Perrin Cash in the Attic

Welcome to Cash In The Attic. These days, if you've got a big project in mind,

the first thing you have to think about is how you're going to raise the money.

One answer is to sell off some of your possessions that you no longer need,

and that's exactly what our family today are planning to do,

which is why they've called us in to help hunt out some hidden treasures around their home.

'Coming up on Cash In The Attic, a 250-year-old timepiece

'faces the harsh reality of valuation.'

-Gosh, that's quite a loss, isn't it?

-It is.

'But we deliver good news with some African gold coins.'

-I'll look after these for you.

-Right!

-Don't let him do that!

'At auction, the bidders love a piece of Victoriana.'

Loads of interest on the book. I've got to come straight in on commission at £380.

-Wow!

-I'm looking at 400 in the room.

'Find out what else they like later in the show.'

I'm near Harlow in Essex and I'm on my way to meet a mother and daughter

who've got some very interesting items for us to look at

to help pay for a musical renovation.

'Val Perrin was born and brought up in Eastbourne.

'She met her husband Jerry when they were just teenagers and they were married for 50 years.

'When she was in her twenties, Val developed a problem with her eyes and became partially blind.

'Val and Jerry moved into this house in 1955,

'when Jerry's job as an architect brought them to Harlow.

'This was where they brought up their four children,

'Sue, Duncan, Sally and Rowan.

'They're all grown up now and they each have two children.

'Sadly, Jerry died five years ago,

'but Val is keeping herself busy with a new hobby.

'Her youngest daughter, Sally, lives just across the road,

'so she's helping her mother with the rummage today.

'Jonty Hearnden is with me and his 20 years of antiques knowhow will be essential.'

-Good morning, ladies!

-Hello!

-Hello!

-Hello!

-Hi, Val, yeah?

-Yes.

-And Sal! Val and Sal! Is that OK?

-Yes, it is.

-Perfect.

-And you play the piano, obviously.

-No, no, not really.

This is what I'd like to do, to take music lessons.

So was it you who called us in?

-Well, my daughter did.

-It was me, actually.

-It was you!

-It was my idea, unfortunately for my mother.

-OK.

-I just know she wanted to raise some money and she's got loads of bits and pieces around the house.

-Have you?

-She's always moaning that they shouldn't be here. It's time we got rid of them.

What is it that we're going to be raising money for?

Erm, I'd like to

have this put back into good condition, so I can play it and then take lessons.

How much money do you think we might be able to raise today? Set a target.

If I could raise about £2,500, that would be nice.

-£2,500.

-If that's possible.

-Is it going to cost that much?

Er, yes, I should think so.

Oh, right. OK, so, we're going to try and raise £2,500 to do up your beautiful piano.

We've got a whole house to rummage through and I bet Jonty's already started. Let's find him.

'Well, as Sal said, her mother Val certainly does have a house filled with plenty of items.

'And we have a huge target to aim for.

'But this is a pretty large house and I'm looking forward to exploring every room.

'Luckily, Jonty's already spotted something that may be a real find.'

-Hello!

-Hello.

This is a lovely, massive vase.

-Oh, this was my grandmother's vase.

-OK.

-Tell us about your grandmother.

-Actually, there's quite an interesting story about this.

My great grandmother, her brother was a guy called Herbert Akroyd Stuart,

and he was quite a famous Victorian inventor.

In fact, he invented what we probably now know as diesel.

He, by accident, apparently, I only know this cos my daughter's just done a project on it,

tipped some paraffin oil into some hot, melted tin, as you do,

and this created this substance which we now know as diesel, running engines.

So... But, unfortunately, though he had the patent, he sold it

to a gentleman by the name of Dr Rudolph Diesel.

If it hadn't been for that, you would probably be driving around in a car with Akroyd Stuart in it.

-So you could've been multi-millionaires.

-Yes, sounds like it.

Wow! I would imagine, therefore, that the family still would've had a bit of money.

-How much did he sell his patent for?

-Well, I wouldn't know this if my daughter hadn't done the research,

and she found that it was about £26,000 then.

So he had a bit of cash to buy nice vases like this. Wonderful.

This vase is from Japan, but if you have a look at these two very large painted panels,

this one here has a wonderful Samurai warrior.

All this decorative work is all hand-done, so there's no transfer printing,

there's no mass production. This is a one-off.

This is a Satsuma vase

and Satsuma ware was very popular in the late 19th century, early 20th century.

But there's a bit of wear that's gone on.

I would imagine that some over-zealous member of the household

has been cleaning this or polishing it.

If you look, can you see

-that there's a lot of gilding work that's...

-I'd noticed that.

-Was that you?

-No, not me. Not guilty.

It's lovely and substantial but, for my money, there's just been too much wear.

So it'll have to be sold for decorative purposes only,

-and we're looking at £50 to £80 at auction.

-Yes, OK. I'll have to accept that.

'Well, let's hope there are some ceramic enthusiasts at the auction

'who are keen to add that to their collection.

'But we need to find a lot more if we're going to help pay for that £2,500 restoration job on the piano.

'I head upstairs and come across some jewellery.

'But I don't think there's anything particularly valuable here. No hallmarks, anyway.

'Sal has stayed downstairs and wonders about this wall clock in the lounge.

'It's one that her father collected. He loved clocks.

'This one is Victorian and is made by Dumvile of St Ives in Cambridgeshire.

'Jonty gives it an estimate of £250 to £450. What a great find.

'And then Val shows Jonty another from her husband's collection.'

It's a really beautiful clock, isn't it?

I've noticed, around the house, there's quite a lot of clocks, but this is the grandest by far.

Can you tell me where it came from?

I think this came from Hertford.

There's a lot of antique shops over there. It was an impulse buy.

-So it must be an eight-day movement, because we've got the two holes here.

-Yes.

Here we have the maker's name. This is Nathaniel Hedge

and he was under the apprenticeship of John Smorthwaite in the 1720s.

The late 1720s.

And he ran off with his only daughter, Sarah.

So, all of a sudden, his apprenticeship was null and voided there and then.

But he ended up being quite a successful clock-maker himself.

So if you think about that date, that time,

that makes this clock roughly 250 years old.

The case itself is oak, so it's a country clock.

-Yes.

-And, also, you can tell that it's a country clock

-because mahogany clocks, town clocks, tend to be a little bit taller and grander.

-Ah.

Because, if you think about it, country dwellings, the ceilings are a lot lower.

I love that you've got a little window on both sides so you can see the workings. A really nice detail.

-Do you remember how much you paid for this clock?

-Yes, we paid about £1,100, something like that.

-That's quite an impulse buy!

-Yes!

-How long ago was that?

Probably 30 years ago.

-Are you happy to sell this now, because I'm not going to value it at £1,000.

-I guessed that, yes.

The auction value of this clock today, if we were to take this along to the sale,

-would be more like £400 to £600.

-Is that so?

-Yeah.

-Gosh, that's quite a loss.

-It is.

-How do you feel about that?

-No, that's OK.

-Time to let it go?

-Yes, I think so.

'But, when it comes to auction day...'

Start me at £200. I'm looking for 220.

'..will Jonty's valuation go down well with the bidders?'

220. 240. 260. 280.

'Find out if it reaches the £400 estimate later.

'As our search of Val's house continues, our host lingers over a carriage clock,

'another of Jerry's collection. But this one won't be going into the auction hall.

'I've been having a look around the lounge and notice this Georgian-style silver sugar bowl.

'There's another, as well, and they both belonged to Val's grandmother, Anis.

'Jonty gives them a valuation of £70 to £100.

'Based on Jonty's lowest estimate so far, we stand to raise £770 at auction, which is pretty good,

'but I think I'll keep it to myself for now.'

Valerie, I am going to ask you a very personal question, I suppose,

-because I know that you've got four children, your eldest is 55?

-Yes.

-You were married in 1950.

-Yes.

It seems incredible to me. How old are you?

I'm 74.

-That is amazing. You look fantastic.

-Thank you.

-How do you do it? Where did you get all this hair from?

-Well, I inherited it from my father, I think.

Yes. I've always decided to keep my hair long.

Most people cut their hair when they get to a certain age.

-I think you're the Joan Collins of Harlow.

-Thank you very much.

-THEY LAUGH

-It's honestly astonishing.

Now, I know that over the years you've had a few health problems,

particularly with your eyesight. What is the condition that you've got?

It's an inherited problem called Marfan's,

and it just means the lenses of your eyes detach.

-So how bad is it?

-Well, I'm blind in one eye

and my vision's not very good on the other one.

But I suppose, over the years, I've just... I've learnt to live with it, basically.

Most of the time, I forget it.

I'm fine when I'm in places that I'm familiar with.

As soon as I get out of my comfort zone, I'm in trouble, basically.

It must be really tough for you now, because your husband has died

and you're on your own. You must miss him dreadfully.

I do, actually. I'm getting used to being on my own now, but only just.

And it's just the companionship and the friendship we had, I miss that a lot.

You've got a big family, so that must be a huge comfort to you.

I have, yes, thank goodness.

I've found them, you know, wonderful, really. They've all been great.

I tell you what, if we get that piano done up, you can have a get-together round the piano!

-That would be lovely! Bit of a sing-song.

-Yes! Wonderful.

OK. Speaking of which, we had better get back to our work. Come on.

'Well, Val's obviously someone who doesn't let anything hold her back,

'and I'm only too happy to carry on rummaging to help her get that piano fixed.

'Jonty's in the kitchen examining some ceramics

'whilst Sal decides to explore the garage.

'In the lounge, I take a look at a small bureau and come across this rather nice wooden box.

'I'm intrigued by its contents. A draughtsman's set.

'It belongs to Val's father, who studied electronics at Leeds University in the 1920s.

'It certainly could be quite collectable, but at just £15 to £20,

'it hasn't added much to our auction fund.

'Maybe our next find will be better.'

-Have you found me anything interesting?

-Well, I think we have. This cabinet here.

-Whose was this cabinet?

-This was my grandmother's, my Grandma Anis.

It's interesting, this, because it looks like a rather small display cabinet,

but we've got all these small drawers down the bottom.

And cabinets of this size were made about 100 years ago, which is how old this cabinet is.

These drawers were designed, more often than not, to house sheet music.

But because these drawers do not fall down,

-if they were to fall down as well, have a little hinge here, that would definitely be a music cabinet.

-OK.

That's the reason why I'm assuming that this is just a small, little display cabinet or storage cabinet.

It's Edwardian, or in the style of an Edwardian piece of furniture,

simply because it's made of mahogany,

and if you look at the design of it, it's all referencing back to Georgian lines,

and this is what Edwardians did.

They threw away all this very heavy design of the 19th century

and created their own look.

What I find really interesting is, if you look at the legs,

I've never really seen an Edwardian cabinet with this shape of leg.

Somebody somewhere down the line has reconfigured that base.

That is not a style of leg that I'm familiar with.

-Oh. That's interesting.

-Now, what sort of value do we put on this?

-Well, I think we're looking at £40 to £60 at auction.

-OK.

-Which means that we've got a lot more searching to do. Yes?

-Yes.

-Shall we go this way?

-Yes.

'There are lots of drawers and cupboards to explore in Val's lovely old house

'and I'm enjoying having a good old root around.

'Jonty has spotted this walking stick which turns out to contain a sword.

'It's called a sword stick or a cane sword

'and they were a popular fashion accessory for the wealthy in the 18th and 19th centuries.

'You need to use common sense when you're handling one,

'and they should always be kept out of the reach of children.

'This one belonged to Val's grandfather, so she's quite attached to it.

'Jonty reckons is could be worth £50 to £75.

'But if you're thinking of selling an item like this, you should always check with the auction house first.

'In the bedroom, Val seems to have found something else worth showing to our expert.'

Oh, you caught us! I was just looking through your wardrobe! What have you got?

-I wondered if you'd be interested in that.

-Can I have a look?

-Where's it come from?

Erm, there's quite an interesting story, actually.

In Eastbourne, there was an old lady. The locals called her Mrs Pigeon.

-Mrs Pigeon!

-Yes, because she used to feed the pigeons.

-OK.

Now, my husband used to walk to school every morning.

He was probably 18, 19 then.

And they got to know each other. They'd chat.

And after about six months or a year,

she just gave him this watch.

-She probably took a fancy to him.

-Oh, stop it!

-How extraordinary!

-It's really very beautiful.

It's got an outer case. Now, there would've been glass on the outer case.

Can you just hold that case for me?

First of all, we need to have a look at the actual fascia.

Just by looking at the design, this looks Georgian to me. This look a lot older.

-Oh.

-Let's have a look on the inside. Let's see if we can open it up.

-What tells you that it's Georgian?

-It's the simplicity of the style.

Now, let's have a closer look at the workings.

Now, look at that! Isn't that beautiful?

We've got a maker's name there, that's B Roberts.

And the casing itself, the silver case is hallmarked

and we've got TG, and that is Thomas Gibbard.

And the date here is around the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries.

-So this pocket watch is over 200 years old.

-Good gracious.

-Did you have any idea?

-No idea at all.

Well, I'm a little bit concerned about the damage. The glass placement.

So I'm going to give a broad brushstroke here.

-We're looking between £100 and £200.

-Yeah.

That's good. I'm quite surprised.

'Val's been in this house for over 50 years now

'and I want to know more about its history.'

I think your house is really unusual.

And beautifully put together.

It's very artistic. Is that you?

Er, not particularly. I think it's a joint effort between my husband and I over the years

and it's just something that's grown over 37 years.

-She's quite artistic, really, isn't she?

-She never admits to it, but she's got lots of oil paintings

and pastels and an awful lot of drawings hidden away, which we get out every now and again.

-What's the history of this house?

-It was built in about 1850

and it was a bakery and they used to sell the bread over there

and this part was where the ovens were.

-So why did you come to Harlow?

-Because it was a new town,

they needed architects and my husband was newly qualified,

so it was the first job he ever got.

And has he left some kind of legacy here?

Erm, yeah, he did the Harlow Sports Centre.

He didn't design it all on his own, he did it with Sir Frederick Gibberd who is very well known in this area,

so he designed it with him, but it was the first sports centre

for the community in Great Britain, or certainly in England, I believe.

I feel I've learnt loads about your family. It's a very interesting family.

But we'd better get back to work. Shall we go and rummage in here, ladies? Come along.

'Sal looks as if she's on a mission as she turns out the drawers in her mother's house.

'And Val is certainly getting into the swing of things now.

'I hope she doesn't get too distracted looking at those old books.

'Jonty seems to have found something good, though. It's a silver scent bottle

'which belonged to Val's grandmother, Anis.

'It's hallmarked, and our expert reckons a conservative estimate

'of £30 to £50 should attract some interest.

'And it looks as if Sal's rummaging has paid off.'

Oh, I say! Look at those! Those are great. Are these for sale?

-I think she's looking to sell them, yes.

-OK. Do you know anything about them? We've got two pairs.

These have been handed down from my mother's side of the family,

so it would've been my great grandmother, Anis, handed those down.

-What about the smaller pair?

-My father's side, it would've been his mother, my grandmother.

Let's have a look at the large pair.

Now, first of all, we need to be looking for hallmarks.

There we go, there's lovely hallmarks there, so that means this pair of Corinthian columns

are solid silver, which is lovely.

And the small pair here, again, hallmarked.

So, again, this smaller pair is solid silver, too.

Now, if you look closer at these hallmarks, both of these were made in Sheffield.

These were made in 1886, those are 1900 in date.

So the smaller pair was based on a Rococo style, which is mid-18th century. Came from the continent.

Whereas this is a revival of classical times. These are Corinthian columns.

These would've originally been designed or made in Greece, the Romans copied them

and they've never really gone out of fashion from an architectural point of view.

You look at the front of St Paul's, you look at very grand buildings, they've always got big columns.

That pair, at auction, is worth £150 to £250 just by themselves.

-Really?

-The slightly smaller pair, around the £100 mark.

-Oh.

-All right?

-You look pleasantly surprised.

-Yeah, I'm quite surprised.

-Good.

'What a great find.

'And it's spurred Sal on to try to uncover something else.

'Val has come across a potential winner

'tucked away in an old envelope.

'It's a collection of Victorian sovereigns, 18 of them,

'which her husband Jerry bought as an investment.

'Jonty gives them a jaw-dropping estimate of £2,500 to £3,000.

'If we'd known, we could've found those earlier and put our feet up!

'But we're not cashing up just yet.'

-Hello. What have you found?

-Look what I've found here. Take these.

-Ooh! Krugerrands.

-Where are they from?

They're from the NatWest Bank.

My husband bought them for me as an investment.

An investment! I wonder if it was a wise investment.

-Do you reckon?

-We shall see.

-Jonty! Jonty!

-Look, some Krugerrands.

-Oh, I say, look at those. We've got two.

-We've got a date of 1974. Were they bought new or not?

-Oh, yes.

-That would tell you how long ago, wouldn't it?

-Yes. Bought in 1974.

On the front here, we've got Paul Kruger.

He was a four-times president of the old Republic of South Africa.

It's very important, when it comes to brand new coins,

to touch them as little as you possibly can

because the acidity on your hands can destroy the actual coins themselves.

So it's very nice to see them in their original folders here.

And I don't know if you can see, underneath there it says

that this is one ounce. Now, that's 22 carats worth of one troy ounce of gold.

But these coins weigh slightly more than that

because the remainder is the copper content of the coin.

So can you remember roughly how much your husband would've bought these for?

Erm, I can't remember exactly,

but I think he was paying, for about a quarter of an ounce of gold, £20, something like that.

So we could be talking roughly £100 a coin?

Well, I've got some good news for you this time. Some really good news.

In my grubby little mitts, I'm now holding, wait for this, just for one coin,

£700.

So collectively, I'm looking at, at auction,

between £1,200 and £1,400.

-Brilliant.

-Just for these two coins.

-Gosh.

-Are you surprised?

-Yes, I am! Very much surprised, yes.

He should've bought more! THEY LAUGH

Where did you find them?

Just in a little box upstairs.

-Did you remember them being around?

-No, I've never seen them before.

At the start of the day, we said that you'd like to make £2,500

so that we can help this old lady get back in tune.

Well, with the coins and everything else, based on Jonty's lowest estimates,

we hope you will make £4,955!

-Wow!

-Wow!

-That's what it adds up to? Amazing!

4,995. All we've got to do now is pack everything up for the auction,

-take it along there, fingers crossed...

-And see what happens.

-And I'll look after these for you.

-Right!

-Don't let him do that!

We'll see you at the auction.

'So, an incredible result for those Krugerrands,

'which were introduced to help market South African gold.

'They'll be going to the auction along with our gold sovereigns.

'Val's other offerings include two pairs of solid silver candlesticks.

'Between them, they should sell for £250 to £400.

'The Cambridgeshire wall clock, one of Jerry's collection.

'It should make another £250 to £450.

'And there's the antique longcase clock

'that Val and Jerry paid £1,000 for 30 years ago.

'Let's hope it breaks through its estimate of £400 to £600

'when it goes under the hammer.

'Still to come on Cash In The Attic, we get off to a great start.'

Whoa! What about that?

'But soon come crashing down to earth.'

-Oh, that's painful.

-Ooh.

'It's all quite emotional.'

-I got tingles.

-Look at me.

-You're welling up.

'It's going to be a bumpy ride until the final hammer falls.'

Well, today's the day, and we've brought all those lovely pieces we found at Val's house

here to Boningtons Auction Rooms in Essex.

Our mission is for Val to raise £2,500

so she can restore that beautiful piano.

So let's hope the bidders here are feeling really generous when our items go under the hammer.

'This auction house at Loughton in Essex holds twice-monthly vintage sales

'and attracts buyers from a wide area.

'Val's items arrived here a few days ago

'and her 250-year-old longcase clock is proudly displayed

'so anyone interested can take a closer look.'

-It looks fantastic here!

-I know. I'm also very pleased because we're selling in Essex,

-which is where this clock originated from.

-Of course!

-Which is fabulous.

Well, it's a lovely piece and I've noticed that they put the Krugerrands here

on the cover of the catalogue, so that's good news.

There's always interest in gold and Krugerrands,

so the sovereigns as well as the Krugerrands should do very well.

Val has so many really, really classy pieces.

-I hope everyone here has lots and lots of money!

-That's what we need!

-£2,500 we need!

-That's a big, tall ask.

-It is, I know.

-But I'm hopeful. Shall we see if they've arrived?

-Yes.

-OK.

'Val isn't selling her grandfather's Victorian sword stick today.

'Leaving it out of the auction means we're £50 down before we even start.

'Hopefully we can make that up on all the other items that mother and daughter have brought along,

'not least those highly-prized gold coins.'

You've got quite a few hopes riding on these.

-We have.

-Yes. Definitely.

-Yep.

-Big target, but hopefully we'll make it. Fingers crossed.

-Yes.

-It's about to start. Shall we go and get our spot?

-Yeah.

-Come on, then.

'If you have a special project that you'd like to try to raise money for at auction,

'do bear in mind that there are charges, such as commission.

'These vary from one saleroom to another,

'so it's always worth enquiring in advance.

'The first lot of Val's to come up is the two silver sugar bowls.

'They're Edwardian, but in a Georgian style.'

-Where were they from?

-They were from my grandmother,

probably way back in about 1900.

-And we're hoping they're going to fetch how much?

-I put £70 to £100 on them.

-£70 to £100, OK. Right?

-Yep.

-We'll see how it goes.

Interest is with me on commission at 55,

65, £75.

I'm looking for 80 in the room.

80 I've got. 5.

90 I've got. 5.

100 I've got. 110.

120 there in the room. Is there 130 anywhere?

-My God.

-I'm selling the bowls at £120.

Is there any advance on 120?

-How about that?

-Fantastic!

-That's what you call a sweet result.

-Yes!

'£20 over Jonty's top estimate.

'No wonder Val and Jonty are delighted. And it's started the day off well.

'Next up, the two pairs of solid silver candlesticks

'with a price tag of £250 to £400.'

We start with me at £150. I'm looking for 160 in the room.

I'm bid 150 on commission.

160. 170.

180. 190. 200 in the room.

Is there 210? 220.

230. 240.

250. 260.

270.

280. 290. 300.

310. 320.

330. 340.

330 is the bid. 340, new bidder.

350. 360. 370.

380.

380, sir.

-390. 400.

-We're there!

-420.

440.

420 is the bid. 440, new bidder. 460.

480.

460 is the bid. I'm selling at £460.

GAVEL BANGS

-Whoa! What about that?

-SHE LAUGHS

-Come on!

-Yes, brilliant!

'An incredible result. I don't think Val can quite believe how well she's doing.

'Next it's the turn of that longcase clock

'which has an estimate of £400 to £600.'

-How are you feeling about parting with it?

-Fairly happy, I think, about it going.

Yes. It's time it went.

-Have you put a reserve on it?

-Yes, we have. £300, I think.

-OK.

Start with me at £200. I'm looking for 220 in the room.

-220. 240. 260. 280. 300.

-Please, please.

It's in the room. Is there 320 anywhere?

I'm selling the longcase at £300.

Are you all done on the longcase at 300?

-Ooh.

-Ohh.

-That's painful.

-Ooh, that was.

-Made up for the other...

-Painful.

-Well, yeah.

-Oh, dear.

-It went. It did go.

-Yes.

-But you paid a lot more than that.

-Yes, we did.

'But it did reach their reserve,

'so they shouldn't be too disappointed.'

'Their next lot is an interesting piece of Edwardian furniture,

'up for £40 to £60. I'll let Jonty describe it.'

This is the little cabinet/ music cabinet/chest of drawers

-that you found.

-Make your mind up!

-I think the room should decide, really, cos I couldn't.

Start with me on the music cabinet at £40. I'm looking for 5 in the room.

5 I've got. 50.

5. 55 with you, sir.

Is there 60 anywhere? 60. 5.

-70. 5.

-Yes. Yes.

-80.

-5. 90. 85 is the bid. And I'm selling the music cabinet at £85.

-Go on.

-Are you all done at 85?

-Yes!

-£85.

-That is good.

'And we're back to over the top of the upper estimate.

'That's what we like to hear. I hope we can keep it up with the next lot,

'the 200-year-old silver fob watch, priced at £100 to £200.'

-I love this item, the beautiful watch that was given to your husband.

-Yes.

As a gift by a rich lady.

It was an old lady that used to feed the pigeons,

so she was called Mrs Pigeon, but in actual fact, she was a title Lady.

Bids on commission. I've got to come straight in at 65, 75, 85.

It's with me at 90. 100 I've got.

110. 120. 130. 140 with you, sir.

-Is there 150? 160.

-Go on, it's so beautiful.

170. 180. 190. 180 is the bid.

And I'm selling at £180. Are you all done now at 180?

GAVEL BANGS

-From Mrs Pigeon.

-Mrs Pigeon, yes!

-Isn't that astonishing to think, all those years ago, she just handed it over to a young boy?

-Yes.

'It's such a shame Val doesn't know any more about her.

'It would be fascinating to know who she was.

'Up next, for £30 to £50, is the Victorian silver scent bottle,

'which belonged to Val's grandmother.'

30 I'm bid. Looking for 5. 30 I'm bid.

Looking for 5. 5. 40.

5. 50. 45 is the bid.

-Is there 50 anywhere else?

-That's great.

-I'm selling at £45.

Are you all done at 45, then?

-£45.

-Amazing for something so tiny.

-Is that OK?

-Yeah, brilliant!

'Just £5 under the top estimate.

'Most of Val's items have done really well today,

'so how close is she to her target?'

OK, we're halfway through your auction.

-You were very nervous at the start. How are you feeling now?

-A lot better.

-Quite happy, actually.

-Yeah, very happy now. Calmed down a little.

All right, £2,500 is your target. It is a big target.

At this point, you're not quite halfway towards that target,

but you're nearly there. You've £1,190.

-Really?

-Wow!

-I'm astonished.

'Well, Val and Sal may be smiling like Cheshire cats as they take a breather,

'but Jonty's spotted a real grinning cat,

'or rather a watercolour of one by Louis Wain.

'He's an early 20th century English artist whose work consistently featured large-eyed cats and kittens

'walking on two legs.'

-Where did it come from?

-It came from a local estate. We got a call from a family

that had dispersed most of their items through one of the London salerooms a few years ago

and this was the remainder of the collection. Louis Wain is a well-known artist, as you know,

very prolific,

so we put it in the auction with an estimate of £200 to £300.

He produced hundreds of illustrations and pictures like this every year

and during the late 19th century, he was very successful,

incredibly well-known, he was a household name.

But he was always one of those struggling artists.

Financially, he had no control.

He's very sought-after in auction rooms at the moment, so we're hoping it'll do quite well.

You've put £200 to £300 on this picture.

-What's your hunch? Should it do more than that?

-I think we're looking at mid-hundreds to near £1,000,

around that sort of price, hopefully, we can achieve.

-And you've had a lot of interest?

-There has been.

-How exciting. We'll look forward to seeing it sold.

'Well, that striking watercolour was very popular with the bidders,

'as it sold for £720.

'We're all back in position again ready for Val and Sal's next lot.

'It's the draughtsman's set, with a very modest estimate of £15 to £20.'

-Rather lovely, I thought.

-Yes. They were my father's.

I shall be a little sad to see them go, actually.

-I'm sure you will.

-But they've just been tucked away,

so they've got to go some time.

Start me at £10 for that little lot.

-£10.

-Oh, no!

-Go on.

10 I'm bid. Looking for 12.

-Oh!

-It's nicely cased. I'm selling at £10 only. Are you all done at 10?

-Yes, it's gone.

-Oh, well, it's gone.

-Disappointing, really.

-Yeah, given the sentimental value.

-Yeah.

'I wonder if the buyer is a draughtsman himself.

'I know Val will be happy to know it's gone to a good home.

'Next on the rostrum is the Victorian wall clock,

'estimated at £250 to £450.'

This is another, I think, impulse buy.

My husband liked clocks, obviously, because we have quite a few.

Probably on one of our shopping sprees, you know.

I think he bought it somewhere outside Cambridge, somewhere in that area.

-So you would go round together and he would just suddenly take a liking to something?

-Yes.

-And you had a car-load of stuff.

-Yes.

-Loads of interest on the books. I've got to come straight in on commission at £380.

-Wow!

I'm looking at 400 in the room.

400 is on the telephone. I'm out. 400 is your bid. Looking for 420.

I shall sell on the telephone at £400.

Are you all done now at 400?

-Is there any advance on £400?

-It's that lady.

-Selling now at 400, then.

-GAVEL BANGS

Isn't that interesting? Just shows you what's happening in the marketplace.

Your very grand longcase makes 300,

-and a smaller wall clock makes £400.

-Yeah.

-Strange, isn't it?

'And that's why it's so difficult to get the estimates accurate.

'Sale prices are always affected by the market trend.

'Smaller Victoriana is definitely more fashionable at the moment.

'Their next lot is something that was popular during the same era,

'the hand-painted Japanese Satsuma vase.

'However, because it's been over-cleaned

'and lost some of its gold leaf, Jonty valued it at just £50 to £80.

'Let's see how it does.'

£30.

No-one at 30. We'll be passing, because it's worth 30.

Is there no-one at £30? No? No interest.

-Oh!

-Oh, well.

-It's our first disappointment.

-Yes.

'And I think there's a lesson there, too. Don't over-polish antiques,

'as you remove a lot of the item's appeal and value.

'Val and Sal have just two lots left, and they're both gold coins.

'The first to come up are the two South African Krugerrands,

'with an estimate of £1,200 to £1,400.'

-Are you excited by these?

-Yeah, very much so.

-Did you put a reserve on?

-Yes, we did. £1,100.

-£1,100. OK.

-So that's our minimum.

-Yes.

Start with me at £900. I'm looking for 950 in the room.

950 I've got. 1,000.

1,050. 1,100. 1,150?

-1,150. 1,200. 1,150 I'm bid. Looking for 1,200.

-Come on.

1,160. 1,180.

1,180, sir?

-Come on.

-1,180 is there. 1,200?

Are you all done at 1,180 then?

Absolutely fine.

-Is that OK?

-Yes. I'm quite happy with that.

'If only all our investments were as good as that.

'But it's all about buying and selling at the right time.

'Now is certainly a good time to be selling gold, which means our final lot of the day should also do well.

'It's the 18 Victorian sovereigns.

'Their estimate is £2,500 to £3,000.'

-We were told earlier that there'd been lot of interest in them.

-Oh, really?

-Yes.

-Good.

-Already?

-Yes. So that's exciting. Where are they from?

My husband bought them as an investment a long time ago.

I can't remember. Probably in the eighties.

They have extra-special meaning, because they were bought for an investment,

-so we'd really like them to go well, wouldn't we, Mum?

-Yes.

And interest starts with me on commission.

I've got to come in at 2,000.

2,100. 2,200.

2,300. 2,400.

-2,500. With me on commission at £2,600.

-It's making me feel teary.

I'm looking for 2,700 in the room.

I shall sell on commission at 2,600.

Are you all done now at 2,600, then?

Oh, my goodness! How do you feel?

-Isn't that lovely?

-I'm so pleased.

-I'm so pleased for your father's sake.

-Yeah.

That is amazing. I got tingles.

-Look at me.

-Yes, you're welling up.

-Oh!

-Aww.

-Oh, no!

-THEY LAUGH

'Well, Val's husband definitely was a wise investor

'and that lot alone exceeded her target in one go.

'So how well has she done overall?'

-It's over. Finished.

-Yes.

-How are you feeling at the end of the auction?

-I'm feeling fairly happy.

-I am.

Tired but happy. It's been a really good day.

You were looking for a seriously big target, £2,500.

Some things sold so well, the coins, so it won't surprise you to know you have made your target.

-You've not only done that, you have made £5,380.

-Really?

-Wow!

-Wow!

-Gosh! Oh, that's amazing!

-That is really good, isn't it?

-Do you think that'll sort out your piano's problems?

-I think so. I'll probably be able to get

something a little better, the instrument inside that I want to replace.

-Oh, OK.

-So that will help tremendously.

And you can get a few lessons now. You must learn to play!

Yes. And it will be good for the brain, as well, won't it?

This is the piano here.

'Back at Val's house, she's wasted no time in calling in Richard,

'a piano restorer, to begin the work.'

If we have a look at the hammers, Valerie,

you'll see that where they've played the strings so many times, they look rather flat,

and that's contributing towards a reasonably poor tone.

'He explains that a full restoration would cost more than the instrument is worth

'and suggests a renovation involving reshaping the hammers.'

Probably £600 to £800 spent on the piano would be of great benefit.

What he was recommending is that we just tune it up,

spend a couple of hundred pounds on it, and it'll be perfect for domestic use

and it's a beautiful piece of furniture, so a happy ending.

'So what will Val do with all that extra money she's raised?'

The gas boiler needs doing, the room we're standing in I was redoing,

and there's furniture I need. There's a lot. Lots of things I could do.

'And will she play the piano once it's all finished?'

I haven't played for years and years, but I'd love to start again.

Hopefully, I've got the time now.

Well, that was a stunning result for the ladies

and I'm sure Val will soon be tinkling on the old ivories like nobody's business.

If you'd like to raise money for something special

and you think you might have collectables or antiques hidden around your house,

apply to come on the show. It's easier than you might think.

Just fill out the form on our website:

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

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]

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