Currier Cash in the Attic

Welcome to the programme that joins you in the hunt for antiques and collectables around your home

and then whisks them off with you to auction to sell under the hammer.

Today, I'm in Surrey and I've come to the very busy and charming town of Epsom.

The history of Epsom can be traced back to the Domesday Book.

It was once known as a spa town, and was famous for its numerous underground wells.

Sadly, as the town grew, the wells were covered up.

In fact, not even the village pond survived.

In its place, there's now a rather elegant clock tower.

Built in 1847, it stands 70ft above the market place,

acting as a centrepiece to this popular town.

Well, I don't have to travel too far from the clock tower

to get to our next destination, where I rather hope

we won't have to dig too deep to find antiques and collectables that'll be just right for auction.

Coming up on Cash In The Attic, one of Jonty's estimates gets all revved up.

-Gosh!

-Crikey.

-How about that?

-LAUGHTER

'There's a runaway success in the saleroom.'

Wow! You were absolutely right. It had legs,

-it went out of the sale room £30 over your top estimate.

-Fantastic.

But are there a few surprises around the corner?

ANGELA LAUGHS Good gracious!

Your face says it all.

'Find out when the hammer falls.'

I'm on my way to meet a delightful couple who have

called in the Cash In The Attic team to help them fund the purchase

of a very special set of wheels.

'I'm instantly impressed with this beautiful three-bedroomed house,

'and its lucky owners are Kenneth and Elizabeth Currier.'

They've lived here for 19 years

and have a 24-year-old son called David and a 21-year-old daughter Jane.

She'll be helping us today along with Elizabeth's closest friend, Jackie, who's already limbering up.

Ken and Elizabeth have been happily married for 26 years

and although they've enjoyed living in this lovely house,

they're now ready to take the plunge and move on to pastures new.

-Good morning, Jonty.

-Thanks for bringing such fabulous weather.

It's glorious, isn't it? And no jacket on today, Jonty.

-That's a first!

-It is for me, because it's such a lovely day.

I've brought you another pressie, cos I think what we've got today

is the perfect Cash In The Attic scenario.

The couple we're about to meet are going to start a whole new life. They're moving out!

When we finish, the house-movers move in, so everything must go.

-So it's sorting the wheat from the chaff?

-Absolutely.

You're going to have a field day. Shall we go and meet them?

What a perfect location this is.

How can you bear to leave it, you two?

It is going to be hard, very hard really, because we have lived here 19 years, raised the family.

But I think now is the time to move on and have a nice retirement.

-That's why you've called us in, because you're going to leave.

-Yes!

I've got so much stuff that I've inherited, that I can't take it all with me.

I'm normally a hoarder, but I'm going to be quite ruthless

and get rid of things I'm not going to use or need.

What are we actually raising money for today? It's not to help you move house, I know.

The idea is we're moving to an area that's in the midst of a lot of natural beauty.

The Lake District, North Wales, Derbyshire, Yorkshire all on the doorstep.

I've always wanted an old sports car so that we can go out

on days such as this and thoroughly enjoy ourselves.

How much is that likely to cost?

It won't be the full amount, that would be quite a bit.

£1,500 would be grand, if we could get something like that towards it.

Jane, your mum and dad are making you and your brother homeless.

Yes, they are, I'll be sad to see them go but I'm pleased for them.

They're going to such a lovely place and it'll be good to visit there.

Jackie, you're one of Elizabeth's best friends. Aren't you going to miss her?

I'll miss her dreadfully, but they've got to move on.

They deserve a good retirement, but I will miss them terribly, both of them.

We'd better get into gear and go and see what we can find in the house

to get this wonderful sports car. Shall we go?

'It's a real shame that they're leaving this splendid family home.

'But with dreams of open-top cars and the wind in their hair, I don't blame them.

'And with a target of £1,500 to raise, we've certainly got our work cut out.

'It really is the perfect Cash In The Attic scenario -

'a house of trinkets and antiques ready to be taken to the sale room,

'so Jonty's going to be in his element today.

'And he's certainly the man for the job, with over 20 years' experience in the antiques business.

'We can certainly count on him to find those hidden treasures that are going to lure the bidders.'

That looks like something small but beautifully marked.

-Oh, yes, have a look at this.

-What have we got here, Elizabeth?

It's a small, silver pincushion that I inherited from my aunt.

Did your aunt collect things like this?

Not particularly. That just sat on one of the tables in the lounge.

-So you remember seeing it as a little girl?

-Yes.

-Fascinating.

-I always liked it then.

Little, solid silver pincushions of this size were very popular

in the late 19th-century through into the early 20th-century.

So many of them have been made or assayed in the Birmingham area,

but here I notice that this was assayed in Chester.

Does that relate to your aunt at all?

It does, yes. That's where my aunt and her mother lived.

That's fascinating. They all came in different shapes and sizes.

Cats, dogs, shoes and little birds like this.

I've even seen an elephant.

But they're really charming and, as a consequence, they're very collectable.

Solid silver, but they have to be in good condition.

I have seen very rare pincushions in antique dealers' shops

-in excess of £1,000.

-Ooh!

-All right?

The value for this, we're looking at £80-£120.

-Wow.

-Terrific.

-That's nice.

'I was really pleasantly surprised when I was given'

the valuation on that little chicken,

because I didn't expect it to be worth that much.

I've always liked it.

I'd be happy to see it go to auction.

'We all split up to get on with the search,

'and there are some great little pieces scattered around this house.

'Jackie has been Elizabeth's firm friend for 10 years and she's obviously just as keen

'to get the sports car fund up and running as she makes the first move.'

-What do you think of this, Jonty?

-The chessboard?

-Yes.

-Let's see.

No. That's relatively modern, so not for us.

What's under here? Let's have a look at this square-topped footstool, is this something that we can sell?

Anything in this room can be sold, things they don't want to take to their new house.

-I think they'd be glad to get rid of them!

-Stools like this

are known as X-frame stools for obvious reasons. Look at the shape.

But if you look at the base, it's more like an S or a C-shape scroll at the bottom, which dates it.

This stool is early Victorian, Queen Victoria came on to the throne in 1837. Now, feel the weight of that.

-Yes, it is heavy.

-Can you see that?

-Yes.

That's because this stool is made of rosewood, and rosewood has very dark flecks.

-It's a tropical hardwood and it has very dark flecks running in the grain. Can you see that?

-Yes.

That's rosewood, so are you familiar with this as a piece of furniture in the house?

I've known Liz and Ken for over 10 years and it's something they've always had, so I'm familiar with it.

-The value for this at auction, between £80-£120.

-That sounds perfect.

Is this the style of furniture you'd have in your own home?

-It's really nice.

-You can bid for it in the auction sale.

-Yeah, why not?

Excellent, I'll pop that down and we'll move on.

'So that's another fantastic item that once belonged

'to Elizabeth's auntie going off to the sale.

'She certainly had good taste.

'We're racing along, and it's not long before

'Jane digs out this Worcester wall pocket with parrot motif. It was given to

'Elizabeth and Kenneth as a wedding present.

'Jonty gives it a value of £40-£60.

'And Jackie is happy that her next find is worthy of auction,

'as Jonty gives this heart-shaped screen

'an £80-£130 value.

'Meanwhile, what's Jonty turned up downstairs?'

-Ken, are you there?

-Yeah.

-Ken, have a look at this picture.

Is this a picture you may take with you or a possible auction picture?

-This is possible auction.

-Where did this come from?

It was handed down from her parents

and was, I believe at some stage, shown in the Royal Academy.

-Really?

-By some famous artist, but that's all I know about it.

-Right, OK.

-But it's not...

It's not as I remember Mousehole Harbour.

You have to remember Mousehole Harbour might have changed somewhat,

but it is actually a watercolour, a framed watercolour.

And the artist's signature is just down here, Lawrence Davies.

I don't know very much about Lawrence Davies. All I know is

that he was born in 1887 and died in 1950, so by definition,

this picture has to be an early 20th-century framed picture in its original mount and frame.

But if you look on the reverse, it says all of that. The artist...

Mousehole Harbour, Cornwall.

But I don't know if you ever noticed this, but we've got the original price tag there, £6. How about that?

It's obviously well done.

It's just the subject matter isn't tremendously exciting, is it?

I tend to agree with you. I think this picture, if it had more people in it, more action,

more sails in those masts, then yes, I can see that this picture would be £300-£500.

But because it's not there, it's quite an austere picture, really.

-It's still going to fetch £150-£250.

-We shall speak to Liz.

-Let's do just that. Go and tell her and find some more bits and pieces.

-Right.

-Lead the way.

It might be a little drab at first glance,

but it certainly has a glowing price tag.

Jonty's really on a roll today as he soon spots this 1889 The Strand stamp collection.

Stamp-collecting is massively popular still,

though prices can vary enormously from pennies to hundreds of pounds.

Jonty values this lot at an attractive £50-£100.

And Elizabeth adds another £50-£100 to the kitty when she finds this travelling case.

It was actually a 21st birthday present from her grandfather to her father, 72 years ago.

This really is a lovely home.

I imagine the Curriers are going to miss it when they leave.

Ken and Elizabeth, a lot of people have

the dream of retiring and starting a whole new life.

What was it that made you decide to do exactly that and move from here in Surrey up to Cheshire?

I think we both want to get away from the hustle and bustle of

London and all the cars and the traffic, to somewhere more tranquil.

And I've still got family that live in Cheshire, I've still got my sister there.

In fact, I went to visit my sister one weekend,

saw this house that we've since bought and fell in love with it.

I came home and said to Ken, "Shall we put ours on the market?" We discussed it, didn't we?

He said, "Yes". He still hadn't seen this house in Cheshire.

So we put ours on the market, it went on the market on the Thursday

and by the Saturday, the second people that came along bought it.

It'll be a wrench to leave it, but it's a different challenge at the new place.

We don't want to be housebound quite so much as we're here.

I mean, we're not housebound here, but you don't want to leave this,

especially on a gorgeous day like this. But up there, you can move about and see more.

We want to enjoy our retirement and not have a large garden.

Something that's small and manageable so that if we go off on holiday,

we don't have to think, when we come back, that lawn needs mowing or that needs cutting down.

Sadly, I'm afraid we're going to have to leave the sun, the birds and this wonderful garden

-and go back into the house and join Jonty to make that dream a reality.

-Right.

'With a new life beckoning, and a nifty car in mind, we must

'literally put our foot on the gas and find more antiques and collectables for the auction.'

This Edwardian balloon clock is a timely find.

Influenced by French designs of the 18th Century,

these are very desirable with Jonty expecting £40-£60 on the day.

We all get searching in various parts of the house,

and it's not long before Jane spies a rather tasty looking item.

-I found this one here.

-What have we got?

Oh, I say. Look at that.

Isn't that pretty?

We've got a little pot here with... Oh, that's a bee on top, isn't it?

My mum got that from a car-boot sale about 10 or 12 years ago.

-She got it for about £3 or £4.

-£3 or £4?

-Yes.

OK. If we look on the outside, you see all that's hand-painted.

You can tell just by the rings here this would actually be hand-thrown on the wheel,

obviously designed to make it look like the outside of a beehive.

We turn it upside down.

Oh, wow! Look at that. This pot is made by Clarice Cliff.

-Have you ever heard of Clarice Cliff?

-No, I haven't.

Clarice Cliff was a designer in the 1930s and she started making her wares during that period

and she became a market leader because, before that time, ceramics were very flowery, very fussy.

But she changed all that, she put all that to one side

and started making very simple Art Deco designs

and decorating those pots very, very simply indeed.

When I say simply, it was just very basic brushstrokes.

Can you see here? All of this design is very stylised, and these look

like flowers and leaves, but it's just very simply done.

A lot of Clarice Cliff is still hidden at the back of sideboards,

but certainly the rare Clarice Cliff can make huge sums of money.

I notice the chip on the top, did that happen here?

-My mum actually bought it like that.

-Even in this state,

this little pot is worth between £50-£80.

-OK.

-That's what I call a sweet result. Let's find some more.

It's quite a sweet piece and I was amazed at the price

it was valued at, cos I really wouldn't have thought that at all.

You can never go wrong with Clarice Cliff, and although it's not a rare piece, there are

still plenty of collectors who'll want to purchase this.

There really are some lovely items throughout this house,

and soon enough, I spot an impressive work of art.

Ken and Elizabeth, your house is full of pictures that look as if they've been in the family forever.

-Does this fall into that category?

-Yes, it is.

This one is by a local artist to Nantwich in Cheshire,

and the family story is that it is of my grandfather's horse and dog.

How true that is, I don't know.

Do you remember seeing this hanging on the walls of the family home when you were growing up?

Yes, I do. It was always kept in the dining room.

Unfortunately, Mother kept it above a radiator.

-That would explain the damage, presumably, Jonty, have a closer look at it.

-Yes.

That is heat damage. Can you see the way the oil itself has shrunk?

And hence the reason why you have this almost crackled effect.

Round on the back here, we can see very clearly, this is great,

it says here, here is the artist,

painted by Herbert St John James, 1918. The date is there.

Interestingly, this is the original frame as well,

so this is a picture that has never been touched before.

He was a bit of a character, he moved to Nantwich when he was about four or five,

and he'd painted a lot of pictures of horses,

particularly because Nantwich itself was a big hunting area.

So he was inspired by the horse and the hounds.

-Do you like it, Ken?

-I do, I like the subject of the picture.

It's just so difficult to see, because of the damage that's been caused over the years.

If it was clean and you could see it properly, I'm sure it'd be a much better picture. But I like it, yes.

But we want to know, at auction... which presumably we're going to?

-Yes, I'd like that.

-How much might it make?

I think this oil painting is worth between £500-£800.

-Gosh!

-Crikey.

-That's nice. LAUGHTER

That is a terrific amount to put towards...

-£500-£800?

-I think it's lovely.

The picture is in such bad condition that you can't really see it properly.

Because of that, I think the valuation was extremely good.

'I see Jonty is taking a breather, but as he's delivered the goods today, I'll let this one go.

'I, on the other hand, stay firmly on my feet and dig out this religious-themed tapestry,

'that Elizabeth's mother bought at auction,

'and Jonty values at £70-£100.

'Now I've been rather eager to find out more about

'that racy little purchase that Kenneth has set his heart on.'

-Ah, Ken. Dreaming the dream of the car, are you?

-Yes, definitely.

What's your fascination with these wonderful old vintage sports cars,

because you're not a mechanic by trade, are you?

What is the fascination for you with these old cars?

Cars of that era are totally different to the ones now.

The ones now really are so complicated,

you cannot repair anything on the side of the road.

One sensor will say to another sensor, "Something is wrong,"

and everything shuts down, but you can't find out why.

With these, you can see virtually what's wrong.

After a few simple tests, and you can, in certain cases, repair it.

They're just alive, these things. Like steam engines.

They're not like a modern thing where you just point it and it goes.

These things, you have to think out what you're doing. Even the starting procedure on some is complicated.

-It's a living thing rather than a mechanical thing for you?

-Yes.

You feel they've got some kind of soul and you're bringing it back to life when you renovate them.

What I'm aiming for is to get the best of whatever I can get,

because I want us to be able to run around in it and not spend all the time underneath it.

-Unfortunately, none of that will happen unless we find more things to take to auction.

-True.

I think we should get back to work, don't you?

We've certainly turned up some terrific finds, but just as the end of the day approaches,

it looks like daughter Jane has found one final, and rather impressive, item to take to auction.

I found this one upstairs, what do you think what this?

Wow! That looks a wonderful bronze. Where has this one come from?

That I remember as a child in my grandfather's and grandmother's house.

My father's parents' house.

There were actually two of them, which sat either side of the fireplace.

What do you make of it, Jonty? It looks as if it might be a coursing dog with a hare in its mouth.

He is, obviously, a coursing dog, but he's not English.

He's quite possibly French, and that's because I'm looking at the signature on the base here,

it says PJ Mene.

And now, Mene... That is Pierre Jules Mene.

In the mid-19th century in France, he and his fellow sculptors

concentrated just on animal bronzes.

Collectively, they were known as the Animalier bronze sculptors,

and they were very successful, Mene himself was particularly successful.

And the detail there on the hare's fur is absolutely incredible.

That's the reason why they're highly regarded,

because they concentrated on the detail,

on the form of the animal just as much as the design and the shape.

The problem with bronzes like this at the moment

is that there's an influx of copies coming from the Far East.

The most important thing, as far as we're concerned,

-we need to know if it's an original, as there's a huge difference in price.

-How do you tell that?

I'm not looking at the front, the best thing to do is to turn it upside down,

because here we're looking for natural ageing.

Bronze oxidises and changes colour.

Here we can see clearly that we've four screw marks here,

which means that the animal was cast at a separate time

than the base and, therefore, they had been applied together.

Quality and charming, but I wonder how much it's worth at auction?

Before you tell us, Jonty, is it something you're prepared to send to auction, Elizabeth?

I'm still not sure about this item.

-OK. If it helps, can I give you the valuation?

-Yes.

It might tip the balance somewhat.

Because I think this is worth the same sort of price as our lovely portrait of the pony and the dog.

£500-£800.

Is that roughly what you thought it might be worth?

I was hoping it might be worth a little bit more.

In which case, would you perhaps put a reserve on it?

I think it would have to be at least £500.

So £500 reserve, that's absolutely fine.

-Oh, right.

-It will, of course, make a difference to what we make on the day of the auction

if you decide to pull it out or it makes more than your £500 reserve.

What I'm going to do now is tell you how much I think we might be able to make from these things,

but I think we should let Jackie and Ken in on that piece of information.

Guys, are you going to come and join us a second?

Because I think I might have some quite good news for you

about the things that we've looked at today.

For a start, Jonty thinks that wonderful piece of bronze there could make between £500-£800.

Right.

LAUGHTER

If you're delighted at that, I hope you'll be delighted at the sum total we think we might make,

just taking Jonty's lowest estimates and actually taking that bronze out of the equation as well,

we hope that we should be able to make £1,190.

-That would be nice.

-There we go.

Which will go some way towards that fantastic car.

-Yes. As you said, two wheels!

-LAUGHTER

Let's see if we can make it four on the day!

That's a great amount on which to end today's rummage.

Not forgetting, of course, that if they do take that bronze to auction,

they could make it a whopping £1,690.

But we've plenty of other terrific items to take to the sale room.

With an estimate of £150-£200, that gorgeous watercolour of

Mousehole Harbour should make waves at the auction.

That elegant Victorian footstool

should sit nicely with the bidders at a very comfortable £80-£120.

And it might not be Elizabeth's favourite item, but at £40-£60,

I wonder if that wall pocket, complete with parrots,

will fly out of the sale room?

Still to come on Cash In The Attic, things are looking up at the auction.

-That's brilliant, really good.

-That's terrific. That did better than you expected.

-Much better, yes!

But can Ken and Elizabeth keep the bidders on board?

Not today, then?

-He's withdrawn it.

-No bidders in the room at all.

Be there when the hammer falls.

Well, it's been a couple of weeks since we were with Ken and Elizabeth

in that beautiful house and garden that they have in Epsom,

looking for items that we could bring to sell here today at Chiswick Auctions in West London.

If you remember, they're planning to move lock, stock and barrel

to the north of England and they hope to raise £1,500 towards

a rather lovely vintage sports car, so they can enjoy the countryside around their new home in style.

So we're hoping that today's bidders are really going to be in top gear

when their items go under the hammer.

There are so many quality items here today that Ken and Elizabeth

have really got their work cut out if they're to reach their target.

Plus, it's an absolutely sweltering day both outside and in.

Let's hope it doesn't deter the bidding.

'Jonty, meanwhile, seems to be pinning his hopes on one particular little fellow.'

He really is very cute, isn't he?

-Really, really sweet.

-Popping out of his shell like that.

-It's lovely.

-Absolutely adorable.

But Ken and Elizabeth had some lovely things in their home.

Really good quality items, particularly the pictures.

-Do you remember the picture of the pony and the dog?

-Yes.

And then there was the bronze, the hunting dog.

Elizabeth wasn't sure if she wanted to part with it.

That's a high value item, that, really good quality again.

If they bring that and it sells, it will make all the difference.

Yes. Shall we go and find them and see what the decision was?

Whilst that impressive bronze is close to Elizabeth's heart,

it looks like Ken's mind is on more mechanical matters.

I hope you're going to get something a bit better than that, Ken?

-Zooming around the countryside up there in the north.

-Definitely.

-Yes, so do I!

I'm not going in that.

I think we're going to do quite well. Aren't we, Jonty?

The big, burning question is, have you brought that bronze?

Yes, I have brought it, but I'm still a little apprehensive about it.

-Have you put a reserve on it?

-Yes, I have. Quite a high reserve.

-How much?

-£900.

OK, I think it might be going home, but...

I think that's probably why it's got that reserve on it!

You're really not certain, are you?

No, that's just the one item that I'm not certain about.

-But everything else, Ken, happy to go through?

-Oh, yes. All the rest.

The auctioneer's at the podium, the place is starting to fill up.

-Let's take our places and get you northward bound. Come on.

-This way.

As the auction begins, the first item to go

under the hammer today is that lovely Victorian rosewood stool.

This is a particularly good quality stool.

I've estimated this stool to sell at £80-£120.

I'm very confident this is just going to take off and walk out of the auction room.

-I hope so.

-Let's see how it does. He's about to start.

£50. Start me in the room, please.

£50 for it? A bid of £50, £55?

£60? £65, £70. £75, £80.

£85, £90. £95, £100.

-£110, £120.

-I think you got this one right.

-It's got legs, Jonty.

-You were right.

-£150, £160?

Yes or no, £150? Nearest to me at £150, I'm selling. Are we all done?

Last chance gone. At £150, then. Thank you.

-GAVEL BANGS

-£150.

-Well done.

Wow! You were absolutely right. It had legs!

-It went out of the saleroom. £30 over your top estimate.

-Fantastic.

That's lovely. The first one. Brilliant.

But there's still a long way to go if we're

to meet their £1,500 target, but that's an excellent start.

£150 puts us well on the road to a vintage sports car.

I wonder if this next item will do quite so well?

The heart-shaped pole screen, which Jonty valued at £80-£130.

£50 for it. See where it goes, £50. I'm bid at £50, £50.

Say £55, £55. £60, £65. £70, 75. £80?

At £75, do I hear £80 over there? £80? £80. £85, £90. £95, £100.

£105, £110. £115, £120. £125, £130?

£125. I'll take £130 for it. I'm going to sell at £125.

All out at £125? £125 then, your bid.

-Perfect.

-You're rather good at this, aren't you?

Our Jonty is not just a pretty face, you know.

Next up is the Clarice Cliff honey pot.

Its lid already had a chip in it,

but since our visit, it's sustained even more damage.

The little bee on the lid has broken off. Oh, dear.

Unfortunately, when it was being packed to bring here, it dropped on the floor.

-What's that going to do to its value?

-The value's been decimated,

but thankfully, it's the pot that's been salvaged.

If it had been the other way round, there'd be no value there at all.

Now we're looking at just one pot worth £20-£30.

Somebody start me at £20 for it. Thank you, I'm straight in at £20.

-Started at £20.

-That can't be the only bid, though, can it? £20.

-I'll take £22 for it. £22, thank you. £25? £25, £28? £30, £32.

-Crikey!

At £30, I'm selling. Are we all done? Last chance and gone.

-£30!

-All is not lost.

-No.

'£30 is still a respectable amount for the Clarice Cliff honey pot,

'even though it's no longer in perfect condition.

'Not to worry, though, because I've got high hopes for this next lot,

'and, as a West Country girl, it's something close to my heart.'

We've got the Lawrence Davies watercolour coming up, the boats in the harbour at Mousehole.

I rather liked it and you did too, Jonty.

Yes, I did, and that's the reason I put a bare minimum of £150 on it.

I'm hoping we're going to get there or thereabouts. Hopefully more than that.

£50, start me. Not a hand moves.

£50 for a starting bid? No-one likes it at £50 so far.

You change your mind, come and see me after.

-He's withdrawn it and quite right, too. Don't you think, Jonty?

-Yes.

He was offering it in the room, there were no proper bids on it.

There was no point in taking it any further.

I'm surprised at the lack of interest in that lovely scene,

but I'm sure it won't be long before somebody snaps it up.

The travelling case, given to Ken by his father, is up next

and before we know it, the hammer falls on a pretty decent sum.

£50, selling it at £50.

They do like to keep things moving here at Chiswick.

According to the catalogue, coming up next is a Royal Worcester perched parrot.

-You reckon it's a pair of budgies?

-I think they're budgerigars.

-Yes!

-I thought they were.

-Why did you have budgies in the house?

I didn't have it in the house, we had it on the wall.

Well, I had it given to me as a wedding present.

-Yes, but you didn't like...

-I hate it.

You have to be careful, sometimes, what you say.

It's not been on show for a long time, I must admit!

Well, somebody here's going to like it, just watch.

£50 for it? £30 for it, see who wants it at £30.

A starting bid at £30?

£20 for it, £20. £20 I'm bid, thank you. At £20, I'll take £22.

£22, thank you. £25 bid. £28.

£30? I'm bid down the back at £28. I'll take £30 for it.

At £28. I'll sell at £28, is that OK? Sold and going at £28, all done?

For £28, then.

£28, not the £40 I said.

No, but even so, I'm happy with that.

Happy with £28? You'd rather have the £28 than the budgies?

I didn't want to take that home.

Well, there's no accounting for taste. Whilst that

unusual item seemed to ruffle Elizabeth's feathers, it's still

money towards the vintage sports car.

-You'll be glad to see the back of the parrots or budgies or whatever they were.

-Definitely.

And that extra, what was it, £28?

-I can't believe that.

-I know.

But you'll be very pleased to know that that £28, if we add it to what we've already had today, has done

quite well for you. I know you want to raise £1,500.

We're not there yet, but when I tell you the sum,

don't be too disheartened, because we still have got fabulous things, high-end things to come.

-So far, you've made £383.

-That's better than we thought.

-That will pay for a service on the car at least. Wouldn't it, Ken?

-Yes!

'It's been a varied first half, but whilst Ken and Elizabeth

'take the weight off their feet, it looks like Jonty may have spotted some unusual finds.'

What have you got there, Jonty?

Crikey, that's a real mixed bag.

Yes, a proper description for it. This is a collection

of small objects that the auctioneer's put together.

There's not one item that's worth selling by itself,

but gathered together, it's all been put into one bag and made one lot.

It's just an amazing cross-section of goodies.

Take this silver spoon, this is a solid silver spoon.

This, believe it or not, is made in Moscow.

-We've got the date here of 1879 on the side.

-Wow.

That's a lovely object. We've also got a little Art Nouveau cream pot.

-That would've been on a lady's dressing table.

-Absolutely.

A little compact, a bit damaged, but I've just pulled this out and look.

This is a tiny little canister, it's filthy dirty.

It's got a screw top. You unscrew it, and it's got a hallmark,

so it's solid silver, but the floor doesn't go all the way to the bottom.

And perhaps, if you were to look through all these funny little bags,

you just might find that absolute gem that nobody else has noticed.

In the catalogue, this is estimated below £100.

But if this collection makes less than £200, then that's cheap.

Wow. It's worth having a good old rummage.

-Not just in your attic, but around the bags in the auction room.

-Absolutely.

It never fails to surprise me what you might find when you come to auction.

And if you're inspired by Ken and Elizabeth and thinking of heading to an auction yourself,

do remember commission and other charges may apply so make sure you check with the sale room first.

'Back to business though, and as the second half gets under way,

'one of Jonty's favourite items is about to go under the hammer.'

This is the sweetest little item. We all love this.

It's that lovely little silver chick pincushion.

A bid at £40, £42? £45?

£48. I see you bidding. £50.

£55, £60. £65.

£70. £75, £80. At £80, I'm bid.

I'll take £85. Do you want £82?

It's still cheap. A bid at £80, £82?

Staying at £80? £80, your bid and gone.

-£80.

-That's great.

-It's very good.

-Terrific.

Next up, that collection of late-Victorian stamps.

Elizabeth inherited them from her father, but I wonder how many

fervent philatelists are in the saleroom today?

£50? £30? £40. £42, £45.

£48? £48. £50? £55, £50, a bid.

Nearest to me at £50, I'll take £55.

-At £50. £55 there, new bidder.

-Another bid.

£70. £75, £80.

£85? No? At £80, and going.

-£80 and gone? All finished?

-£80.

Well done.

-I'm pleased about that.

-Yes, I am.

-Yes.

'And rightly so. £80 is a decent amount for that collection,

'and moves us ever closer to our target.'

Elizabeth, your mother had this crewelwork tapestry of three figures on a path. £70-£100, Jonty.

-Are they collectable, these things?

-Yes, these are quite rare.

This one is 18th-century and it's difficult to find these intact.

I've put £70-£100 on this one.

I have a sneaky suspicion this might do slightly better.

A bid at £50, at £50. I'll take £55? £55. £60, £65. £70, £75.

-£80, £85. £90, £95.

-Great.

£100, £110. The bid's there for £100, I'll take £110 or will it make more?

At £100, £110? Are we done at £100? Last chance and going £100.

-Brilliant.

-Sadly, Jonty, not more than your £100, but on the button of the top estimate.

Very happy with that.

'It's good to see Ken and Elizabeth in high spirits.

'Our day has been a roller-coaster, but I'm hoping this next item

'will be the one that seals the deal.

'That oil painting with the Currier family connection.'

Peggy and Vic coming up now. Jonty, you've put £500-£800 on it.

Simply because pictures by the artist have recently sold at auction in excess of £1,000.

That's the reason why, even though this picture has damage,

I've put it £500-£800. Let's see what happens. It's exciting.

A portrait of Peggy and Vic, start me at £500 for it.

-He's started at £500.

-Start me at £300 for it.

-Oh, it's dropped.

Start me at £300 for it. Will anyone buy at £300?

He looks up for more, £300 for it? Nobody at £300, then?

Perhaps a little restoration, no bidders at £300?

-Pass the lot, no bids. Sorry.

-No bidding in the room.

-No bids.

No, we're taking that back home.

I just wonder if it's all to do with the damage on the canvas.

I know it's restorable, but in this trade

where the market is at the moment, perhaps dealers are looking for pictures in very good condition.

'That's a disappointing result.

'With that lovely oil painting failing to find a buyer,

'we could struggle now to make our £1,500 target.

'I'm rather hoping that the bronze hunting dog,

'which Elizabeth inherited from her grandfather, will more than make up for it.'

Jonty has put £500-£800 on this, because it is signed by PJ Mene,

but you've put a £900 reserve on it, haven't you?

Because I'm still slightly undecided whether I want to let it go or not.

-So you're keeping your options open?

-I am, yes.

Somebody start me at £500 for it.

Start me with a bid of £500. £500 please, a starting bid of £500?

No one likes it at £500? I'll pass the lot. No bids at £500, then?

Not today, then. GAVEL BANGS

No bid, no bidders in the room at all.

-Not unhappy about that at all?

-No, not at all.

-No.

'Well, sadly, that £900 reserve proved too high

'for today's bidders and so, along with the oil painting,

'the bronze returns unsold to the Currier's home.

'As the auction draws to a close, I'm wondering if this final lot

'will strike the right note for us in the sale room.

'The Edwardian French-style balloon clock.'

These clocks do sell well.

It does need a bit of restoration, including on the outside.

But let's see if we can get up to that £40.

And start me at £40, see where it goes.

£40 for it? I'm bid at £40, I'll take £42.

£42 for the clock.

£42, do you want 45? £45. £48? £45, then, £48 there?

£50, £55? £60, £65. £70, £75? £80.

-£85, £90.

-Crikey.

£100, £110. £120? The seated bidder at £110, I'll take £120.

Staying at £110 selling, all done?

All out for £110? You've got it, I think, thanks for the bid. £110.

-Great.

-That's brilliant!

-That's terrific.

-Yes.

-That did better than you expected.

-Much better, yes.

'That certainly was a great result to end on.

'But...have we reached the £1,500 target?'

Ken and Elizabeth, you came with 12 items.

We've managed to sell nine of them for you, and you're going home with three.

They are the most expensive things in the catalogue, because we haven't sold

that delightful oil painting of Peggy and Vic, we didn't sell the watercolour of Mousehole

and we didn't sell the hunting dog and the hare, but you really couldn't care less about that.

But you put a £900 reserve on that and even if

I take Jonty's lowest estimate on the two pictures,

that was £900 and £600, that's £1,500, which is what

you wanted to raise in total from today, so don't be surprised that you haven't raised £1,500, will you?

But I think you might still be very pleased to know,

because you've made well over half of that sum, actually, because it's come to £753.

-Gosh, that's shot up.

-I didn't think we'd done that well.

-No!

-That's really good.

-So, that's not a bad total towards the car.

-Not at all.

-Presumably, you've enjoyed the auction anyway?

-Very much so, yes.

-Yes, I've really enjoyed it.

-Thank you.

To see how it all works behind the scenes, I've really enjoyed it.

A few weeks after the auction and Ken and Elizabeth are edging ever closer to owning their dream car.

-A Triumph TR4.

-We've got a total which can go towards the Triumph fund,

and on a beautiful day like this, we've come to look at two of them.

-This would be the first time you've seen one, isn't it?

-It is, yes.

-Close up.

-You're in your element today, aren't you?

-I am, yes. Definitely.

Derek Pollock is president of Club Triumph, and he's going to take them for a spin.

Ken leads the way, whilst Elizabeth follows in this sporty green model,

giving them a little taste of things to come.

I've really enjoyed that, really enjoyed it.

Thanks to Derek and the Club Triumph for supplying us with two cars

so that we could have a day out like that. Did you enjoy it?

I did, I really, really enjoyed driving round in that car, yes.

So we'll get ourselves one of those and then we won't have to go home in this.

CAR HORN BEEPS