Nuth Cash in the Attic

Welcome to Cash in the Attic. This is the show that searches out all those hidden treasures

around your home and then we sell them at auction.

Well, today we're going to be meeting a lady

who's hoping to banish away those winter blues

by setting sail for the sun.

Today on Cash In The Attic,

no-one likes to lose out on a chance to win a prize draw.

I bet you got daggers when you came back off the prize floor, didn't you?

-Yes.

-LAUGHTER

It's going to be a day of strong reactions.

Very nice too!

Quite a surprise.

But it's not exactly plain sailing at auction.

£20, are you...?

A little bit disappointed, but...

-Hang in there till the final hammer falls.

-No further interest?

Today I'm in Hampshire, where a hard-working lady

is hoping that we can help turn her keepsakes into cash.

Sally Nuth worked in financial accounting for 40 years,

where she met her good friend Carol, a fellow knitter,

who used to be her boss.

Sally moved to the Hampshire coast to enjoy the views

and this is the home she shared with her husband, Robert,

who lived until 2002.

Recently, Sally's been helping out at a local charity shop

but now she's raising funds for her one great passion,

an ocean-going adventure

'and she's invited myself and our expert John Cameron to help her out.'

-She's got lots of stuff for you to value.

-Let's hope so.

-Good morning, ladies.

-Good morning.

-Hello.

-You look like you're ready and raring to go.

-Yes.

That didn't sound right, shall we start again?

-Are you ready and raring to go?

-Yes.

THEY LAUGH

Now, obviously, John's with me today, he's going to be your expert.

So if it's OK, maybe he can crack on and see if he can find any pieces.

We can press on, John, if that's OK. Go and have a look, see what you find.

-You get the tea, I get the marching orders.

-Absolutely!

You called us in. What do you want the money for?

I want to make the money to go on a cruise.

Right, OK, why a cruise?

-This will be my 21st cruise.

-Oh, really?

And I just want a bit of extra spending money so I can go to the spa and have things done.

-How wonderful. Now are you going on this as well?

-No.

-No, I don't like cruises.

-Oh, really?

-I've never been on one.

-She doesn't like the water.

Oh, well, you'd not be much good company, would you, then? But you are here to help today?

-Yes.

-Well, we're talking about spending money on the cruise, what sort of money do you want to raise?

About £300.

OK, well, if we're going to raise this £300 for your pocket money on the cruise,

we'd better see if John's found anything for us to have a look at.

So Sally is planning her 21st cruise. What a fabulous hobby.

Well, whatever happens, we'll do all we can to send her on her way in style.

Carol makes a start and it looks like John's got lucky, too.

Ah, John, have you found something already?

I have, something rather nice, in fact, Lorne, a Montblanc pen.

Now that's a very good name, so where did this come from?

I was on board the QM2 at an art auction

and this was put in the raffle by the president of Montblanc

and my name got pulled out and I won the pen.

Never been used because...

I lose pens, so it was safer to keep it in the box.

I bet you got daggers when you came back off the prize floor, didn't you?

Yes, and I then went on to win artwork at that auction, as well.

Oh, my goodness, how wonderful.

The Montblanc brand is one typically associated with luxury goods.

They're very nice items and quite expensive items.

A pen like this today, new at a shop, would cost you £250-£300.

A pen like this. Um...

Nice history as well, they started at the turn of the last... About 1906.

Set up by engineer, a stationer and a banker,

to compete in a very competitive market of fountain pens

and they started as the Simplo Filler Company,

adopting the name Montblanc, which we can see.

This is their little emblem, this snowcap,

which is symbolic of the snowcap of the mountain, Mont Blanc.

You said that they retail around £250. Is that the sort of estimate you'd put on it for auction?

No, because this is now, I know it's new and it's not been used but effectively it's second-hand.

It is good that it's got its original box, packaging and paperwork.

-I'd say £80-£120.

-Pleasantly shocked.

Well, it's not quite a blank cheque but at least the elegant Montblanc pen

has written a neat first line on our auction list.

Let's see how quickly we can fill in a second.

Tucked away in one of the bedrooms, I soon uncover a haul of ladies' wristwatches

and one of them was a present to Sally.

I can see all sorts of makes here, proof that styles come and go

but let's hope that this lot is in fashion at auction.

John thinks it will make £30-£40.

Carol's found something interesting, have you got a character jug?

-Yes, I have.

-Got a couple more here.

There we are, there's another one. You take that one, I'll have this one.

Are they inherited or did you acquire these?

I acquired these two but that one came from my father, it was given to him on his wedding day.

As you know, they're Royal Doulton,

if we turn upside down, we see they've got the Doulton mark on the bottom.

That one there is called Paddy

and that was actually designed by Harry Fenton at Doulton

and they first issued that in about 1937

and it continued in production up until about 1960,

so they would have made thousands of them.

This one here is Bacchus and he's the god of wine, if you have a look at him there, he's got a bunch of grapes

and looking at his eyes, it looks like he's been at the wine.

-He does look somewhat inebriated, doesn't he?

-He does, doesn't he?

He's quite nice, and that one there doesn't need any introduction,

we can see exactly who that is, it's Winston Churchill.

But turn it upside down, I did notice on the Doulton Mark

we can see it's been drilled, that mark, right in the centre

and they often do that when they have seconds.

Apparently the colour of his coat is slightly wrong.

-Well, there we are, so you knew that?

-Yeah.

-OK.

Well, for the three of them, I'll be looking at about £30-£40, OK?

Yeah, that'll be fine.

Jugs like these Bacchus and Paddy examples,

which feature just the face, are known as character jugs

whereas full-body examples like Winston Churchill are known as Toby jugs.

I've no doubt this bunch of revellers will toast Sally's health and see her off in style.

And talking of style, how about costume jewellery?

It started to become popular during the 1930s,

producing glamorous fashion accessories available for prices that wouldn't disgrace your purse.

John's found this assortment in the study.

They belonged to Sally's mother and, as our host prefers not to wear any kind of jewellery,

this collection can go to auction with a price tag of £40-£60.

Now, John's busy rummaging away upstairs

so I thought I'd leave him to it for a moment and have a catch up with the two of you.

-How did you meet?

-Ten years ago, we met, I met Carol through work.

I was Sally's boss...

and we seemed to click, didn't we?

Yeah.

Obviously, during your working life, you meet lots of people

but you don't necessarily stay friends with all of them, so why do you think you two have?

Similar interests, we like knitting and crocheting and things like that.

-We just have a good laugh together, don't we?

-Yeah.

So in terms of your working life,

what did you actually start out doing?

I've worked in accounts practically all my life

but I have... Weekends and holidays, I helped my dad, he was a greyhound trainer.

So was this going on before you met your husband?

Well before. I...I led him astray.

Oh, did you? Dare I ask in what way?

If he wanted to see me, he had to come to the dog track.

Never been to a dog track before.

I met him in the British Legion and we became friends, always used to have the last dance together,

decided after being friends that we'd quite the like to go out and we did.

And within 18 months we were married.

We said that when we'd been married 25 years, we were going to do a cruise and not a party.

Unfortunately my husband died, we were married 21 years

and I still did it...

in memory of him.

That was very much to be admired. It must have been brave to do it on your own.

Initially, to do the first cruise,

but I've met friends and it's something I can do on my own with a sense of security.

Well, that all sounds very tempting, I can almost understand why Sally loves to go on a cruise.

Her friend Carol has never quite found her sea legs, though,

but here in the lounge, she has discovered some of Sally's cruise ship memorabilia.

The calendar and paperweights were Christmas presents given to her on the QE2,

while this plate commemorates the liner being taken out of commission in 2008, after 40 years' service.

Both are decorated with the famous Cunard insignia

and John reckons they could bring us a further £25-£40.

We're steaming along nicely now and I think I've located something worthy of John's attention.

John? Sally?

I found a lovely ring.

Look at that, is this the original box for it, as well?

-Possibly. But it came... The ring is my grandmother's.

-Right.

And that was her engagement ring.

Well, stylistically, I'd certainly put it at the early part of the 20th century.

It's 18 carat gold and hallmarked in Chester, 1918, so end of the First World War.

Right. Is it something you'd be prepared to sell?

Yes, it doesn't fit me.

It's very small, as many of those rings are.

And I haven't got any children to hand it on to, so, yes,

it can go and be enjoyed by someone else.

Well, commercially, not a terribly popular style

but they still sell at auction and it's in fairly good condition for its age,

it's got that late Victorian/Edwardian look about it,

claw set with little tiny rose-cut diamonds either side, two each side,

called rose cut because each one's different.

They are quite roughly cut, it's quite a crude cutting but it was very typical of that period.

In here we've got some semiprecious stones, which I think possibly tourmaline or topaz.

So I think, taking everything into consideration, we're looking at £60-£80.

-It's about what I expected. Pleased with that.

-Phew.

Ah, but when this much-loved family heirloom goes under the hammer, will the bidders match John's estimate?

Topaz-set ring and what shall we sell this, start me £50?

Topaz ring. £50, start me? £40 then?

Surely somebody will bid me £40?

Let's hope someone steps in to deliver us a solid gold result.

Our search for hidden heirloom's in Hampshire

is racing along at a rate of knots,

a bit like this sleek greyhound statue.

And there are numerous dogs to be found.

Here's another pair of greyhound figurines. These little fellows are popping up everywhere.

What's Carol found in the kitchen?

A dinner service of collectable Poole pottery,

which was given to Sally as a wedding present.

She and Robert added to it over the years,

picking up pieces all over the place including Devon, near to where Poole is based.

Tastes change and sets like this sometimes struggle at auction,

so John's cautious with his estimate at £20-£40.

And it isn't the only item to attract his curiosity.

Carol, what about this? This looks interesting.

-What do you know about it?

-Well, it belonged to Sally's father

and I believe it was on his first car he ever had.

They made it in the shape of a greyhound cos he was a greyhound trainer.

-Her father was a greyhound trainer?

-Yes.

-Oh, right.

It's an interesting thing, I love the styling of it, look at the body.

-And it's heavy, isn't it?

-It is heavy.

The body, look how angular it is, the muscles, the definition.

Mascots, originally, were an optional extra

and they would have adorned the cap of the radiator,

which, on the very first cars, they sat on the top.

When they went under the bonnet, these became bonnet ornaments that were fixed actually to the bonnet.

But there are some very collectable examples,

certainly the early pieces from Rolls-Royce and Bentley and things like that,

and some of the ones by Lalique that were literally made of pressed glass and had a lighting element in them.

So they were attached to the radiator cap and wired up to the battery of the car,

when the lights were on at night, they actually glowed.

-That's quite a nice piece, isn't it?

-Yes.

Well, there are a lot of collectors of car mascots or hood ornaments, as they're known in America.

Something like that,

I think at auction would easily make £50-£80.

That's good, yeah.

As we've seen, there are greyhounds everywhere in this house.

Let's hope this specimen brings out the motor enthusiasts on sale day.

Sally is in the main bedroom,

where she's just remembered to more rings for the sale,

which were both once owned by her mother.

One is a nine-carat gold wedding ring

and the other is unmarked, with a diamond and amethyst.

John estimates their combined value at £20-£40.

Sally's won a few prizes at sea in her time and this has included several prints of modern artwork.

'I'm joining her for a private view of just some of the items in her collection.'

Now, these all look like a limited edition prints to me.

-They are.

-Where are they from?

Either the QE2 or the Queen Mary 2.

They have an early bird raffle before the start of the auction.

-Now, did you pay for any of them?

-Some of them but not all of them.

Most of these, I won.

This one, I paid for this one, which won't be going to the sale.

Tell me what made you decide to buy this one.

Well, it's called Celebration and I'd had a lot of family death in a very short time

and this is when I started to come out of that period in my life

and I thought this was an apt picture.

-So the rest of the paintings here, or prints should I say, are they going to be sold?

-Yes, they are.

Lovely, well, let's see what John has to say about them. John?

Hello, Carol, come through.

Interesting, what have we got, a gallery going on?

-We found a lot of paintings here, all from different cruises, so what do you think?

-OK.

Well, I've been on the cruises and seen these art auctions in action,

and often they are living artists.

I tend to find, at the moment, the resale value of them

doesn't reflect what they cost originally.

I think often people are paying for the marketing, as well.

But they are pretty pictures, after all, that's why people buy them, they like them,

not necessarily because it's an investment.

They are nice splashes of colour.

What determines how much each one goes for is the subject matter and we have some interesting colours.

But if we're just talking about this selection here,

you've got to be looking at upwards of £200.

Considering a lot of them were won in raffles,

that's not bad, is it?

Anything is a bonus, considering I've not had to pay anything for them.

Now, at the start of the day, of course, you were looking to raise some spending money

for your next cruise and how much did you want to raise?

About £300.

OK. Well, the value of everything going to auction comes to...

£555.

Very nice, too!

Quite a surprise.

Well, Sally seems pleased, so let's hope we do reach that target

and maybe even go beyond it when we take everything to auction.

The Montblanc pen that Sally is selling for £80-£120 was a prize from one of her cruises.

And the greyhound car mascot looks like a pedigree winner.

It has a very attractive estimate of £50-£80.

Let's hope we see some pottery collectors at the sale.

£30-£40 is the estimate for Bacchus, Winston, and Paddy.

They're being sold together in a single lot.

Still to come on Cash In The Attic, selling antiques at auction can prove very satisfying.

-I think that's good, don't you?

-Lovely.

-Are you pleased with that?

Yes, very pleased with that.

But don't flog all your best china.

What are you eating off now, then?

Er...cardboard plates.

Be there when the final hammer falls.

Now, it's been a few weeks since we visited Sally at her house

and found some very nice items that we've brought here,

to Chiswick Auction Rooms in West London.

Now, remember, she's looking to raise around £300 towards her next cruise.

We've had the valuations done by our expert,

let's just hope today that the bidders agree with his valuations.

Sally's collectables have been on show for several days,

which means the bidders have had plenty of time to inspect everything up close.

Sally and Carol are saying farewell to that rather smart Montblanc pen.

-Good morning.

-Good morning.

-Morning.

-Looking at one of your items, I see.

-Yes, we are, yeah.

How do you feel about it being in the sale today?

-Quite excited, really.

-Yeah?

Cos you've got a lot of modern items, aren't they, today?

Yeah, we have some interesting items and you have a big bunch of prints

I had to put a bit of a guesstimate on those but they could be our wild card today.

-Right, lovely.

-Shall we put it back in the cabinet and get ready for the sale?

-Yes.

-Right, follow me.

The auctioneer is already at work and as we take our places,

the first of Sally's items under the hammer is her dinner service.

So where was this from?

Half of it was a wedding present

and we added the rest of it later on, when we were in Poole.

What are you eating off now, then?

Er...cardboard plates.

Start me £10, surely?

At £10, I'm bid...and 12 I'll take, now. 12, there. 15, 18,

20, 22, 25.

At £22 to my left, take 25, now.

At £22. All done and selling at 22.

Not a startling result at £22

but one we can live with,

as it kicks off Sally's fund for her next cruise.

Next, we have our three Royal Doulton pieces.

We have the large character jug, Paddy.

The little Bacchus one. The one with the one-eyed wine thing.

-And the little Churchill which was a second, wasn't it?

-Yes.

OK, well, we want £30-£40 for them.

Let's see what the room thinks of our estimate.

Start me £20, somebody.

£20 start me, £20 I'm bid.

22, 25, 28 and 30. 32, 35,

38 and 40.

42. Thank you very much, at £40 at the back of the room.

-42 there, 45, 48.

-That's good.

At £48 there. Take 50, now, £48.

Are we done? Someone make it round money.

At £48, I'll sell it. Last chance, 48 and gone. 392...

-I think that's very good, don't you?

-Lovely.

-Pleased with that?

Yes, very pleased with that.

At £48 for the three, Bacchus looks pleased with that outcome, too.

I expect he'll celebrate with a tipple or two,

as he heads off with Churchill and Paddy to pastures new.

Sally must be sad to be parting with this Cunard memorabilia.

There's a calendar, commemorative plate and a paperweight, all mementoes of her recent trips.

I hope the bidders are impressed.

I'm going to sell it, then, at £20. A maiden bid. No further interest?

-£20, are you...?

-A little bit disappointed.

-Yeah.

We have to take an overview and hope that by the time we've finished selling our pieces,

we have the money you want.

That bid procured a modest £20 towards Sally's trip.

Next up, this Art Deco greyhound car mascot from 1929.

Sally has added some greyhound racing medals to the lot.

They all came from her father.

At £65 standing in the doorway. At 65.

No further bidding on 65, I'm going to sell it.

£65, so it's a bit more than the bottom estimate.

-Yeah, quite happy with that.

-Yeah?

-Yes.

-Good, good.

Yes, that's more like it.

The mascot was a firm favourite, bringing home the £65 prize.

Up next is this collection of seven ladies' timepieces.

In the marketplace, it's a known fact that...

ladies' watches are harder to sell than gents', for some reason.

However, we're looking for £30-£40 for these.

£10 I'm bid and 12 now, surely? At £10, 12 there, 15, 18, 20,

22, 25, 28 and 30...

At £28, seated to the left. Take 30 now, one more. At £28 to my left, take 30, now.

All done? £28 and selling.

Another £28 for the kitty, it seems John was right about the watches.

But at the halfway stage, I'm wondering how close that's brought us to our £300 goal.

We've got lots of things to go this afternoon but so far,

in the morning part of the sale, we've actually made £183.

Oh, lovely.

-You're pleased with that?

-Yeah, very.

OK, so not too far to go to reach our target of £300.

-We're nearly there. We're more than halfway there. I think that's good news!

-Very.

Sally and Carol seemed pleased with how the auction's going so far

and if their experience inspires you to think about selling some bric-a-brac in this way,

bear in mind that auction houses charge fees, such as commission.

Your local saleroom will advise you on these extra costs.

There's plenty to come in Sally's sale but first,

a pair of rings from her mother's belongings.

One is a diamond and amethyst, the other a nine-carat gold wedding ring.

Somebody start me £20. £20 I'm bid.

22, I'll take now. At 22 there, 25, 28.

And 30, 32, 35,

That's good.

40, 42, 45, at £42 in the doorway, then.

I'll take 45 now. At £42. All done and selling at 42 in the doorway.

-£42.

-Not bad at all.

-That's good, isn't it?

-Very good.

-Excellent.

£42 is a good result to start the second half of Sally's sale.

I wonder if this elegant Montblanc pen will write another positive figure,

somewhere near the estimate of £80-£120.

It'll make more, this.

Start me, £50 somebody? Montblanc £50, start me, surely?

At £50 I'm bid. And 5 I'll take now. Surely?

55? 55, there.

60, 5,

70, 5, 80.

At £75 at the back of the room. Ridiculously cheap for a Montblanc at £75.

Come on, a bit more than that.

80 next to you. And 5,

90. At £85, standing. My original bidder at £85.

I'll take a 90 now, still cheap at £85.

But selling, all done, last chance.

£85, are you pleased with that?

Yeah, considering I got it for nothing.

Yes, you didn't pay a penny for it, did you?

From Sally and Carol's perspective, that's 100% profit. Not bad.

Now then, a large collection of costume jewellery,

which belonged to Sally's mother,

John's estimate was £40-£60 so let's hope the bidders take a shine to it.

And I'm already bid £30, I'll take 2 in the room.

The costume jewellery, £30. 2 now, £32, beats commission. 35.

38 and 40, 42. At £40, seated, then.

Take 42 now, a lot for the money. At £40 in the middle of the room.

Are we all done then? Last chance at £40 and selling.

-£40, that's good, isn't it?

-Yeah, lovely.

-That's really good.

Bang on our lower estimate, I was hoping for a little bit more but £40.

It's all good news, Sally's money for the cruise grows ever larger with each successful sale.

How about her grandmother's engagement ring?

John thinks it's worth £60-£80.

The 18 carat gold and topaz set ring. And what shall we sell this for? Start me, £50.

Topaz ring £50, start me. £40, then.

Surely? £40 I'm bid, thank you, and 5 I'll take now. At £40 only for a ring...

-At £40.

-Crikey.

£40. Someone give me 5. At £40, then.

All done and selling at 40 and gone. One and only bidder..

Well, I'm surprised at that, it was 18 carat, quite a bit less than I thought it might go for

-but it's still £40, are you OK with that?

-Yeah.

Nonetheless, Sally is happy to let it go as we sail towards our final lot,

the series of modern art prints,

some of which Sally acquired on previous cruises.

Start me £100, we'll see where they go. Surely £100 start me?

£100 bid surely? £100, start me? £50, we'll see where they go.

No bids of £50? £50 is bid. 55.

60, 5, 70, 5.

We want more than this, don't we?

At £75, I'll take 80 now. At £75. No further bidding then at £75.

I'm going to sell it. 80, thank you. And 5, 90.

5, 100.

That's at look away, at £95 at the back of the room.

£95. Someone make it round money if you like, at £95, then.

My biggest bid at £95 and selling.

£95, that's a lot less than we were hoping for.

Well, that's a bit of a disappointment

but Sally shouldn't be too downhearted. It's still £95 she didn't have a minute ago.

Plus it's not a bad return considering she won them all as prizes in a raffle.

After that stormy sea of sales, let's hope we've come close to Sally's target.

-Now you wanted £300, didn't you, towards you cruise?

-Yes.

-Hopefully a bit more.

-Yeah.

-OK, well, I know there were some disappointments today.

-Right.

But you have raised...

£485.

Oh, lovely. Great, smashing.

-So you're happy with that?

-Yeah, very happy. Yeah, that's wonderful.

Aboard the new Queen Elizabeth, Sally had a fabulous time cruising around the Mediterranean.

It was a fabulous experience to go on a new ship

and your days are filled with quizzes and lectures

and a choice of where you dine, evening entertainment.

There's never a dull moment on board a ship.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd