Walker Cash in the Attic

Welcome to the show that searches your home

to find all those forgotten treasures we can sell at auction

to raise you a little bit of cash.

It's difficult sometimes to choose what to keep and what to get rid of,

but if things have been hiding away, maybe it's time to part with them.

That's the dilemma for our family. Will they make some cash from their attic?

'Coming up on Cash In The Attic, we discover a pot of gold

'that may pave the way to a tidy sum at auction.'

A useful little collection there

and certainly something that will put a dent in the target.

'When it comes to '90s beanie babies, John's a name-dropper.'

Legs the Frog and Chocolate the Moose,

you had Pinchers the Lobster and Splash the Dolphin.

'And at auction, one of our finds knocks us all for six.'

I'm going to come with you more often, the money you're making!

'Find out more when the hammer falls.'

I've come to South London to meet Carol Walker,

who called us in to raise some funds for home improvements.

'Since her grown-up children, Ben and Alice, flew the nest,

'Carol Walker has been busier than ever.

'When she's not working in the admin department at her local school,

'she's got grandson Jack to keep her busy.

'Passionate about art, Carol's a keen drawer and an avid reader.

'Joining her in today's rummage is best friend of 20 years, Celia.'

-Ah, good morning, ladies.

-Good morning.

-So you must be Carol.

-Yes. Nice to meet you.

-And you're Celia.

-This is John, your expert.

-How do you do? Good to meet you.

-Now what do you want to raise money for?

-A bit of house repair.

It's now started to look a bit sad.

I'd like to replace the wall that fell over last week.

How much are you looking to raise?

Id' like to raise about £500.

Any more would be a bonus.

I haven't brought my tool bag,

but I have brought a few bits and pieces to help. Shall I crack on?

-Yes.

-Lovely. £500 is what we're looking for.

-Thank you.

Celia, you're helping out. How do you know each other?

We met when my son went to the same school as Carol's son.

Tell me a little bit about today. Do you think this is a good idea?

I think it's a very good idea for Carol, very good.

Shall we see whether John's got anything for us? I'll follow you.

'As we start the rummage, it looks like our expert John Cameron

'has already found something interesting.'

Hello, John.

-Hi, girls.

-What have you found there?

I've found a bag of coins. I've pulled out two interesting ones.

-Where are these from?

-They were my dad's.

I didn't know he had them

until my mum gave them to me

after she sorted his things out.

-I'm pretty sure they're both sixpences.

-OK.

This one here, we can see on the reverse, we've got the half shield,

with the three lions passant and the fleur de lys

for England and Wales. Dated, we can see there 1568,

so around the middle of the reign there of Queen Elizabeth I.

We can see...there we are, there's her head with the Tudor Rose

on the obverse side.

What's remarkable about it is the condition.

That's over 450 years old.

The second coin here also a sixpence.

If we have a look, we've got William of Orange, William III there.

Now, on the back there,

we can see the Hibernian Harp and the Scottish Lion Rampant there.

It shows some changes in the formation of our country.

These two alone, if I had them at auction,

-I'd say £50-£100.

-Crikey!

-Wow! That's good.

-Pleased with that?

-Brilliant. Absolutely.

'Looking round the house, it seems collecting's a bit of a hobby.

'Carol told me that her dad, Les, was a keen collector

'and she wanted to follow in his footsteps.

'One of her efforts was this Wedgwood Wild Strawberry set.

'Introduced by the company in 1965,

'she started collecting it in the 1970s, but it's time to let

'this 13-piece set go.

'John gives it a price tag of £30-£50.'

-What have you got there?

-Look at these, John.

These are interesting. Commemorative sets - aviation, the great aeroplanes of the world.

-What have you there? The literature?

-Yes.

-Where are these from?

Actually, Carol's father collected them.

An interesting set. What have we got there?

-I think there are 50 miniature aeroplanes there.

-Yes.

And this is the very informative booklet telling us about each one

of those aeroplanes, right from the very first

and going right the way through with every significant alteration and development.

The nice thing about them

is you have the actual literature to go with each one of the medals.

The set is complete.

We've got the booklets here.

Let's just have a quick look at one of these medallions.

We've got an aeroplane there in flight. It's a bi-plane.

If we flip it over, it's wonderful, on the reverse,

you've got the plans, the dimensions of each of those planes.

I think at auction,

they would generate some interest.

Not huge sums, but I'd certainly say £40-£60 as an estimate,

-should get the bidding going.

-Right. Very good.

'As we search the house for more valuables,

'it strikes me that Carol's dad was particularly fond of aviation merchandise.

'Celia's discovered this pair of Concorde cufflinks

'that he bought in 1976 to commemorate its tenth anniversary.

'Concorde memorabilia can often be found at auction,

'as there's a strong market for it. John's valued these at £10-£20.'

-When did you move here?

-About seven years ago.

-You're always from this area?

-Yep. Born and bred in southeast London,

lived in Dulwich and Forest Hill, moved to Beckenham and then here.

-So what sort of jobs have you had?

-Mainly admin, office work,

and then started working at the school about 11, 12 years ago.

-So what do you like about working at the school?

-I love the boys.

The little ones are four to eleven. A lovely place to work.

-The best job I've ever had.

-Tell me about your interest in the arts.

I like the Pre-Raphaelites, that's my main passion.

I collect posters and prints and try and do the exhibitions

that are on up in London. I don't like all of the art,

some of it is really weird and I don't feel it's art,

but I love my Pre-Raphaelites.

It would be great to look like that but I really haven't got the time!

-If you look at the legs on that one, lovely legs.

-I'd rather not!

Shall we go find John? See if we can turn him into a Pre-Raphaelite man!

'While Carol and I have been discussing fine art,

'John's been searching to see what else he can add

'towards the £500 target to help repair Carol's front wall.'

Celia?

Oh. Hello, John. Yes.

I've got a quantity of gold jewellery that I've got here.

-Do you know where they've come from?

-Yes. They were Carol's mother's

and perhaps her grandmother's, some of them.

What I was doing then was just trying to establish

if they're gold - what we're looking for are their hallmarks

and standard marks and this one here is marked 9 KT,

which suggests it's nine carat gold.

But the KT is a foreign mark.

Luckily, they've been over-stamped here with some import marks.

That's been tested and that is nine carat gold.

We've got a nine carat gold chain and a couple of rings.

These are very typical to end up in boxes and not worn.

They often get worn thin and the shank becomes quite sharp

and dangerous to wear, but we've got a useful little collection.

I know Carol is serious about putting a dent in that target

for the external works.

Without looking through it thoroughly,

I'm sure we've got £300 or £400 worth there.

Very good, yes.

-Now...anything you want to add to it?

-No, I'm not adding this.

All right then. You'd better take it away before I have it off you!

Great. Excellent. We'll go and check that's OK with Carol.

'£300-£400 is a great addition to our total,

'but whether we make that amount all depends on who's at the auction.'

£300, I'll take...

Oh, my gosh!

'Can we turn this gold into cash for bricks and mortar?'

'As the rummage continues, Celia may not be keen to give John her own jewellery,

'but she has found another collection in the bedroom.

'This costume jewellery belonged to Carol's late mum,

'and until now, Carol didn't realise just how much of it there was.

'John gives this lot a glittering £50-£100 estimate.'

-John? Carol? I think I've found an entire beanie baby collection.

-It's my daughter's.

I bought them for her when she was little,

so birthday, Christmas.

If we went on holiday, I'd buy one

and she always insisted that I bought the box and the tag protector.

She could have played with them but chose not to.

They were such a phenomenon in the early '90s,

up to the end of the '90s and they discontinued them for a while and brought them back again.

What I've found in recent years is demand has tapered off.

The market's completely saturated.

Collectors do still look for the early ones, like Legs the Frog

and Chocolate the Moose, you had Pinchers the Lobster

and Splash the Dolphin.

-You say you've got 50...

-I think there's 53.

I'd probably say £30-£50 as an estimate would be about right.

-You're sure you want to sell them?

-Yes.

-They still make nice presents.

-Don't you think?

-Of course.

-Hopefully, we'll get them sold.

-That's not a hint what you're getting me for Christmas, is it?

-You're soft and cuddly, as you are!

'So Carol's daughter was a budding collector too.

'Resisting the temptation to take off those labels and play must have taken some willpower!

'Meanwhile, I've found this 1977 Ashes commemorative set.

'It belonged to Carol's dad, a big cricket fan.

'The Ashes has always been one of the biggest events in the calendar

'and John estimates this coin and stamp collection

'will have our bidders bowled over at auction, priced at £10-£20.

'And no, John's adamant he hasn't been admiring himself!

'This oval mirror belonged to Carol's great-grandmother

'and is from the turn of the last century.

'Oval mirrors mostly originated from 19th century France.

'This one's made of mahogany.

'John hopes it will fetch somewhere between £30 and £50.'

I've got some bits in here that might be of interest.

I had a look in this bit, but I didn't look down there.

There's a couple of bits there. It's a bit heavy.

To do with the history of the Olympic Games.

Where are these from?

They were my dad's.

He was very into his sport.

He loved his cricket and golf.

He must have started collecting these monthly.

This is Atlanta '96. Let's see what John thinks. John, are you there?

Hiya. We've got a huge collection here of various Olympic souvenirs.

-May I see?

-Yes.

I've seen this set before, the medals.

-Are they complete?

-Yes.

-You've got them all?

-Yes.

They're in five different pages. Let's take one out.

We can see on each side, they have an event

that is kind of famous for each particular Olympics.

If we go up, I guess, to 1936,

you'll have Jesse Owens there

and then up in 1972,

it would be the Russian gymnast,

Olga Korbut, who won... I think it was three gold medals.

-What are they made of?

-They're solid silver.

They are? Right.

The company that produced them did two different sets,

they did one in bronze and one in silver.

In the silver set, they were limited to 10,000 sets,

worldwide, which is not a huge amount, when you're talking globally

and each collector could only subscribe to one set,

so although I have seen them, they don't turn up every week.

-Here's the other two.

-That's the book that goes with that.

-What's that?

-This is a collection of playing cards.

-OK.

24 micro mini playing card decks, each one again for an Olympics.

It has the correct subject matter for us here.

I'd put them together. I'd be looking at £250-£350 for them.

-OK. That's good. That's lovely.

-You wanted to raise £500, didn't you,

for the building repairs, do you think we've got near that figure?

Hopefully there. It would be nice if it is £500.

The value of everything going to auction comes to...£800.

Wow! That's brilliant. It means I can get most of the work done,

even the work I didn't mention this morning!

I've got £1,000 worth of work to do completely...

-So that should more or less cover it.

-Yes, hopefully.

'Thanks to a family of collectors,

'we found plenty here today to take to auction,

'including the gold jewellery that belonged to Carol's mum.

'It should fetch us £300-£400.

'There's also Carol's Wedgwood collection.

'She has a set of 13.

'John's estimated it to make £30-£50 at auction.

'Plus we've got those coins that belonged to Carol's dad.

'This is a really exciting find,

'with two coins dating back to Elizabeth I and William III.

'An estimate of £50-£100

'will go a long way towards fixing that wall.'

'Coming up on Cash In The Attic,

'Carol sounds glad to see the back of one find in particular.'

-Better than being behind the wardrobe.

-Absolutely.

'And one of our sales proves that some of the best things come in small packages.'

I take it all back. Size doesn't matter at all!

'Find out more when the final hammer falls.'

It's been a few weeks since we had a good look through Carol's home

and found box upon box of collections, most of which we've brought here

to Chiswick Auction Rooms.

We're hoping that today we'll make the £500 she's looking for to start her home improvements.

Let's just hope that the bidders and buyers join in.

'Chiswick Auction Rooms has regular bidders, looking for a bargain.

'Let's hope their pockets are deep enough to bid on some of Carol's high-value items.'

-Good morning.

-Good morning.

-Having a look at the medals.

I wonder whether we'll win any, come the Olympics.

-I hope it goes well for us.

-Is there anything you haven't brought today?

The beanie babies. I found out I'm expecting a granddaughter

-during March, so decided to keep those for her.

-That's really nice.

-They're going to go back to being toys.

-Yes. They should be.

Come on, let's make your money!

'The auction's already in full swing. First up is that pair of Concorde cufflinks

'that Carol's Dad, Les, bought.'

And start me at £20. £20. £10. Thank you.

Bid at 10, give me 12. At £10. The Concorde cufflinks. A bid at 12.

Thank you. 14 at the back. 14. 16 for this? 16.

Who'll give me 18? A bid at £16.

A bid of £16. 18 there. 20? At £18.

Bid 18. Give me 20.

At £18. Are you all done. For £18.

-£18. Are you happy with that?

-Yes. Very happy.

-Good. OK.

'Just £2 off John's top estimate. We're off to a flying start!'

Now the next lot is that collection by Franklin Mint of Great Airplanes.

I must admit, if you don't mind me saying, built me up a lot

and they were tiny little things!

But they're a great historical collection if you're into aviation.

You've got the book as well. Tells you everything about the planes.

Great Airplanes. And £30?

£20? A bid of £20. 22. 22. 25.

25. 28? 28. 30? 32? 35? £38? A bid of £38? Thank you. 38. 40?

40 here. 42? 45?

45. 48? 48. 50? At £48.

At £48. 50 there. 50. 52.

55. 58. 60.

2. 65.

68. 70.

72.

75. 78.

-80.

-Oh, my goodness!

-82.

85. 88.

90?

Up to you. Now £88. On £88. Two fat ladies. At £88 and going. All done.

£88!

Considerably more than I thought. But interesting.

Must be the subject matter, aviation. A few people here I haven't seen before.

-Are you pleased with that?

-Yes.

-That's brilliant.

I take it all back. Size doesn't matter at all!

'At £88, our sale price has soared past John's top estimate.

'Looks like Carol's dad had a good eye when it came to collecting.

Time to see if Carol's taste will prove as lucrative.

'That Wedgwood Wild Strawberry china she collected in the 1970s

'is up next.'

£20 for it.

A bid at 20. At £20. 22? 22. 25. 28?

-28 there. 30. 32.

-(It's good!)

There are bids at £32. £32. 35. I'm selling at £32 if you're done.

-For £32, and going...

-That's good.

-£32 then.

'Carol did say she never used this set.

'She's probably glad to have made the space.

'But if she's like her dad, that cabinet will soon be filled again!

'The oval mirror John found in the bedroom is next under the hammer.

'It's in fairly good condition, but will this be reflected in the bids?'

£32. Your last chance. £32, going. All done.

-£32, was that OK?

-Yes, that's fine.

-Yes?

-It's better than being behind the wardrobe.

-Absolutely.

'Perhaps the biggest find of the rummage was the gold jewellery

'that belonged to Carol's mum.'

-Did you have any idea it could be worth £300-£400?

-Not at all.

I hadn't seen it that much. It belonged to my great-grandmother.

It had come from my mum. I don't know anyone that's even worn it.

We like gold at the moment. Somebody at £300?

Straight in at £300. I'll take...

-There we are.

-Oh, my gosh!

310. 320. 330.

340. I see you bidding. I'll come back to you. 350. 360.

370. 380. 390. 400. 410. 420. 430. 440.

460. 480?

A bit at 460. You want 480? You want 480? 500.

510, if you like.

510. 520. 530. 540. 550?

550. 560? 560.

-570...

-Still going!

..at the back.

I think he's out. The bid's at 560. 560 for the gold. All done? 560 and gone.

-£560!

-Oh, my god. Thank you.

-I know. Some excellent things we found, I think that certainly proves it.

'Talk about a golden touch! That's a fantastic result!'

OK, now we're halfway through your lots.

How much did you want to raise altogether?

I would have liked to have raised 500 to help with the repairs.

You know we've done quite well. We've got a break before the rest,

including the lovely Olympic medals.

So far, you've made £730.

That's brilliant! Thank you.

-Shall we go and get a cup of tea?

-Sounds lovely, thank you.

'Who'd have thought! Carol could top the £1,000 mark.

'If you fancy having a go at selling some antiques and collectibles,

'it's worth knowing that auction houses do charge commission.

'Your local sale room can advise you on these extra costs.

'As we resume the auction, we're on to a sporting theme

'with that coin and stamp collection commemorating the Ashes.'

-I'm guessing you're not a cricket fan?

-I do love cricket.

I've been a fan since I was about eight.

My dad was a cricketer,

Saturday and Sunday.

I used to go when I was eight. We were members of a club in Dulwich.

I learnt to score cricket when I was about ten.

£10 for it? Bid at 10. Bid at 10. 12. Bid at 12. 14, Howard? 14.

16. 18? 18. 20. 22.

24. 26. 28. 30.

32. 34. 36. 38. 40.

42. 44. 46. 48. 50.

52? 52. 54. 56. 58.

60. 2.

64. 66. Now 66. 68? 70.

At £68. At £68. 70, new bid. 72, if you like? 72.

74. 76. 78. 80. 82?

£80, everyone. 82. £80. Thanks.

Your bid and going at £80. You've got it. £80.

-That's brilliant.

-I'm going to come to auction with you more often,

-with the amount you're making. Lordy!

-Thank you, Dad!

'Howzat! Four times as much as John's highest estimate.

'It just goes to show,

'you can never predict what will happen in the auction room!

'Now these coins that John discovered in Carol's drawers

'are a great piece of British history.

'Some of them are over 400 years old

'but will our bidders be taken with them?'

Considering the age, the condition was good.

A collector wants to see the definition of the embossing,

when the coins have been stamped.

I thought these were good examples of their age.

£100? £50?

-Two hands go up. A bid of £50.

-Oh, here we go.

-55. 60.

5. 70. 5. 80. 5.

90? At £85 bid. At 85. Are you with me on 90? At £85.

At £85. Give me 90? 90, new bidder. Thank you. 95. 100.

110. 110. 120. 130.

130 bid. 140. Saying no already.

The bid's at 130. Take 140? At 130, are we done?

We're done at 130. Going at 130.

-£130.

-It's about what you said. Yes, it's fantastic.

'So the dealers shared John's enthusiasm for the coins,

'as another of Carol's dad's collections hits its estimate.'

'Next up is the costume jewellery that Celia found in the bedroom.'

Start me... Should make more. £50 for it?

Not a hand moves. Marvellous(!) £30. A bid of £30. 32.

About eight hands gone up. 30. 32 there. 35. 38. 40?

42. 45. 48. 50.

5. 60. 5.

70. 5. 75. 80. 5.

Do you want 85? Your hand went up too.

85 in front of me now. New bidder. 90?

5? 100? 105? 105. 110? 115?

-115. 120. 125. 130...

-You're kidding me!

-..135. 140.

-What was in there?

£140. At 140. Are we all done?

You're waving. Are you going to bid? 140 then, going. 140, and gone.

£140! There wasn't real gold in there that we missed?

Those were the bits we put in the other box!

'So the costume jewellery resulted in another great sale,

'exceeding our top estimate by £40.

'At this rate, we'll be fitting a brand new extension,

'never mind just a front wall!

'Our final lot is the Olympic medal collection.

'Will the crowd put it at the top of the podium when the bidding starts?'

If you took the time to read through these commemorative coins,

you'd get a great education.

Yes.

-We're hoping for a few roof tiles with these.

-That would be lovely!

£200 the lot. Who'll start me at £200?

£200. Bid at £200. At £200.

£200. You want 210?

At £200. 210.

210, thank you. 220? 220. 230.

230? 230. 240.

250, new bidder. 250. 260? 260. 270?

280? 280. 290? 290. 300?

300, your bid, if you like. 300. 310. 320.

330. 340. 350. 360. 370. 380.

-390.

-Oh, my god.

380. Bid of 380. 380. I'm selling at 380.

Are we all done for the coins? 390, new bidder.

400? Over there now.

400 again, back in. Give me 410? Two against you.

I'm bid at £400. At £400. You want 410? Take 10.

In or out, please? £400. Going once at £400.

Twice at £400. £400, you've got it.

-£400.

-Yes, yes, yes!

-They made gold for us today!

Didn't everything? Because you only wanted to raise 500.

You've actually raised... Are you ready for this?

..£1,480. You've raised almost £1,000 more than you wanted!

That's brilliant, thank you.

'Well, Carol wasted no time in getting someone round

'to take a look at the wall and there should be enough left over for other improvements.'

OK? What do you think?

Yes, just wants the mortar repointing

and it'll be absolutely fine.

Cash In The Attic has been great. When I first did the programme,

my dad was a bricklayer, so all the stuff that went to auction

was his or my mum's, so if he'd have been here, he would have built the wall for me,

so it's something he's done even though he's not here. So, yeah, I'm really pleased.

-Thanks very much. Thank you.

-OK. Thank you. Bye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd