on, some positivity here.

But, will we make £500 before the final hammer falls?

It's been a few weeks since we helped Sona and Sanjiv find collectables and antiques

in their lovely home in Chelmsford and we've brought them here to the Chiswick Auctions in West London.

Now, they're hoping to raise £500 for a family trip to India,

so let's hope those items take off under the hammer.

It may be early but there are plenty of eager bidders arriving for the auction.

But one man who unfortunately couldn't be here today is our expert, James Rylands.

But, never fear, the ever capable Paul Hayes has stepped into the breach.

Hello, Paul. I'm glad YOU could make it!

Yes, surprise, surprise!

-These are your family's, aren't they?

-Yeah, the candelabras.

-Yeah.

-We've got high hopes for these.

-They're nice. They're decorative.

Nowadays people want a look and they'll buy things just because they look nice.

The original would be worth a fortune, so £70 t0 £100 is dead right there, actually.

We've got some other great stuff for you to have a look at.

-Oh, and the family! You haven't met them, have you?

-No, not yet.

-Do you want to meet them?

-Yes.

-Come on.

'Well, Paul seems to be getting up to speed with our items already, so I'd better get on

'with the introductions, and it's not long before we spot Sona and Sanjiv

'with their most impressive collection.'

-Hello, gang. how are you?

-Hello.

-This is the one and only Paul.

-Good morning, I'm Paul.

-Hello.

-Nice to meet you.

-These are trouble-makers, Paul.

-Really?

-No, they're lovely.

These are the postcards we've been telling you about.

-Yeah, there's a lot. What a collection that is.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Are you looking forward to today?

-Yeah. A bit nervous.

-Nervous.

-A bit nervous.

Well, I see you're looking at the postcards. How many have you brought?

-About 6,000.

-6,000!

-Yeah.

-It is a nice collection. Somebody will buy this as a job lot

and you see collections like this every week when you come to auctions.

You're looking for certain rarities, you know, the Titanic or any rare postcards like that people go for.

-But as a collection, I mean, I think the £300 mark. That sounds about right, I think.

-Yeah.

-You know, it's quality rather than quantity, really.

-Yeah.

-Very good. Put them down, stop counting them. Now, let's go to the auction. Come on.

-OK.

'Well, with two experts having checked over the giant collection of postcards,

'I'm confident for the sale.

'With the auction already underway we take our position at the back of the saleroom

'in time for our first lot of the day.

'Valued at £30 to £50, the first of Sanjiv's collection of Doulton vases,

so fingers crossed there are some collectors in the room.

£10 for the lot? 10 I'm bid.

A maiden bid of £10. £12.

14. 16. 18. 20.

22. £22. Nearer to me at £22. 24.

26. 28. 30.

-32. 34.

-Yes, yes, yes.

£34 down here. At £34.

At 36, I'll take. At £34.

Nearer to me at 34. It goes for £34.

-Hey. How's that?

-I don't know.

-You think that's cheap, don't you?

-Yeah.

-You wanted more.

-Yeah.

-She's not happy with that one, Paul.

While Sona may have been hoping for even more,

but selling for £4 over its lower estimate

is not a bad result

and it gives us our first cash towards those tickets to India,

but with a £500 target to reach, I hope the sky's the limit

for the rest of our lot.

Our Brambly Hedge figurines are up next.

Are they worth £10? Have a look up there. £10 for it. 10 I'm bid. £10 I'm bid.

£12. 14. 16. 18.

£18. Nearer to me at £18.

And 20 anybody else? For £18.

18 it's bid, then. At £18.

-Oh, it's just under. Is that all right?

-Yeah, that's OK, yeah. Very happy, yeah.

-There you go.

Well, if Sanjiv's pleased then we're pleased.

It's time for more of the Doulton vases next,

so let's hope the collectors have still got cash to spend.

-OK, up next is one of Sanjiv's huge collection you missed out from the rummage around the house.

-Really?

-Royal Doulton everywhere! Is this one of your favourites?

-Yeah, yeah.

-The vases?

Yeah, favourite of my vases.

A pair of Royal Doulton vases of typical design with blue bodies.

Upstairs for you.

£10 to start me.

£10. £12. 14. 16.

£16 here. At £16. And 18 I'll...

18.

20. 22.

24.

£24, down below.

At 24. They're going for £24.

£24, they sell.

-Aww!

-That's a bit less than you expected, wasn't it?

-Yeah.

-It's gone, though.

-Yeah, it's gone.

-It's money in the bank.

-Yeah, of course.

-It's towards the tickets.

-Yes.

-Come on, some positivity here!

It's a little under estimate, but our couple didn't seem too disappointed and it's another step

towards our £500. Maybe the bidders were saving their cash

for our next lot. I hope so!

10 I'm bid. A maiden bid at £10.

£12, now. 14. 16. 18. 20?

20. £20 I'm bid there. At £20.

At 22 there. £22 standing there.

At £22. It can be sold for 22. It's selling then on a left bid of £22.

In the room, sorry, at £22.

-Oh!

-Oh, it's a little bit less, isn't it?

-It's sold, but that's disappointing.

Yeah, it got what I bought it for, so it's like no loss, no profit.

-You're breaking even.

-Breaking even, yeah.

-He's says that through gritted teeth, Paul.

-He's not happy.

-Well, do you know what my dad said? "A man who never lost any money never made any."

-Yeah.

-Think of that. I'm still learning!

-We got our money back, so...

I'm not quite sure about that logic there, Mr Hayes,

I think we'd all like a profit!

Anyway, it's all money towards those tickets to India.

Next to try its luck on the rostrum is a lot I took rather a shine to.

With me already at 22. 25 I can take from somebody else.

There's a left bid of £22 for the cricketers. They can be sold then at £22.

A left bid on the book. £22.

-Oh!

-Oh!

Ouch! That's another sale under estimate.

I'd really hoped the photos would prove to be high scorers today,

but no. Maybe our next lot

will entice the bidders to dig deeper.

Lot 305a is the Art Deco silver and shagreen-covered cigarette case.

305a. Is it worth £10?

£10 for the lot? 10 I'm bid, thank you.

At £10. £10. £12.

14. 16.

18. 20.

22. 24. 26. 28.

30. £30. At 30. 32.

32 upstairs.

Do you want 34? 34. 36.

£36 upstairs. At 36. 38 down there.

40. 45. 50.

-Oh, come on!

-55.

-Yes!

£55 at the far back there. At £55. Anybody else want to come in now?

£55 it goes.

-Hey! That's excellent.

-Are you happy with that?

-Yeah, I'm very happy.

That's a fantastic result and a good return on Sanjiv's £38 investment.

It's the first of our items to reach its top estimate or over, and not before time!

If you're buying or selling at auction,

then remember that charges such as commission will be added to your bill,

so always check the details with your local sale room.

We're making steady progress

and it's the silver section up next.

20. 22. 24.

-£24. 26, there. 28.

-Oh, yes!

-Come on.

-30, sir? £30 I'm bid, there. At 30. 32 there.

No? £32 here.

34. 36.

£36. Nearer to me at £36.

They go for 36, then. At 36 I'm selling.

Hey! How's that?

You see! A smile on your face, there.

-Music to my ears!

-That's a good result.

-Yeah.

£6 over the low-end estimate.

That's a good start to our silver lots.

Sanjiv's obviously got a bit of a knack

for spotting saleable items.

So, will the silver fish knife have similar success?

£28 that knife goes. £28 it goes.

-Oh!

-28 quid, there you are. That's all right, isn't it?

Yes, it's OK, and another step towards our £500 target.

We've got a way to go yet and if we're going to get Sona and Sanjiv

those all-important plane tickets we need the bidders to dig deeper on our remaining lots,

the silver club-shaped tray is up for sale next.

Is it worth £10 for the pin tray?

10 I'm bid, thank you. 12.

Do you want 14? 14. 16.

18. 20. 22. £22 there. At 22.

And 24 anybody else?

£22 is all I'm bid.

It goes then for £22. 22.

Aw!

-It's close.

-Nearly, nearly.

-So close, yeah.

-That was a nice thing that, wasn't it, actually?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-So unusual. Never mind.

Oh, dear, that's £8 under estimate and we're all surprised it didn't make a bit more.

The bidding is really slowing down for us this afternoon.

As we move on from the silver section, hopefully things will improve, though.

It's the last pair of Sanjiv's Doulton vases going under the hammer.

Although not literally, of course!

OK, we have some more Royal Doulton pieces now.

These are quite stylish, actually.

They're a nice pair of vases, more Victorian, these.

So these are in at £50 to £70, which is about right.

OK, let's see how we get on.

£10 to start me, for those.

10 I'm bid. I thought I would be. At £10. A maiden bid of £10. 12.

14. 16. 18. 20.

22. Nearer to me at £22. At £22.

Anybody else coming in? For £22. They're selling for 22, then.

£22. 319.

-There you go.

-Well.

-Oh, well.

Selling for less than half their estimate

is a really disappointing result for us. I'm starting to worry

about our £500 target as we've only two items left to sell today.

Our most highly valued lot

is up for sale next and we're all feeling nervous.

Now, we've got big hopes about the next item.

That's the whole box of postcards.

-How many did we have?

-6,000, maybe.

-Yeah. And how many...

-We just count 4,000 and we just gave up.

-You ran out of fingers and thumbs and toes and...

-Yeah.

What am I bid for the lot? Start me for £200 for the lot?

-£200. 210.

-You put a reserve on these, haven't you, of 300.

-Yes.

-£230 for all those postcards.

At 230. At £230. Anybody else?

At £230. They're not selling.

We need a little bit more. 230.

-There you are, so he hasn't sold them after all that.

-Look at the disappointment on his face.

Oh, yeah.

Well, that's definitely not the result we wanted,

but at least they didn't sell for such a small bid.

It's a massive blow,

and with only one item left to sell

is it too late to get Sanjiv and Sona their £500?

A bit of interest in this lot.

I'm bid already £70.

-£70. We're in!

-Good start.

On the left a bid of 70. 75. 80.

-Excellent!

-85. 90. £90.

It's still on the commission at £90.

And five if you want from somebody else? For £90.

It goes for 90. At £90 I'm selling.

-Brilliant.

-Well, there you go!

-We were really worried about those.

I wasn't convinced because they're quite new.

They don't have the same appeal, but they do look very attractive. That's great!

Phew! So, money in the kitty at last.

The bidders didn't mind that they weren't 19th century

and £90 is a very long overdue addition

to our plane ticket fund, but was it enough to save our target?

This is it, then. £500 you wanted to obviously have the family reunion, go back to India to see your family.

-We have raised a grand total today of £373.

-Oh, that's good.

-Yeah, that's good.

-Well, it's not bad if you consider that your big item, all those postcards,

you were hoping for just as much again, £300, so how do you feel?

It's OK. Without the postcards it's a good result.

-Yeah, it's not bad. And, Sanjiv?

-Yeah, we're going to start counting again!

-Start counting again!

-Yeah!

Well, it looks as if Sona and Sanjiv are heading for a fantastic family reunion

when they eventually take those flights to India.

Now, if you want to raise some money and you think you might have some antiques in your home,

then why not apply to be on the show?

All the details are online at...

Good luck with that and I'll see you next time on Cash In The Attic.

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