Keen Cash in the Attic

Welcome to Cash In The Attic, where we search out

treasures hidden at home and helps you sell them at auction.

I'm pretty excited about today, because we've come to Caterham in Surrey

and this little baby is probably what the town is best known for.

Designed in the 1950s, this racy little sports car was created by the legendary engineer, Colin Chapman.

He named it the Lotus Seven and 50 years on, his design remains in production as the Caterham Seven,

a testament to a man who is regarded as one of the greatest innovators in motorsport design.

Well, you know, it would be rude not to take it for a spin,

so I'm off to find some antiques and collectibles to take to that auction.

Coming up on Cash In The Attic...

-What can you see through the eye of a needle?

-Wow!

That's amazing.

Jonty gives some nifty fashion tips.

But look at that, do you see how that contrasts and makes so much change to a garment?

It completely makes the difference.

-And when things get sewn up at the auction...

-Brilliant.

-How about that?

-£150.

It's kisses all round.

So will it be tears or cheers when the final hammer falls?

I'm on my way to the outskirts of Caterham

to meet a lady who's after a new set of wheels,

and she's called in the Cash In The Attic team to help.

Jean Keen and her husband Steve have been married for 36 years.

They have two grown-up children - 30 year-old Matthew, and Laura, who's 28.

Jean and Steve have lived in Caterham for over three decades

and over those years, they've moved three times.

At the moment, they're happy and settled in this modern detached house just outside town.

Jean's a retired teacher and an enthusiastic gardener, while Steve has a busy career

in the oil industry, which takes him all over the world.

There's exciting news in the Keen household because Jean and Steve are

about to become grandparents for the first time, and that's why we're here to lend a hand.

-Huh! What time do you call this? You're late!

-How are you?

Good, but you missed a great opportunity there.

I have been in the most fabulous sports car.

I didn't realise you were a girl racer.

Not really, but I'd love you to have been there. But there would have been a problem,

because it was very small and you're quite big.

Yes, it would have had that problem. Why are we here today?

Well, there is a bit of a link, because the couple here, they want to buy a sort of baby car.

-Sounds interesting, shall we get inside?

-Yeah. You look around, I'll meet the family.

Hello? This looks very nice.

-Good morning.

-Good morning, nice to see you.

-Jean?

-Yes.

-Steve.

-I wasn't sure you were going to be here, that's brilliant.

I wasn't sure either, but very pleased to be here.

You called us in, didn't you, Jean?

Yes, I did call you in, because unfortunately, my mother died three months ago

and she had all these things that she'd bought over the years while she was married to my father,

and hidden them in boxes under the bed.

So I've been going through the boxes and I know that she knew

she was expecting a second great-grandchild in June,

and she'd have loved the idea of some of the collectibles being sold

to go towards spoiling the great-grandchild.

So let's be clear, you're going to have a grandchild, and we're going

to raise money from your mother's possessions to buy something?

-So what are we going to be raising the money for?

-The money's going towards a pram for the baby.

So, Steve, how much money do you reckon we're going to need for this wonderful pram?

Unbelievably, I think it's about £800.

-No!

-Yes, unbelievable, isn't it?

It seems a tremendous amount for a pram system.

-So, it's £800 for a luxury pram for your first grandchild.

-Yes.

Let's go and look round. Which way shall we go?

-This way.

-You show me round. Gosh, it is lovely.

Jean and Steve have a comfortable home with room for their growing family.

It has a wonderful garden with plenty of space for youngsters to play and explore.

It's great to have Jonty on board today.

His expertise should help us tot up a healthy target.

He's been working in the antiques trade for over 20 years,

so he's just the man to spot a gem that's worth taking to auction.

I must say, your house is lovely.

And here he is, look, Jonty.

-Hello!

-Here's Jean and Steve.

-Hi.

-And he's at work already.

I've found some lovely little boxes here.

Now, take a look at this one particularly.

I'll just open up the lid.

Lift that to the light.

That's some form of agate, but the light shining through it is extraordinary.

It's wonderful. But I've got all sorts of things here.

Now, this is an ebonised snuff-box.

With mother-of-pearl inlay.

It's zinc-lined to keep the snuff dry.

Date-wise, that is probably 150 years old, maybe a little bit earlier,

because in the Victorian times, the decoration would have been more elaborate.

Here you have a stylised flower head, and if that had been Victorian, that might have been a sprig of flowers.

Even the border itself, this tiny border here,

would have been, again, a lot more elaborate.

So this is quite possibly more like 1830 in date.

I think that's quite effeminate, actually.

I think you're right.

It could be quite possibly for females as well, because they took snuff, as well as the gents.

This one here...

is beautiful. Look at that casket form.

It has tortoiseshell on the outside, so it's veneered with tortoiseshell.

-Is it?

-A little domed trunk.

A bit of damage there, but on the underside, it would have also had four tiny little feet as well.

So that's what those holes are on the reverse.

That is not 150 years old, that's more like 200 years old.

Is it really? Good grief!

As far as value is concerned, they need to be sold together.

Someone will buy the whole lot and the estimate will be £80 to £120.

-Gosh.

-So, happy with that?

-Brilliant.

-Good, yeah.

Well, that's a fantastic start.

Jean tells me that one reason her mother liked these so much

was the intricate detail on the boxes.

They are highly collectible,

so I'm hoping a buyer will be just as impressed

when it comes to sale day.

It's always worth taking a peek under a bed, and I'm intrigued

by this interesting little collection I found hidden there.

Jonty tells me these fasteners could fetch at least £40 at the auction.

Downstairs, Steve is musing over a parrot, but has Jonty stumbled on a family heirloom?

Steve, look what I found here.

Now, I found this in the hallway here.

I wondered whether this is something you might want to take to auction?

Yeah.

So where is it from?

It was Jean's mother's.

She was actually using it as a bedside table.

Really? It's quite short for a bedside table, bedside tables tend to be slightly higher.

But as you are probably aware, this was never really designed to be a bedside table, because if you open

up the front here to reveal a rather dusty, dirty interior,

because inside there was stored your household coal.

So this is known as a coal pedonium, made about 100 years ago.

During the 19th century, every fireplace would have had some kind of coal scuttle beside it.

Often they would be open so you could actually see the coal.

But by the turn of the century, they made furniture so the coal could be hidden.

All of a sudden, perhaps, it became unfashionable to have coal on view.

So it allowed the servants to recharge, because if you open it up again,

you can see we have a bucket inside with two handles.

So this bucket could be taken out as well as applied in.

It also should come with a shovel. Here we go.

Here is the brass shovel, and this is in very good order, because sometimes

these are in very bad state after 100 years because of use.

But that's in very good condition.

A piece of furniture like this is not worth a great deal at auction, but it's still worth taking.

Value I suppose, £30 to £50.

That's good, yes.

-So, are you happy for this one to scuttle off to the auction sale?

-Yes.

Excellent. Let's move out there and carry on.

A novel use, then, of a coal scuttle, but why not?

Off to auction with a £30 to £50 price tag.

I wonder what its next owner will make of it?

Steve's been busy, he's come across this collection of pretty hat pins that also belonged to Jean's mother.

Jonty's given them a price tag of £60 to £80.

Never one to resist something soft and cuddly,

I take a good look through these toys.

I wonder if they're for the baby.

Jean's on a roll, she's been searching through the kitchen and now she's after some expert advice.

Hi there, Jean, found any gems?

How do you tell the difference between plated silver and proper silver?

Those are EPNS, what have we got in here, first of all?

Can I have a look at everything, first of all? What's in here?

These are sugar tongs.

-Look at these.

-Quite a few pairs.

-Absolutely.

-I'm not sure how you can tell which is silver...

Which is which.

Let's first of all see if I can find anything in here that looks like it's solid silver.

All I'm looking for is that sideways lion.

We're not looking for any other marks at all.

If it's got a lion of any other shape or description, it's not solid silver.

You're just looking for the sideways lion.

-Let me have a look.

-I didn't know that because...

-Have a look at this. Can you see the second mark in?

That means that this pair of sugar tongs is solid silver.

This is dated 1900 or thereabouts.

This pair of sugar tongs is as good as 110 years old.

Did you know your mum had 16 pairs of sugar tongs?

Absolutely no idea at all, because only a short while ago,

one of my friends said did my mother collect sugar tongs? I said no.

Then obviously I found these in the box, so it's quite ironic that she obviously did.

If there are any other tongs that are solid silver, then the price would go up.

But at the moment, if this is the only pair we're looking at at auction here, £80 - £120.

OK, that's not bad.

-Happy about that?

-Yeah, thank you.

-Let's go and find some more stuff.

Well, I wonder if her friend would be interested

in bidding for them at the auction?

At £80 to £120, they sound like quite a bargain to me.

Jonty is taking a good look around. You never know what you're going to find.

Steve is not doing too badly either.

The house is full of things that belong to Jean's mother.

I'd like to find out more about her love of miniature collectibles, so Jean is the best person to ask.

So this is a picture of your mother and father on their wedding day.

She's a beautiful woman, I must say.

We seem to be talking so much about her today.

What kind of woman was she?

My memories have always been of her reading books.

She would never sit and watch television.

In fact, she believed greatly in education and encouraged us all

to work towards passing the 11-plus.

She would give us extra coaching at home.

So she must have been very proud when you became a teacher.

She herself became a teacher.

When I went to university in '69,

she started a teacher-training course in Southampton.

She graduated the same day as I would have done,

but we went to her graduation instead of mine in Birmingham,

because we felt hers was more important.

Obviously it had been hard for her, she'd had to do different exams

before she got on to the teacher training course.

-She actually started work the same time as I did.

-What was your dad like?

To be honest, when he went off to sea, my mum would say, "Thank God he's gone!"

I think today, if it was today, they may not stay together, I don't know.

I think things were different then.

So do you think the collecting, going out and getting bits and

pieces and hiding them away was your mum's kind of rebellion?

I think it was her declaration of independence, definitely.

Have you inherited this trait, are you a collector?

Yes, I probably am becoming like my mother.

With any luck, Jean could now be reaping the rewards of her mother's rebellious streak.

Hopefully, it will give us enough funds to buy that top-class pram for their grandchild.

Steve has found these interesting button hooks and shoe horns.

Button hooks were a Victorian invention for fastening garments

and pulling buttons through the stiff leather of shoes and boots.

They are collectible items and popular worldwide, so a price tag of £20 to £30 seems very achievable.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Jean digs out a four napkin holders, again belonging to her mother.

They are valued at £30 to £50, and Jean would rather let them go

than leave them tucked away, gathering dust.

We still have a way to go to reach our target, though.

Jean is eager to provide the very best pushchair money can buy.

She's hoping the antiques her mother left her will do the job.

I've got quite a collection of bits and pieces here. Jonty, come over here.

Where are they from? What are they?

I don't know what they all are.

I do know that I found some of them in the lid of one of the boxes.

This in particular

was with some of Mum's sewing accessories.

If you look through that eye of the needle, cos it's a needle case...

-It's amazing, they are six scenes of Edinburgh.

-Oh, my goodness!

My mum came from Scotland.

There's Holyrood.

Wow!

That's amazing!

-I don't understand how they get in there.

-Don't ask me!

Obviously, the way that is done is the glass that's there is a form of magnifying glass,

because you've got a set of nearly all the castles in Scotland.

It's all magnified. The whole point is that it's a play on the eye of the needle.

I'm assuming on the inside if you unscrew the top... Look, there we go.

Loads of little sewing needles there. This is Indian, Indian ivory.

Really, how do you know that?

You can tell that by the style of the carving. If you look at the shape, it almost looks like an Indian pillar.

These would have come into the country in the late 19th century, the second part of the 19th century.

These were sold as tourist pieces.

The reason why these were imported in the first place

is because all of a sudden there was a demand for cheaper tourist pieces.

It was all due to the fact that the railways opened up the country.

So all of a sudden, the working classes as well

as the middle classes and upper classes could go and travel around the country to different places.

All of a sudden, there was a demand for cheaper pieces to be brought back.

In there, here we see all those lovely, historical buildings of Scotland.

But that could be changed to anywhere within the UK. That's wonderful.

That is mid to late 19th century. I think that's lovely.

As far as value is concerned, this whole collection,

including these propelling pencils, need to be sold as one lot.

Value, we are looking at £100 to £150.

Really? Including the needle case?

Yes. Isn't that good? I call that tres bon!

A fascinating insight into British colonial history.

If we can realise that valuation at auction, we'll all be delighted.

While I do my best to add a little glamour to the search, Jonty is still hunting around.

Under the stairs, he finds three wooden writing boxes, valued at £40 to £60.

We seem to be uncovering gems at every turn, and it looks as if the boys have struck gold...

Or should I say, silver?

-What do you think of this?

-What have we got?

A bit of silver. Right.

-I'm assuming these are your mother-in-law's.

-Yes.

This is rather sweet - do you know what this is?

I'm not sure.

I thought it might be for toothpicks.

No, it's a vesta case. To put tiny little matches in.

The reason why matches had to be stored in metal cases like this

is because the matches themselves were very volatile.

You store your matches in there, like so.

Along the underside it has a little stripy bottom. It's the striking mechanism just down there.

The reason why it's got a little eye there, it was designed to be hung round the neck.

Because of its design, it's rather feminine, I imagine this would be for a lady.

It's really sweet. But there's no hallmarks on it so I'm assuming that

is not solid silver and therefore is less value, a lot less value than something that is solid silver.

What have we got here?

Just from the shape of these two, these will be small cigarette cases.

Look at the style of this one.

It's quite 1930s. We need to see whether there are any hallmarks.

There's a faint mark on the inside there. Have you ever looked at these at all?

A little bit, but not in great detail.

They're worth putting in together in one lot. It's worth putting those in and you are looking at £60 to £80.

That's pretty good. Find me more like that and you'll be my best friend.

These are usually highly collectible,

so we are optimistic that they will reach Jonty's estimate.

We need just a few more items if Jean and Steve's grandchild

is to be perambulated in style!

Next up, a little more smoking memorabilia.

Jean finds a mixture of cigarette holders worth £20 to £30.

Jonty assures me there's plenty of collectors for this kind of thing -

that's great news for us.

While he cracks on with the search, I'd like the low-down on the best way to show a baby a good time.

It's been a while since I last pushed a pram.

I'm quite envious, because you're going to be grandparents,

and I'm of an age when it really ought to be happening to me, but not so far.

How you feeling about it?

Really excited, because it's our first grandchild.

Now I'm not working, I'll be able to spend more time with Laura and the new baby.

How did you two actually meet?

We met at Birmingham University.

I'm originally from Southampton and Steve is from the Bristol area, Somerset.

Tell me about this pram, it sounds amazing. All-singing, all-dancing.

I understand it's more like a system than a pram, not like the one I had.

It's a three-in-one pram that also goes into a car seat

and shopping trolley to go underneath, all sorts of accessories.

-They are quite some systems, really, rather than just one item.

-What do you think of it, Steve?

-It sounds far too sophisticated for - I shouldn't say it - for Jean to handle.

-You just said it!

I'm sure Laura will manage, because she's very practical.

Hopefully, it will be just that little bit extra special.

And make her think of her great-grandmother.

We're coming to the end of our day here,

and pulling up our rummaging sleeves for one last push.

Jonty has come across some fashionable pieces in the garage.

Come and have a look at this.

What have you got?

-Look.

-He's like a little magpie himself.

What have you been gathering?

Look at these. We've got four trays of assorted buckles.

-Have you done this?

-They were in one of the boxes of my mum's.

Every time I took a piece of tissue out, there was another layer of buckles. I think there's over 100.

This is extraordinary. Why would anyone get all these buckles?

Did she know this was a collection she wanted to make or did she get them all in one lot?

She wouldn't have got these as one lot.

She may have bought a few.

Talking of wonderful things, this buckle here

is solid silver. We have the hallmarks just down here.

We have four or five cherubs embossed on the front of this.

Look at that, can you see how that contrasts, it makes so much change to a garment?

It makes the difference.

This is solid silver, wonderful. Look at the contrast on this tray here.

Look and see how those styles have changed.

It's extraordinary. You go from the very OTT-ness

of the silver buckle to the simple, linear lines of the Art Deco period.

That's the reason why people are so inspired by designs like that today.

Let's talk value.

Some will be worth pence, some will be worth tens of pounds.

It must be sold as a collection.

-The value will be between £100 and possibly £200.

-It's incredible.

-Isn't that amazing?

-I'm staggered.

Honestly, I don't think I would have given you £10 for the lot.

It shows you what I know, I know absolutely nothing.

Steve, come here, I want to see if you have any idea of the value of this lot.

I have no idea, but I suppose the trays are worth a little bit, a few pounds.

I'm not sure about the buckles, they just look like bits of old...

I think so, too.

This collection is worth between £100 and £200.

-Wow!

-It's brilliant, isn't it?

-Amazing.

-It's a great last find of the day, because that is the end of our rummage.

We were looking for £800 for the pram.

It hasn't gone quite as well as we might have hoped, we haven't actually made the target.

Based on Jonty 's lowest estimates, we reckon that at auction, you should make £660.

-Wow!

-That's incredible.

-I hope your mother would think that was a great cause and a great result.

-I think she'd be thrilled.

She'd love it, too, to think

they could all be on show and be seen for once.

We'll see you at the auction. Thanks so much.

Our search has uncovered quite a few memories for Jean as well as some rather unusual treasures.

With any luck, it will all add up to a splendid pram for the new baby.

There's a huge variety of items to help them on their way, all thanks to Jean's mother.

There's the snuff and pillboxes that Jonty found,

worth between £80 and £120.

The vespa cases that Steve found tucked away with a value of £60 to £80.

Best of all, the sugar tongs.

Fingers crossed they bring us at least £80 to £120.

Still to come on Cash In The Attic...

It looks as if Jonty may be in Jean's bad books.

Look, she's giving me these looks. She's giving me a hard time.

But perhaps he's about to be forgiven.

-That's very good.

-Result.

So will Jean and Steve raise enough cash for their grandchild to travel in style?

That certainly unlocked a few memories for Jean.

What a collector her mother was.

Today we've brought all the treasures we found in Caterham to Chiswick Auctions in west London.

Remember, Jean and Steve are on the brink of becoming grandparents and want to raise £800

for an all-singing, all-dancing pram for the latest addition to their family.

Let's hope the bidders here are crying out for more when their items go under the hammer.

As ever, come auction day, the room fills quickly and early as the clientele look over the items.

Serious traders on the lookout for a bargain rub shoulders with

happy-go-lucky buyers who want something out of the ordinary.

There's usually something for everyone.

Let's hope they've come prepared to part with their cash, so Jean

and Steve can buy that top of the range pushchair for the new arrival.

And Jonty is already here.

-Good morning.

-Hi, Jennie.

The pillboxes, I love those.

We've got collections, collections, collections.

We've got these boxes, the sugar tongs, buckles, buttons.

It just goes on and on and on.

-She was a veritable magpie, Jean's mum.

-Quite extraordinary.

We are looking for true collectors here today.

Yes. This is the root of any general auction sale like this.

There are dealers that love items like this, just like I do.

-They should do well, even though they're tiny.

-Absolutely. But the amazing part of it

was Jean made it clear that her mum never had much money to spend on these items.

And some of these items are really very good quality indeed.

Yeah, some of them are a bit damaged, which is why Jean's mum could afford them.

I suppose that will affect the price.

Like in any genre of collecting, the items which are in mint condition

will fetch good sums of money and everything else becomes also-rans.

That's the reason why we are selling collections like these boxes as one lot.

Let's see how they go. I think Jean and Steve might have just arrived.

Mixed thoughts on our fortunes today.

As always, it depends on the mood and taste of the bidders.

We can only watch and hope.

I wonder how Jean is feeling about parting with so many of her mother's possessions.

-Good morning.

-Hi, guys.

It's the big day.

-Yes, quite exciting.

-Checking out the tongs, too.

-We could have done with these at the weekend.

-Why's that?

-Because we stayed in a barn in Norfolk where there were sugar lumps.

We didn't have any sugar tongs.

And my mother had 16 pairs.

-And they're all here!

-You're not allowed to keep one back, not now!

-I realise that.

-Do you feel OK about selling everything?

I won't mind seeing them go.

Anyway, it means someone might actually enjoy using them or even looking

at them if they don't use them, instead of being hidden in a box.

Did your mum buy any of her items at auction?

No, she wouldn't have done that because she kept them secret from my father.

She would have just bought them as and when she saw them in a shop when she passed by.

Steve, have you ever been to an auction?

I think I might have gone with my parents a long time ago, but never since. It's quite exciting.

We are just in the right place. We are in a general sale,

and all your mum's items are perfectly placed in this auction sale.

-Let's hope we do very well today.

-Let's go and find a place, because it's about to start.

If, like Jean and Steve, you've got a special reason to raise some cash and are

thinking of heading to auction, please remember that commission and other charges may apply.

So check the details with the auction house.

As today's auctioneer gets proceedings under way, we take our place ready for our first lot.

It's the wood and coal scuttle that Jean's mum once used as a bedside table. There's imagination for you!

Jonty gave it a value of £30 to £50.

For the pedonium, £10. I'm bid there for £10.

£12. 14. 16.

18. 20.

20 there.

22. 24. 26.

28? Is that a bid? £26.

Anybody else?

£26 it can be sold. £26 it goes.

That's disappointing, cos it was all there, good quality item.

Not quite the £30 we'd expected, but it's not a bad start.

I'm not sure that Jean is too happy, though!

Hopefully, she will be smiling after we sell the next item,

those three writing boxes that Jonty discovered under the stairs.

Estimate - £40 to £60.

We've got your three little boxes coming up.

They are down here as sewing boxes, but you're not sure.

No, I thought they were writing boxes.

That's where mum hid lots of her little collections.

-What do you reckon?

-I put £40 to £60 on the three of them.

-Ready?

-Think so.

What's it worth? Start me for £20 for the three, surely.

For 20, I'm bid. 20. 22. 24.

£24 is all I'm bid for those.

26 there.

26. 28. 30.

32. 34. 34 in the blue there at £34.

Anybody else?

At £34. Not much, but I can sell them for 34. They go for 34.

Just underneath.

-It's OK.

-Pretty close.

Well, we're all disappointed by that sale, but we must stay positive.

There are plenty of items to go.

Hopefully the next lot will make a decent profit.

These napkin holders are valued at £30 to £50.

£16. They have been sold.

Oh, dear. Jean's not happy with that result, either.

But there's a precious collection coming up next.

The pillboxes. I think this is one of your mother's jewels.

It's a beautiful collection, in my opinion. Absolutely lovely.

I've put £80-£120 on them. There's a little damage on a few,

but I'm sure they will sell. Here they come.

£40 for the tortoiseshell. I'm bid £40 there in the middle of the room.

And five. Somebody else?

45. £45 then? Not quite enough.

At £45. Anybody else at 45 then for the tortoiseshell?

For 45 then. £45. Not sold either, I'm afraid.

-Didn't sell.

-I know. We're not doing too well.

-No, that's disappointing. I wanted them to sell for more,

but the buyers aren't here.

And there's not a lot you can do about that.

Jonty's right. The buyers just aren't out in force today.

But the auctioneer didn't sell them for less than their worth,

so Jean can put them into another sale

and hope for better luck next time.

But we have lots more little gems left to tempt the bidders.

This is a little collection

of your Mum's cigarette holders, essentially.

Great little dealer's lot, this. I put £20-£30 on this. Should sell.

What's the lot worth? £10, surely. Somebody start me.

I'm bid straight off immediately, £10. And 12 I'll take.

Maiden bid of £10. Anybody else?

£12 there. 14. 16.

18. £18 in the pink there. At 18.

Anybody else? At 18, it goes for £18 then.

-£18.

-Well, again, that's just under estimate.

Everything is just a few pennies...

Look, she's giving me these looks! She's giving me a hard time.

-She believes in you.

-Steve, protect me!

-No, it's fine.

Because my brothers would have thrown them out, so it's fine.

That's better. Only £2 under Jonty's estimate.

And it's all money towards that pushchair fund.

The vesta case and two silver cigarette cases.

In the region of smoking again, which isn't that fashionable, I suppose.

But these are very nice pieces.

Yes. I think this, because it's silver as well, is a really good lot.

I put £60-£80 on the collection,

so this time I'm hoping we're going to get above

the bottom end estimate.

-Good lot there. Is it worth £30?

-Good lot, he says.

I'm bid £30 upstairs. And five? 35 everywhere. 40. 45. 50. And five.

60. And five. 70.

£70 up there. At 70.

Anybody else want to come in? I'm going to sell it for £70.

At 70 it goes. At 70 it is.

There we go. That's between the estimates there.

We're now in the middle. See, we're climbing up.

We're going up, not down.

Good news at last.

It's been such an unpredictable day so far

with most items selling under Jonty's estimates.

But that's the nature of auctions. You can never guarantee big sales.

As the halfway point approaches, it's time to check our progress.

OK, we're halfway through.

It's been quite a rocky ride, hasn't it, so far?

Yes, certainly has. Up and down.

Well, you never know what's going to happen at auctions, as we warned you. You want £800 for that pram.

At this halfway point, obviously we'd like you to have 400.

I'm afraid you haven't got 400.

At this stage you've got 164.

-OK. Might buy the shopping trolley.

-Might be a wheel.

-Yeah.

Look, there's more to come. Let's go gather our strength.

-Let's have a little bit of a break.

-I've got something to show you as well.

Have you? Oh, sounds interesting. Years of expertise have trained

Jonty to see bargains that we might walk straight by. Today he's got his eye on this.

There's a little chair here I want to show you because, for my money, this says quality.

A chair like this would have been made in the early 19th century. Made of mahogany.

All those different colours of mahogany.

You've got the faded mahogany at the top, down to the darker tones down at the bottom, which is all correct.

Now, this chair was inspired by classical designs.

When I say that, if you look at the shape of the leg at the front, that's a sabre leg.

But there's a twist to this chair and that's this little rope-back here.

This was inspired by the Battle of Trafalgar.

Often known as a rope-twist back or a Trafalgar back to the chair.

OK. So that the date it around...

A chair like this would have been made around possibly 1810, 1815.

I would never ever have guessed that that was 200 years old, I must say.

What's it worth now, do you reckon?

That's the amazing part about auctions.

That's why people come to sales like this because you can always find a hidden gem.

This is one of them. But this chair is being sold with two other chairs.

You can pick single chairs like that up for next to nothing.

In the auction catalogue, the three chairs are estimated between £60 and £80.

Now, if it's a set of 12, for instance, the auction value for that set of 12,

if they were in good condition, would be in excess of £10,000.

They're rare simply because chairs would have disintegrated naturally.

So large sets are extremely difficult to come by.

Your little expert eye up there.

Very good. Come on. Let's get back to the auction.

The sale is still going on and the rest of the Keens' items are due up soon.

Next, it's one of our star pieces.

The collection of needle cases and pencils.

We were all fascinated by them, especially the one with the intricate magnified image.

I hope the bidders like them as much as we do and are prepared to dig deep into their pockets.

Another wonderful collection of your mum's.

We've got some ivory and the propelling pencils.

I put £100-£200.

I'm fascinated to see what the room thinks of this lot.

What am I bid for that? Start me at £50 for the lot. Surely for £50.

50 I am bid straight off. And five.

55. 60. 65. 70. 75. 80. 85. 90. 95.

100. 110.

£110? At £110 for that lot. At 110.

For 110 it goes, all done at 110.

-Very good.

-A result.

-Again, spot on.

I thought that was going to go for a lot more, but you should still be very happy with £110.

What a terrific result. £10 over the lowest estimate.

That'll be a tremendous help towards our target of £800.

Next, the hat pins that Steve discovered.

They're a very pretty lot, so they should attract a buyer.

Mind you, I've been wrong before.

Now, these are fun. These are hat pins and the great thing

about your mum's collection is that they're all so very different.

That's the reason why I put £60-£80 on the whole lot. They should sell very well.

Little bit of interest in this already. I'm bid £35, but need a little bit more.

At £35...

40 I'll take. Need a bit more then.

35. Anybody else want to come in for a 40? £35.

Not quite enough then at 35.

No. We're going home with everything!

Well, they just don't want these collections.

-It's curious, it really is.

-Amazing.

Just when I thought I was getting the hang of this antique lark!

I better keep my thoughts to myself for the rest of the sale

and just see what happens.

Onwards and upwards as the next item is brought before the room.

It's the set of button hooks,

which we hope will add £20-£30 to our total.

And when the hammer falls...

£20 it goes then. £20.

-That's fine. Steady as she goes.

-They're right on estimate at £20.

Will the collection of buttons perform just as well?

£22. Still not quite enough. £22 then.

Another disappointment. Jean's mother probably bought them

because she liked them rather than as an investment,

but it would be nice to see them go for a good price.

Now, I wonder what the sugar tongs will do. I'm longing to see how your tongs go.

-All those lovely tongs which are very, very pretty.

-Yes.

-Good.

Well, let's see if we can get £80.

Yeah, there's one solid silver sugar tong in there, the rest are plated.

I've put £80-£120 on the whole collection.

So dealers here should make a profit on that.

What's it worth? £40 to start me.

30 to go, then. 30 I'm bid. 35.

40. £40.

We are stuck at 40.

Not quite enough then for 40.

-Not sold.

-Sorry. Unsold.

That's not sweet, that's sour.

Ah, well. Never mind.

Our last item of the day is a selection of beautiful buckles that Jean's mother lovingly collected.

They have a high value of £100-£200, so I'm on tenterhooks.

We really need this to do well.

Now, this is going to do well. I am certain of it! The collection of buckles.

I was talking to the auctioneer earlier and he was very impressed with your buckles.

-Was he?

-Yeah, he was.

-And so I think you estimate of £100 might be OK.

-Well, we're hoping so.

I haven't done very well for you so far, have I?

Yeah, it's been a rocky ride, but we'll see.

Let's see if we can get £100 for them.

The Georgian buckles.

Now, I have got a bit of interest on these, I'm glad to say.

And I can start the bidding already at £110. Which is a good start.

110. 120. 130. 140. 150.

At 150, they're still cheap.

At 150, I'm going to sell them then for 150.

-Great.

-Great.

-How about that?

-Excuse me?

-I can't believe it.

Thank you.

Well, how about that? No-one saw that coming.

It's been a tough day so far,

but that sale has really lifted the mood.

All that remains now is to work out just how much

Jean and Steve have made.

Well, that was the final item. It's all over. Your big day.

-How are you feeling?

-Bit numb, really, actually.

Because some things I'm really pleased with and some things,

I'm a bit surprised that they didn't go, but never mind.

Considering they were just bits and pieces Mum collected over the years and hid away,

it's quite good to think they did have some value. Or some of them did.

It's been a great day, so what's the final score?

What's the damage? OK, well, you were looking for £800.

You know that quite a few things have gone unsold.

We don't know why. They just didn't want those collections.

You can take all those pieces home with you, but you have made a very respectable £444.

That's not bad. Half a pram.

-No, that's great.

-That is very good, yes.

Considering it was just little bits and pieces that on their own didn't seem to be worth very much.

So that's pretty good. That's good.

A few weeks later, grandmother-to-be Jean

and her expectant daughter Laura get together to assemble their new pram.

It's all the more poignant because everything we sold

at the auction once belonged to the baby's great-grandma.

She would have really been pleased that the cash was used

to go towards buying something really good for her great-grandchild.

So, all they await now is that special delivery from the stork!

I think my mother would have really enjoyed the fact that

some of her secret collections were sold at auction, that they were put to good use.

You never can tell what's going to happen at auction,

but I'm sure Jean's mum would have been delighted to know

she had played a part in helping buy that new pram.

If you'd like to raise some money and think you may have

antiques or collectibles hidden around your home, then why not apply to come on the show?

You can find all the details online -

Good luck and maybe see you next time on Cash In The Attic.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail - [email protected]