Miller Cash in the Attic

Welcome to the show that finds hidden treasures in your home and helps to sell them at auction.

Now, when you've inherited lots of items from close relatives over the years,

it can be very difficult to part with them.

But today on Cash In The Attic, it's decision time.

'Coming up on Cash In The Attic, Paul breaks our golden rule of no puns when he sees a gold bracelet.'

-It's charming.

-ALL: Ohh!

-I did warn you.

-Sorry about that.

'And we learn that a piece of Royal Crown Derby was an unwanted Christmas present.'

I think he was disappointed it wasn't a bottle of Scotch.

'Talking of whisky, has Paul been drinking at the auction rooms.'

Yeah, these are from the Cairngorm Mountains. That's my best Scottish accent.

'Find out if his valuations fare any better when the hammer falls.'

Selling.

Today, I'm in the beautiful countryside of Surrey

and I'm off to meet Moya Miller, who wants to raise some money today

so she can see her best friend in Canada.

'Moya Miller has enlisted the help of her eldest daughter, Gayle, today.

'Luckily, she only lives a few miles away from her mum's house.

'Moya and her husband, Jack, moved here 25 years ago.

'The house was derelict at the time and architect Jack designed the extension himself.

'They were married for 50 years and had two daughters, Gayle and Helen,

'who each have two sons. Sadly, Jack passed away three years ago.

'The family have enjoyed lots of holidays in their caravan, making many friends,

'which is a bit of a clue to why we've been called in.

'Talking of pals, Paul Hayes is with me today,

'and while he gets the hunt for those much-needed collectables underway, I go and meet the ladies.'

Looks as if we're having some fun and games in the garden here.

-Hello.

-Hello. You must be Moya.

-And you must be Chris.

-I am. Who's this?

-This is my daughter Gayle.

-Ah. Nice to meet you, Gayle.

Who called the Cash In The Attic team?

-I'm afraid I did.

-Why?

-To clear out loads of junk.

Three generations of junk in the house.

I've inherited from two mothers and some of their family, as well.

-And are you willing to get your hands dirty, dig in for the cause?

-I'll try. I'll do my best.

-What do you want to raise the money for?

-For a fare to British Columbia.

I've got a very old friend out there and I'd love to go and see her again.

My goodness, that sounds expensive. Do we know how much we need to raise?

At least 500, I would think.

A lot of money, but we have the number-one man with us today, Paul Hayes. Do you want to meet him?

-Yes, let's do that.

-Come on.

'Moya's garden covers a large area, but the house is more modest

'and doesn't look too daunting a space to search for antiques and collectables.'

-Hello! How are you?

-Hello, Paul.

-I'm your knight in shining armour.

THEY LAUGH Yes, could be.

You've been a busy bee already. What is this?

-A lovely old fire screen.

-Do you know where it came from?

Erm, it belonged to my mother-in-law

and it was found in a junk yard by my father-in-law. It was completely green.

-And he cleaned it all up.

-When I look at that, I think of myself, and I'm a bit lazy,

-and that takes a lot of cleaning.

-That's why I'm not terribly keen on it any more.

It's a hell of a job to do all the copper cleaning.

This one's extremely Arts and Crafts.

You're looking at maybe 1890, 1920, that sort of time.

And it's been made deliberately to have that handmade effect.

If you look at this wonderful copper item, it's got these individual hammer marks here

and that's deliberately telling me this is a handmade item. I quite like it. Very attractive piece.

-You may have it. At a price.

-Let's go home, then!

I don't think you've got the idea of Cash In The Attic. We want cash!

-You can't give it away!

-I said at a price.

-That's all right, then.

It's a very nice example. If I said £100 to £120, how does that sound?

-Sounds quite reasonable.

-Is that more than you expected or less?

It's about what I'd hoped for.

-OK.

-So we want around £100. He's normally quite conservative, aren't you?

-I try to be.

-Cos you want to get it going in the auction.

-But not a bad start.

-No, I think it's great.

Well done. And the good news is, if we do sell it, you won't have to clean it again.

-That's a very good idea.

-See, I'm full of them. Let's see if we can find anything else. Follow me.

'Well, that's not a bad result for something found in a junk yard.

'We all decide to split up now and make sure each room is thoroughly explored.

'Gayle is in the garden room, looking at a Russian doll,

'while Paul heads upstairs and I make for the garage.

'You never know, there could be a little gem tucked away in there.

'Moya spots this silver-topped cut-glass sugar shaker.

'It was a wedding present to her parents in 1927

'and it's hallmarked Birmingham 1912.

'Unfortunately, the glass is chipped at the top.

'That's taken into account when Paul estimates £20 to £30.

'Now what's our expert up to? Has he found something special?'

Ah, now then, Gayle, I've found some interesting items here.

-Some nice brooches. Whose are these?

-They're my grandmother's.

She was a lovely old lady. She passed away some years ago, but she used to wear them on scarves

and on the lapel of coats. I do remember her wearing those.

-Was she a character? Was she quite flamboyant?

-She was. She married three times.

-OK.

-She was quite a girl.

-Great.

-Can I say that about my grandmother?

-I think you can!

-I think you can, yes. She was quite outgoing.

-She was, yes. She was a lovely old lady.

-That's lovely.

Are these sentimental? Are they the sort of thing you'd like to keep?

No, I don't think they're the style that anybody now would wear.

These would've been the height of fashion in the Victorian period

and these are Scottish Cairngorm brooches.

Queen Victoria based her family home in Balmoral in Scotland and because she was the celebrity of the day,

people followed her, so anything Scottish was extremely fashionable. Do you know what these stones are?

-No.

-That's a big piece of solid amber.

-Really?

-So that's over a million years old, that piece of amber, fossilised pine resin.

-OK.

And these here are from the Cairngorm Mountains in the highlands.

These are cut from the face of them. So the whole thing is extremely Scottish.

There is a fashion for white metal nowadays.

I think, in the 70s and 80s, people wore lots of brassy gold, very flash stuff,

but the fashion at the moment is for the white metal or silver.

-These ones are both solid silver, both nice pieces of amber in the middle. This has a little chip.

-Yes.

Unfortunate. Maybe she was in a battle with William Wallace, who knows?

If I said around the £50 mark,

£40 to £60 as an auction estimate, how does that sound?

-That sounds fine.

-All right. Let's keep going.

'Moya's decided to tackle the lounge and wonders about her bronze bed warmer.

'I'm back inside and spot some piggy banks.

'Could they have some gold coins in them? No chance.

'Gayle's upstairs. Her searches have been worthwhile because she's noticed this gold slave bangle.

'It used to belong to her great aunt. It's 15-carat gold and at the moment,

'that is selling for about £15 per gram. Paul estimates this bangle at five grams

'and therefore is valued at £50 to £80.

'When it gets to auction, we are more than surprised by the response.'

-That's great, isn't it?

-120. 130.

-140. 150. 160.

-Fantastic!

'We'll find out later just how much it makes.

'As the search of Moya's house continues, I've had a quick tot up

'and by Paul's estimates so far, we stand to raise £210 at auction.

'So we're not quite at the halfway mark yet.'

As soon as I saw this motorhome in the garden, I wanted to come inside and check it out.

We look as if we're on our way. Where are we driving?

-How about Godalming?

-No, I'd like to go a bit further. France? Germany? Anywhere.

-Now you're talking!

So when did this caravanning start?

It's been going on since Gayle was four

and we've just caravanned and caravanned in England, France.

-So you've been on some great trips. Where's your favourite?

-France. Definitely France.

And we had a friend down in the Bouin area, George.

Unfortunately, he's dead now. But we enjoyed a load of trips with him.

He had a lot of friends who were vintners and we had some wonderful drinks.

-Oh, it was lovely.

-So it looked like a vineyard tour.

-There was that element in it, yes.

-THEY LAUGH

So caravanning's played a big part in your life, then.

Absolutely, yes. All of my life, we've had family holidays in the caravan.

And now, that's my caravan behind us there, and we go away all together, which is great fun.

-So it's like a big convoy, is it?

-Mm, sometimes.

-Have you got a CB radio?

-No, we haven't, actually.

So what is it about caravanning that you like?

I like it because of the freedom. And it's cheap. Cheap sites.

And it's very, very free.

You can pretty well go anywhere and park it anywhere.

If you need someone to read the maps, I'm your man. I'm your co-driver, OK?

-I'll remember that.

-OK. Cos the person that's going to guide us through

the next challenge of the antiques is still in there and I can just about hear him moaning.

-Shall we go and join him?

-Yep.

-Come on.

-Better do that.

'Canada is calling and Moya is clearly an adventurous lady,

'but perhaps not as adventurous as we are, as we resume our antiques search.

'Paul's still hard at work and comes across something else he thinks should do well at auction,

'a couple of Edwardian mahogany side chairs with inlaid backs.

'They get a very healthy £60 to £100 valuation.

'I've noticed a mandolin on the wall. I wonder if Moya plays it.

'And it looks like Paul's found evidence of a habit rather than a hobby.'

-Moya.

-Yes, Paul?

-Now, who's been the smoker in the house?

-My husband.

-Oh, right. It wasn't you?

-Yes, I did, for quite a few years.

-Right.

You've got quite a set here. A nice lighter, an ashtray, cigarette case and a couple of cigarette boxes.

-Yes.

-Quite a lot, isn't it?

-It is a lot, yes.

-Were these items that he collected?

-No, he acquired those for being with the firm for 25 years.

-So when did he celebrate his 25th anniversary?

-Let me think.

His 25 years must have been up in about '88, I think.

These are obviously a lot earlier than that. This one dates from 1930, typically Art Deco.

You can see the way that it's geometric in shape. I don't think I've ever seen

a silver lighter like that, so it's very unusual.

And one of the trademarks of the 1930s is this engine turning.

This is done by a machine to give it a finish rather than a flat surface, to give this ridged effect.

And what you do tend to see, and a bit more attractive in my opinion, is more the Victoriana.

This is a lovely old cigarette case which has been hand-chased.

The silversmith would have a little tiny die and hammer

and he would chase this decoration all the way round, all by hand. Beautiful.

But these can have another use. I actually use one of these now for credit cards.

You can put your credit cards in there and it stays nice and rigid so you don't break them.

So there's also a multitude of uses for items like this.

OK, you've got two cigarette boxes, as well,

and I think they could be used more for jewellery items,

little knickknacks, that sort of thing. So you don't have to use them for cigarettes.

They're nice things to have. If I said at least £100, maybe up to £150

for that lot, how does that sound?

-That'd be fine.

-That sound all right?

-Yes, it sounds very well.

-OK. Let's keep looking.

'There are plenty of places to explore in Moya's lovely old house

'but I must admit, I'm struggling to find anything that would do well at auction.

'In the garden room, Moya wonders if this Victorian willow pattern china bowl could be a winner.

'It's part of a small collection that belonged to her mother-in-law,

'but they're not to Moya's taste. Paul gives them the thumbs up

'and says a valuation of £40 to £60 should appeal to the bidders.

'And then at long last, my perseverance finally pays off.'

-Mm. Paul, Gayle!

-Yeah?

-I might have found something at long last!

-Hey!

-I might be quite useful for a change!

-Do you need to have a sit down?

-Yeah!

Come and have a look at this.

I've seen the two words Derby and china.

Of course, Derby isn't in China, it's in Derbyshire.

But the reason we actually use the word china is that, originally, all the porcelain came from China

and it was imported, since the 16th century,

and, of course, when you looked at your old porcelain, you said it's "me old china".

And Crown Derby are actually one of the firms that developed using animal bones from the meat industry

and the whiteness of the bones give this wonderful white porcelain finish.

-So whose are these?

-That was given to my father. It was a present from a contractor.

-I think he was quite disappointed that it wasn't a bottle of scotch.

-THEY LAUGH

-Do you like it?

-Not very much, no.

-Oh.

-Sorry.

This is an Imari style, which comes from Japan,

and it always has the brick-red colour, the dark blue and the gilded decoration.

Very elaborate, very fancy. That's actually 22-carat gold leaf, which is lovely.

And it's known in the trade as the cigar pattern.

-Any ideas why?

-No, go on.

If you look at the pattern around the edge, this very distinctive border,

that also looks like the wrapper you get on a fancy cigar,

so that's why it's called the cigar pattern.

But it was originally the Derby factory, since about 1750,

but then King George III visited the factory

and he put the crown, so it became Crown Derby.

And then Victoria visited again in the late 19th century

and she let them use the word Royal.

So Royal Crown Derby is all to do with the royal family.

I'm looking around, there's another plate there. Would it be in a set?

People do buy them as individual items. They're not designed to be used, they're purely for decoration.

This would go in a cabinet, purely for show.

But an average cup and saucer like this, from the '70s or '80s,

you're looking at maybe £30 to £50.

-How does that sound?

-It's never been one of my favourite things. Sounds fine.

'Well, looking outside, there are plenty of reminders of Moya's love of caravanning

'and I want to know more about her holiday plans for the future.'

It's time for a little break for you and me, and I think we deserve it.

I want to know what we're raising this money for. Tell me about this trip. Where do you want to go?

To fly out to British Columbia

and then go to Peachland, which is further inland, to see my friend.

-I want to know a bit more about Margaret. How did you meet her?

-We met her on our first motorhome trip

in 1991, I think it was,

on a camping site

and Jack was wandering around outside the van

and a voice said, "Are you English?"

And that was Margaret. And from then on, we teamed up with them,

went to their home eventually, she and her husband, Alan, who has since died.

And, yeah, from then on, we were friends.

-Lifelong friends. How long ago was that?

-Oh, '91.

So, you and Margaret, do you share the same sense of adventure? What sort of person is she?

Oh, she's batty. She... I think she's a little bit old now, but she was

an overland skier.

But, yeah, she was very active indeed.

-What sort of trip are you planning?

-Well, that really depends on Margaret.

We've never had a holiday on our own, so I really don't know.

But I rather feel that she's got a few quirky things up her sleeve.

-Well, I'm sold on her.

-Good! You should do it.

-If we raise a bit more money, will you take me, as well?

-Oh, yeah.

-OK, excellent. Hard work, I'm in. Let's go and find Paul, come on.

-Fair enough.

'As you can tell, I don't get out much, and neither does poor old Paul.

'Gayle's spotted this silver batch dressing table set.

'It belonged to her great aunt and has a Birmingham hallmark from 1925.

'Sadly, Paul thinks the condition is poor and their estimate is £40 to £60.

'And then Moya notices a large collection of books that needs an expert opinion.'

Ah, what have we found?

-I've got some Dickens here.

-Oh, right.

-I think I've got the whole set.

-The complete works of Dickens.

-Wow.

-What was it about Dickens that fascinated you?

-It wasn't me, it was my step-father.

-OK.

-He collected the whole lot and he loved Dickens.

-Right.

He read them, he spouted bits out of them. He was quite a character.

Well, Charles Dickens has to be one of Britain's best-known authors, if not the most popular,

-and we're all familiar with the stories. Did you have a favourite?

-Erm, well, we all know Oliver Twist.

-Yes, of course.

-And Pickwick Papers.

I think Oliver Twist is in everybody's mind. The wonderful Artful Dodger and Fagin.

A fantastic story and, of course, it was made into a very famous musical.

But the books themselves were started almost be accident.

What happened was, Charles Dickens came from quite a wealthy family,

but they fell onto hard times, and from the age of 12,

he actually worked in a boot polish factory.

So he saw first-hand what it was like to work in these workhouses.

And he started to do some stories about events that had happened in his own life and fictitious events,

and the rest is history. Dickens, Shakespeare and the teachings of Chairman Mao

-are the three most produced books in the world.

-Really? Gosh!

Lots of those around. But people do buy them.

The one that's really interesting, that's fascinated people, here we are, Master Humphrey Clock.

-Yes?

-Edwin Drood.

-Oh, yes.

-Do you know what's fascinating about that?

-I've heard of Edwin Drood.

That was his last one, and Edwin Drood in the story disappears.

But nobody actually knows what happened to him.

So it's open to speculation. Unfortunately, Charles died before he had a chance to finish that book.

-If I said maybe £100, £120, how does that sound?

-Ooh.

-Do you think a little more, a little bit less?

-Can we set a reserve?

-Of course.

-100?

-So a minimum of £100?

-Yes.

-And if they don't sell, we'll send Fagin and the boys in and bring them back.

-OK. Right.

-Let's keep looking.

-Right.

'Moya's lovely house is a real joy to explore.

'In the dining room, I've noticed this oil lamp base on the sideboard.

'It's Victorian black pottery with flora decoration

'and it belonged to Jack's mother.

'Although Moya doesn't like it, Paul says the bidders might,

'and gives it a £30 to £50 estimate.

'And Paul and Gayle are having one last search for treasure.'

Ah. Now then.

This is a nice item. A nice old charm bracelet.

Look at that. Is that your mum's?

-No, I think that was my grandmother's.

-Really?

-Mm.

-Right, OK, that's interesting. It's definitely worth something.

-Great.

-Let's hear the story. Moya, Chris.

-Whoops. We're being called.

-What do you think? Just fits me nicely.

Oh, beautiful! THEY LAUGH

-Isn't that a cracker?

-Is that a charm bracelet?

-It's an old charm bracelet, yes.

-I take it this was yours, Moya?

-My mother's.

-Your mother's. OK.

Actually, it could've been your grandfather's.

Bear with me, because I know charm bracelets are predominantly worn by ladies.

-This is actually part of an Albert chain.

-Oh.

So you had your pocket watch here and two lengths of this type of chain.

And when they went out of fashion, when the wrist watch came along,

they started to recycle them and they would make them into items exactly like this.

-So do you know who would've collected all these charms?

-Er, Mum.

Her husband bought her one every year for her birthday

over several years, as you can see.

-Is that a squirrel and a duck?

-We've got a cat and a duck

and we've got this one, like a tambourine and a pair of maracas.

But what I like is you can actually see the two different types of gold.

This one is a rose gold, typically Victorian,

and this is more modern, this very bright, brassy gold.

And the reason for that is, if you made an item from pure gold, 24-carat gold,

it's too soft, the whole thing disintegrates.

So what you have to do is mix it with another metal, to give it strength.

And in the Victorian times, what was very popular was copper.

So the charms are later than the actual chain, which is why I think it's been part of an Albert.

Gold is doing particularly well at the moment, and it's always popular,

so if I stuck my neck out and said around the 200 mark,

for an auction estimate, £150 to £200, how does that sound?

-Really?

-Sounds fantastic.

-Extraordinary.

-It's charming.

-ALL: Ohh!

-I did warn you.

-Sorry about that.

I've got some good news and bad news now. The good news is, no more gags from Paul.

-That's good.

-Cos the day is over. The bad news is, it's the moment of truth, it's the tally up.

I know you wanted to raise about £500 to £600.

Well, I think we've done a really good job

because, conservatively, if we take all of your items to auction,

-we reckon we could make around £760.

-Wow!

-How do you feel about that?

That's good! That's very good!

-I think that's an excellent day's work. What about you, Paul?

-Fantastic.

-Very good!

We've got some great items and it's been a real pleasure.

Oh, good. I'm very glad you came, then.

'And so are we. Those two pieces of gold really made a difference to Moya's total today.

'I'm looking forward to finding out if Paul's estimates are close to the eventual sale prices.

'We have the silver cigarette set which was given to her husband Jack

'after 25 years of service.

'The guide price here is £100 to £150.

'And that copper fire screen which Moya's father-in-law found in a junk yard.

'That was given an estimate of £100 to £120.

'And finally, we have the collection of books by Charles Dickens.

'They're in such good condition that we have great expectations of them making £100 to £120.

'Still to come in Cash In The Attic, could we be off to a shaky start?'

Surely £10 for the silver top. Nobody want it for £10?

'But it's not too long before the bidders take a shine to our lots.'

-Yes!

-Excellent.

-Very good.

'And what could be the object of Paul and Moya's affections?'

-You hate this, don't you?

-I hated it.

-What is it about it that you dislike so much?

-It's just ugly.

'We'll find out when the final hammer falls.'

We had a great time at Moya's house, but now it's down to business,

so we've brought all the items here to the Chiswick Auction Rooms

and we want to raise around £500. Fingers crossed now as those items go under the hammer.

'Moya wants to use her takings to fund a special trip. She'd like to visit her friend,

'who lives near Vancouver in Canada.

'The lots have been on view in the auction room for several days. I'm sure they've attracted interest.'

-Hello, Paul. I didn't know you smoked.

-I don't smoke, actually.

-You can't help but notice the quality. Isn't that fantastic?

-It's a beautiful quality item.

-We're hoping for a busy room today.

-Let's hope so. Don't forget, we're recycling, as well.

You can use these for credit cards.

-What a good idea.

-Move it on to the 21st century.

-Got to get some credit cards now! Let's find Moya.

'Since our last meeting, I hear Moya's been uncertain about selling that copper fire screen.

'But it looks like it's made it here after all.'

-Hello, you two!

-Hello!

-Hello.

I'm very pleased to see you two, but I'm also quite pleased to see this.

-You've brought it along.

-Yes.

-Were there any umming and ahhings about this?

Well, there is a little bit of a hole where I removed it,

but I expect I can find a large plant to put in there. THEY LAUGH

-So it can go at any price?

-Erm, fixed price.

-Ooh. Fixed price of?

I'd like 120.

That's fine, it's within estimate. If it's any more than that, it can be a problem for the auctioneer.

-£120 fixed reserve on that one.

-Have you been to an auction before?

-Never.

-No.

-You're about to find out how our items get on. Ready?

-Yep.

-Fingers crossed. Let's get in position.

'If you have a special project in mind and you'd like to try buying or selling in this way,

'it's worth remembering that there are charges to be paid, such as commission.

'These vary from one saleroom to another, so it's always worth checking in advance.

'Let's get started. The first lot is the silver-topped sugar shaker.'

-Where was this from?

-From my mother.

-And how long have you had this?

She had it from the time she was married

and I just inherited it when she died.

Well, it's ready to go. What do you reckon?

Something we don't really use any more, but I always think these are perfect for Wimbledon,

-for your strawberries.

-Definitely.

-To sift your sugar on top.

Solid silver top, some time around the turn of the century, glass base.

-It's in nice condition, so £20, £30 easily.

-OK.

-Good.

Is it worth £10 to go for that? Surely £10 for the silver top.

Nobody want it for £10? I'm bid £10 down there. At £10.

£12 now. 14? 14.

£14 here. At 14. Anybody else?

At £14. 16.

-£16 to my left. At £16. Anybody else? At £16 it goes.

-HAMMER BANGS

-Ohh.

-Are you happy with that?

-It'll do.

'A slightly disappointing start, but at least it's sold.

'Next up is some china. It's the Royal Crown Derby cup and saucer with a matching side plate.

'They were a present to Jack from someone he once worked for.

'We're hoping for £30 to £50 for them.'

-What do you reckon, Paul?

-Derby's very interesting. Who collected all these bits and pieces?

-You've got a cup and saucer and a small plate, as well.

-Yes.

It was given to my husband as a Christmas box by a contractor.

They're known in the trade as the cigar pattern cos of that ribbon around the edge. Very popular.

-£30 to £50 for a cup, saucer and side plate.

-Fine.

-Let's see how we go.

I'm straight in here at £30.

-Ooh.

-That's great.

35. 40. On the book at £40.

-Still at 40. 45. 50.

-Wow.

-Still with me at £50.

On the book still at 50. Are you all done? At £50 with me, on the book at £50 and selling.

-£50! That's great!

-Good.

-Upper limit there, Paul. That's good.

-Mm!

-Brilliant, isn't it? You've no more in a cupboard?

-No.

'That's a great result. I think Moya was very impressed with how quickly it was snapped up.

'Our third lot is a Victorian oil lamp base which once belonged to her mother-in-law.

'It has a estimate of £30 to £50.'

OK, Moya, one of your favourite items is this next item.

-It's that lovely black ceramic lamp base.

-Yes.

-You hate this, don't you?

-I hated it!

-What is it about it that you dislike so much?

-It's just ugly.

Is it worth £20? £20 for a lamp base, surely. £10 to start me.

-I think everyone agrees with you, Moya.

-I think so.

No interest at all? Passing the lot, I'm afraid.

Drat!

Now, I'm not saying that is unpopular.

It's unpopular with you two and it's unpopular with everybody here.

-I liked it!

-We'll use it as a door stop.

Not heavy enough. Oh, dear!

'Hm. Oh, dear, indeed!

'Poor Moya. The one item she really wanted to get rid of today

'and she's got to take it back with her.

'Will she have more luck with those Victorian Scottish brooches?

'They belonged to her mother and include some stones

'from the Cairngorm Mountains, as well as some pieces of amber.

'They're in the catalogue at £40 to £60.'

You're hoping for quite a lot for this. It's got gemstones.

Yeah, these are from the Cairngorm Mountains. That's my best Scottish accent.

Queen Victoria was very fond of Scotland, so these things were highly collectable.

-You don't wear these now, do you?

-No.

-When's the last time you wore them?

-I didn't. They were Mum's.

-Almost new!

-Almost new.

-THEY LAUGH

Start me these, £20 for them. Must be worth £10 each, surely.

10 I'm bid. £20 I'm bid, rather. Thank you. At 20.

22. 25. 28.

30. 2. 35.

-£35 on that sofa there.

-Just a little, please.

Anybody else? £35 for the Scottish brooches. At £35. 35. I'm going to sell them, then. 35.

-Ooh, just under.

-35.

-That's not too bad, is it?

'I think Moya would've preferred a little bit more for those brooches,

'but it has put another £35 in the kitty towards that trip to Canada.

'The silver-backed dressing table set is coming up now. It's hallmarked Birmingham 1925

'and it belonged to Moya's aunt. Will it reach its estimate?'

This is a thing of the past, when they used to be all lovely and polished on the dressing table.

-Reminds me of Hercule Poirot.

-Yeah.

-Not that he combed his hair often.

-Definitely the 30s.

-Definitely 1930s.

But it does say AF, which means "at fault".

-There must be one of two that are a little bit...

-One little tiny bit, yes, on a mirror.

Plenty of silver there. Start me at £20 for the lot, please.

20 I'm bid down below. 22.

25. 28.

30. £30 there in the middle of the room.

At 30. At £30. Are you bidding upstairs? 32.

32 upstairs. 35.

-38.

-Yes!

He's hiding behind the bush. 40.

42.

42 upstairs, then. 42.

-45.

-New bidder.

-48.

50. £50 down below.

At £50. You all done? 55.

-60.

-60.

-Lovely.

No? £60 in the middle, then. At £60. I'm going to sell it, then. £60 and going.

-Yes!

-Excellent!

-Very good!

-Top estimate, that.

-Oh, that's great!

It kept stopping, then someone else appeared!

-I keep peering up there at them.

-£60!

-£60!

'So, despite the damage, that set did really well.

'It's probably down to the fact that it had so much silver in it.

'Up next, for £40 to £60, the Victorian willow pattern china,

'which belonged to Moya's mother-in-law.'

-One of the items I like amongst this is that meat strainer.

-Yes.

-You said that.

-Have you ever used that?

-No.

-None of it.

The one that's pierced with lots of holes in it. It sits on top of your meat plate

-and allows the juices...

-For the gravy?

-For the gravy.

Fantastic. People use those as display items on their own merit.

So it's quite a collection, four or five items in the lot.

Start me at £10 for the lot, the blue and white. 10 I'm bid.

£12. 14.

16. 18. 20. 22.

25. 28. 28 to my left, at £28.

£28. Anybody else? 28.

-At 28 it goes.

-HAMMER BANGS

-28.

-Not bad.

-Not too bad, is it, that?

-Gets it out of Mother's sideboard.

-Yes.

-You didn't like it, anyway.

-No.

-Why have you got all this stuff in the house that you don't like?

-I could never get rid of it.

'And now she has, and Moya looks relieved that it's been

'taken off her hands at last. It's been an auction of mixed fortunes

'and I think we're all interested to know how much money we've banked so far.'

-OK, gang, we've reached the halfway mark.

-Mm.

-How are you feeling so far?

-Mm. It's reasonable.

-I think it's not too bad. We've had some ups and downs, haven't we?

-We certainly have.

-We want to raise £500 today?

-Mm.

Well, at the halfway mark, we're at £189.

-Mm, not bad.

-Not bad.

-That is a "mm". It's a "not bad".

-But we have got some big items to come.

-Yeah, you've got the smoking accessories, the fire screen,

the Dickens books, the chairs. So it's early days yet.

'It sure is. And there's plenty more to come. I have high hopes for the next lot

'and I think Moya has, too. She's put a reserve of £120 on her Arts and Crafts copper fire screen.'

-You said you were fed up with cleaning this, weren't you?

-I don't like cleaning copper, no.

Did you give it one last clean before bringing it here?

-No, I didn't.

-You didn't? That's disgraceful!

Paul, do you reckon we'll have any interest on that item?

I like this. It's a good example. I think you're right to put your reserve at 120,

-because it tugs at the heart strings a little bit.

-It was a family thing, yeah.

-OK.

-So we want a knight in shining armour to buy it.

-Ohh!

-Oh, well.

-Give it up.

-Sorry.

What's it worth for the fire screen? £80 to go for it.

-80 I'm bid.

-80.

-85. 90. 95.

£95 for the fire screen. £95. 100 I'll take. At 95.

-He won't sell it.

-Ohh.

At 95. Not quite enough, I'm afraid.

-No. Goes home.

-You quite happy with that?

-Yes.

-You're going to have to clean it now.

-Oh, well, never mind.

'Oh, no, that's a bit of a blow to our Canada fund.

'We've got five lots left now. Everything rests on these making over £300 between them.

'First, then, it's the 15-carat gold slave bangle.

'Its estimate is £50 to £80.'

-Whose was this?

-My mum's.

-It was mine.

-And you both like it?

-Yes, it's showy.

-It's pretty.

-It's quite nice.

-You used to wear it on your arm up here.

-Right up.

A nice bangle. £50 to £80.

I'm straight in at £60.

With me at £60. 65. 70. 5. 80. 5.

-90. 5. 100.

-That's great!

-110. 120.

130. 140. 150. 160.

-Fantastic!

-Come on!

180. 190. 200. 210.

-In the doorway at £210.

-I don't believe it.

-At 210.

220 now. Seated at 220.

-230.

-Fantastic!

230 in that doorway. At 230. Are you all done? Are you bidding? 240.

-Go on, bid 240.

-240 nearer to me now. 240.

-At 240. I'm going to sell at 240.

-HAMMER BANGS

-Fantastic!

-Well done!

-Fantastic!

HE MIMES

-That's great. Just goes to show how gold is doing at the moment.

-Absolutely.

-£240.

-Well, that's whooped it up a bit.

-I cannot believe that!

-Nor me.

'Well, that took us completely by surprise. An astonishing result.

'Paul's estimate was based on the value of the precious metal,

'but as 15-carat gold is no longer made, it's become very popular.

'I'm sure that would explain the extraordinary sale price.

'Next we have the complete works of Charles Dickens, 22 volumes in fact.

'They belonged to Moya's step-father, who used to recite pieces from them.

'The estimate is £100 to £120.'

I've got quite a collection of old books myself,

so I'm anxious to see this get a decent price.

We want around £100. That's the reserve, Paul.

This is an interesting set. But Dickens is one of the most printed authors out there,

so it's not a rare set. It looks in wonderful condition. I don't think these have ever been read.

-So let's hope it gets £100 to £120. But there's a £100 reserve on this.

-Yeah.

-I've got great expectations of this one.

-Oh, wow.

-Stop it!

THEY LAUGH

Start me, £50 to go.

Surely for 50. 50 I'm bid. 55.

-60. 5.

-Here we go.

-70. 5. 80.

5. 90. 5.

-100.

-OK.

-The lady there at £100.

At £100 for the lady. £100 for Charles Dickens. At £100.

All done? At £100, the full works.

-Good.

-We got the money.

-We did.

-That's fine.

They knew that you wanted £100, they were flying and then they went, "That's it".

'Well, my great expectations were slightly blunted

'and, like Oliver Twist, we could've wished for more!

'But these family heirlooms achieved their reserve

'and there's no grumbling about that.

'The two mahogany side chairs are coming up next.

'They belonged to Moya's in-laws, who were great collectors.

'We're looking for £60 to £100. Let's see how they did.'

-A little bit of interest in these. I'm bid £30.

-We're bid 30 already.

35 now. 40. 45. 50.

£50 for those chairs. At £50 for the two little chairs.

-£50. I'm selling at 50.

-HAMMER BANGS

-Ohh. £10 less than we wanted.

-Never mind.

'Moya's got the right attitude here. Those chairs didn't do too badly after all.

'Now it's back to some silver, the lighter, ashtray, cigarette case and two cigarette boxes.

'Some are Victorian and some are Art Deco.

'They were presented to Jack in the late 1980s after 25 years service to his firm.

'The estimate is £100 to £150.'

Just a bit of social history, a bit of memorabilia, really.

These would make a nice present for somebody, nice things to keep.

-And £100 seems quite reasonable.

-Mm.

I'm bid 65. 70. 5.

Do you want 80, Howard? 80. 5.

90. £90 there with Howard, at 90.

5 I'll take. Doesn't seem a lot of money at £90. 95 fresh bidder. 100.

-Yes.

-110. 120.

-120 there, original bidder at 120. 120 it goes.

-HAMMER BANGS

-Brilliant!

-That's great, isn't it?

-Yes.

-Straight in the middle.

-Lovely.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

'The second half of the auction is definitely making up for the first,

'and Moya has just one more lot to go,

'that nine-carat gold charm bracelet on an Albert chain.

'The last lot of gold did incredibly well, so we hope this one follows suit.

'£150 to £200 is the estimate.'

-Where's this from?

-My mother. It was from her third husband.

-These are fashionable, aren't they? Or have they gone out of fashion?

-They are in at the moment.

You see lots of girls with silver bracelets.

-And gold is doing tremendously well at the minute.

-Yes.

So I've put this in at £150 to £200.

-It's nine-carat, not a high carat, but let's see how it goes.

-Yep.

And there's interest in that straight off. I'm bid £140.

-140.

-Wow!

At £140. 150, thank you.

160 now. 170.

180. Are you bidding 190? 190 I'm bid.

190 in the doorway. At 190. Anybody else?

£190. 200. 210.

220. 230.

240. 250.

260. 270.

-270, then, in the doorway at 270. 270.

-HAMMER BANGS

-Amazing!

-Whoa!

-That's brilliant, isn't it?

-Fantastic!

-We need to dig out more gold.

We do! Have you got any more gold, Mum?

THEY LAUGH

'Well, it's another indicator of the top prices that gold collectables are making at the present time.

'Moya's picked the perfect time to sell and I'm sure it's made all the difference to her target.'

-We're just recovering, I think, from the last gold sale, aren't we?

-Absolutely! Thank you!

-We wanted to raise £500 today.

-Yes, we did.

If I remember correctly, you were a bit disappointed at the halfway stage at £189.

-It was a bit low.

-Yeah. And we were hoping for some good news in the second half.

-And we got it!

-And we did get it.

-We did.

Because the grand total from today is £969!

-No!

-Incredible!

-Really?

-That's amazing!

-Fantastic!

-That's wonderful!

-I can't believe it!

-Do you want me to say that again?

-Go on.

-£969.

-Hold me up.

-A brilliant, brilliant effort.

-Really good.

-Really good!

-Excellent.

'Moya is hoping to take a long train journey when she visits her friend Margaret in Canada.

'Her younger daughter, Helen, is helping her plan the trip.'

Where would it start from?

I was hoping it would start from Newfoundland

and go right the way across. There is a train that does that.

'And where better to make plans than in the retro glamour

'of a vintage steam railway?'

Oh, it was fantastic. Beautiful scenery,

chugging along and it was really nice.

It's been very interesting doing Cash In The Attic

and, of course, the money I've made at the auction will help towards the fare.

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