Tong Cash in the Attic

Hello, welcome to the show that searches people's homes for antiques and collectables

and then they raise money for something really special.

Now, I always find it fascinating

when families want to raise that money as a treat for somebody else,

and it's interesting to see what they're prepared to give up

in order to realise the dream.

'Coming up on Cash In The Attic,

'our expert asks a junior apprentice to assess a solid-gold sovereign...'

-50 quid.

-50 quid? Phwoar, that's a lot of money!

-50 quid for one coin.

-You could do with 50 quid, couldn't you?

..we recall the days when you could fly supersonic

to glamorous locations the world over.

-So did you go from London to New York?

-I wish!

-London to Manchester.

-OK!

And at the auction, sometimes it's so fast and furious

it's just all too much!

I am exhausted!

I got a bit of a hot flush through that one.

It just went so fast!

Find out why when the hammer falls.

Now, today I'm in my element, out in the fresh air

and in the Garden of England, in Kent,

and I'm on my way to meet - wait for this -

a former farmer, traffic warden,

prison worker and a lollipop lady,

so I tell you, this is going to be interesting.

Farmer's daughter Margaret Tong has retired

to live in this bungalow

close to where she grew up in the Kent countryside.

Sadly, her husband, Alastair, died back in 1993,

and their grown-up son, Clive, now has a son of his own -

Margaret's only grandson, Elliot.

Margaret herself is an intrepid explorer,

and on her travels, she met her friend, John Franklin,

a couple of years ago whilst on a whist-drive holiday,

something that he organises regularly.

Margaret enjoys car-boot sales and will be selling

some of her amazing collections to pay for a special treat for Elliot,

who's also a collector... of Pokemon cards.

-Hi, Jonty!

-Good morning.

I see you're in God's own country today,

not in Oxfordshire. Here you are in Kent.

'We'll all be depending today on the advice from our expert,

'who has over 30 years' experience in antiques, Jonty Hearnden.

'Whilst he makes a start, I'm meeting our hosts.'

Hello? Margaret, how are you?

-How nice to see you.

-And you.

I've just been saying in the orchard

that you do everything in life, and now I find you on the computer.

-Do you do this as well?

-No!

And what a turnout we have. So, introduce me.

This is my grandson, Elliot.

Hi, Elliot. I won't kiss you, cos I know boys your age

don't like to be kissed by strange women.

-How old are you?

-12.

-12, OK.

-Now, you're not 12, I know.

-This is my friend, John.

-No, six times!

-How are you, John?

-Fine.

Now, whose decision was it to call us in?

-The old man, John.

-And why's that, John?

Well, I watch the programme every day.

-Every day?

-Yeah.

-You know I love you for that. Really love you for that.

And when I came down here the first time, I looked round me

and I thought, "All this stuff, and it's doing nothing."

So how much money are you aiming to raise today?

-£800.

-£800.

-And how are you going to spend it?

-Flying to New York, going to a store.

-And who's "we"?

-Elliot and myself.

-Elliot, you're in on this game, eh?

-Yeah.

OK, well, now, Elliot, come by me.

If you're going to make £800, you'd better go

and look for stuff, OK? Take John with you.

'Elliot and John toddle off to begin their treasure hunt,

'and Margaret meets our expert.'

-Margaret, here he is, the dashing Jonty.

-Hi. Nice to see you!

-Obviously clutching a snowman.

-Not just the one.

There's a whole collection of snowmen.

Not only here, there are other cabinets. They're everywhere!

What's the fascination, then, with snowmen?

My son read a lot, and read the book,

and then I saw the figurines,

and that's it, I just love the snowmen.

We should have had Aled Jones here today, the Walking In The Air bit.

We should all be joining in.

I notice that we've got different collections here, actually, Gloria.

Look at this. This shelf here is Royal Doulton.

Is it all right if I lift this one out? I love this one. Look.

-How could you not smile at that?

-I know.

-So these are made by...?

-Royal Doulton. And they came out in 1985.

The animated movie was produced in 1982.

So, obviously, everyone joined the bandwagon.

-So, do you want this collection to go to the auction sale?

-Yes, please.

How many pieces are we talking about altogether?

-About 60 altogether.

-Roughly 60?

-60?!

It's very difficult to put an exact figure on this massive collection,

so we really need to be talking ballparks.

You also need to let the auctioneer decide

how they're going to sell it best.

I suspect that they might break it up into various groups.

Hang on one second. I just want to get this one.

Now, I don't know whether he's worth anything or not,

but I just love him.

-Isn't he gorgeous?

-It's wonderful. That's the money box, as well.

-Oh, of course.

-It's interesting, they do vary in price,

because they withdrew various figures on an early stage.

So if you have the snowman that's on skis...

Oh, I wish I did! I did try but never was successful.

What would that be worth?

Well, at auction, that's worth about £150.

-Just the one figure.

-Wow.

-OK?

But they go down from there, because that's the rarity factor.

But roughly speaking, and it is a rough estimate here,

I think we're looking at £500 to £800 for these.

MARGARET GASPS Oh, my goodness!

-That's going to be great, isn't it?

-Margaret, that's amazing, isn't it?

That is brilliant. Are you shocked?

-Amazed, yes.

-Brilliant.

-Are you happy to let them go, still?

-Yes, more than happy!

A very good start to our fund, and so we move on,

to see what John's found out in the conservatory.

Now, stamp collecting began

almost as soon as the first stamps were issued, in 1840.

This was given to Margaret by a friend whose father assembled a collection,

and Margaret has added to it with some first-day covers.

Jonty thinks they're worth between £50 and £75 at auction,

but he's much more excited by a box he's found in the dining room.

-Ooh!

-Margaret seems to be collecting all these sorts of things.

-Mm.

-Ah, here you are, Margaret. Hello.

-Margaret, we're rummaging.

-I tell you, we've found some marvellous toys.

-Yeah.

-Whose were these?

-For the boys. They were my husband's.

-Were they?

I thought he should have a hobby, so I thought he should collect cars!

He didn't have a hobby, and I think everybody should.

-I think it was YOU who was interested, really!

-Yes.

Yes, really, you're allowed to confess

this is your private collection, Margaret.

Well, I thought limited edition. That's what it all started with.

And then wherever you went there was cars, and so you bought them.

Now, there's a bit of a divide in the marketplace.

Really, it's those early die-cast toys that are now collectable.

Some of these very small toys

that were purchased for not very much money

are now worth a small fortune.

The companies that first produced them - so here we've got Corgi -

all of the big manufacturers started to create

a collectors' market for their own brands,

and this is what we're looking at here.

And more often than not,

these sort of vehicles aren't worth a massive amount of money here.

But you always say it's important

that whatever it is has been kept in the box and not used.

These are pristine.

And that's the way they should be, as well.

So, how many have we got in total?

-Well, there's about another 40, I think, roughly.

-OK.

Well, value-wise,

-we're looking at between £50 and £100.

-Really?!

-Yeah.

-Oh, wow.

-All right, so we might have another £100, then, into the kitty.

Well, as much as that, but I would say as little as 50.

-I'm going to go for 100.

-All right, then.

Margaret, following you again, my darling.

'I'm a big spender, really.

'It's good that Margaret has kept all the boxes and packaging,

'because, as we know, this makes them far more desirable to collectors.

'Now, the list is growing nicely,

'so I think we can afford a very quick break.'

I have a funny feeling, much as we're enjoying ourselves,

-that you're very happy to sit down for five minutes.

-It's quite tiring!

-Yes, all this rummaging around is quite hard work.

-It is!

Now, where did you meet?

I know you said, John, you come from the Midlands.

That's right, yeah. We met at the Congress Hotel in Eastbourne,

I had someone drop out from the whist holiday,

and a friend of Margaret's

suggested Margaret contacted me to come to the whist.

-A whist holiday, a card-game holiday?

-That's right.

So when you talk about a whist holiday, how do these work?

Do you go on holiday and then just play card games?

Well, on John's holidays, we play mornings and evenings.

Most other ones, you play afternoons and evenings.

So, is that a fun way to have a holiday?

You've all got the same interest. You can go on your own or in a group.

You all like the same thing.

-It's great.

-John, you organise the holidays?

Yes, I do indeed. For 20 years now.

-Wow.

-And it does give people a lot of pleasure.

I hope you don't mind me asking, but are you friends or are you an item?

-No, friends.

-Friends, yeah.

-So you just get on well together.

Sometimes!

GLORIA LAUGHS

I almost had you married off there for a minute!

I've been on my own 20 years, and Margaret's been on her own 17 year.

I think that wouldn't be a good idea!

You both obviously love holidays, love travelling,

but whereabouts do you go together?

Well, I mean, we go abroad, to Cyprus. I used to go abroad a lot.

But Margaret likes caravanning...

-Oh, I do!

-..and I'm afraid I like me comforts too much!

An old sports reporter who travelled a lot told me once in Ireland,

"Never go to a hotel bedroom that's not as good as your own."

So I guess that rules out maybe the caravan for you, John.

-Well, it was, it was, because....

-Oh, I love it!

We've all appreciated the sit-down, but you know what?

-What's that?

-Got to go and work.

Got to look for some more lovely things to take to auction.

Margaret's found a really good travel partner in John

for those whist-drive holidays,

but today is all about raising funds to take young Elliot

on a trip to New York, so let's press on.

In the garage, I've found a couple of elegant porcelain figurines

which John brought back from Spain 40 years ago.

Now, this taller, coy-looking girl is by Lladro,

a family company founded in 1953 near Valencia in Spain.

She's from their more affordable Nao range and dated 1987.

The smaller girl, Lydia, issued in 1988 by Renaissance,

is not such a well-known brand,

so she'll go in the catalogue simply as

"fine bone china made in England".

Now, jointly, they have an estimate of £10 to £20,

but it looks like John needs some expert advice in the kitchen.

-Jonty?

-Yep?

-Come and have a look at these.

-Ah!

-What do you think?

-John, I've got one complaint.

They're not full.

Well, we can do something about that. Quickly!

-Where are they from?

-These were mine.

-OK.

-Yeah.

There was a gentleman who I did a lot of work for. He was disabled.

-I wouldn't take money, and this is his reward to me.

-How lovely.

Well, let's have a look. First of all, the value

may not necessarily now be in the decanters when it comes to auction,

it's the fact that we've got these labels.

They look like they're solid silver. I can just see a hallmark there.

It's interesting, you've got the different shapes.

Three different shapes. I take it they're for different drinks.

I took that one to be whisky,

that one to be the brandy and that to be the sherry one.

-And did you ever use them?

-No.

-So we don't even need to clean them.

-Not internally.

-Let's have a look. I'm going to just pick up the one

and just check for condition. Take out the stopper.

Now, where you tend to get damage on a decanter like this

is the stopper and the neck, because it goes in and out, in and out,

and that's where you get damage.

So you might get chips here and chips round the neck.

But this looks in very good condition, no chips or breaks whatsoever.

Now, they're worth putting into the auction sale,

but a word of warning - there are more people

probably trying to sell decanters than there are buying.

-Cos they don't use them these days.

-People just don't decant any more.

Are you happy to put these into the auction sale?

-Yes, indeed. Certainly.

-OK, well, here we're looking at £50 to £80.

Oh, that'll be really good.

We won't have to wait too long to see how the bidders respond

to the potential of those silver tags.

22. 25. 28.

30. 2. 35. 38.

I'm out at 38. 40.

Will they dig deep enough

to help Margaret make her grandson's dream trip come true?

In Margaret's house near Canterbury, we leave no stone unturned

in our quest for goods and chattels to sell.

With the snowman and stamps, the cars, figurines and decanters

providing well over £600 for our haul,

I'm really optimistic that our rummage shall end in victory.

Margaret's found more Royal Doulton figures,

but rather than snowmen, it's the more traditional Christmas story.

Sculpted by Douglas V Tootle,

only 2,000 of these stylish sets were issued to mark the Millennium.

Margaret still has their signature gift boxes,

and Jonty expects that they'll make £50 to £75.

We'll have to WEIGHT and see.

-Margaret?

-Yes, Jonty?

-You've got yet another collection of something.

This time it's paperweights. Presumably, these are yours?

They are, but given to me, once again, for birthdays, Christmases,

from my friends and family.

-You are very easy to please at Christmas and birthdays.

-Wasn't I?

THEY LAUGH

Now, paperweights have been popular for a long time, particularly in the 19th century.

The Victorians - in fact, everyone in Europe really loved paperweights.

And some of the best were made not in this country but in France,

so there were companies like Baccarat, St Louis and Clichy.

Those big factories produced very good quality paperweights.

In fact, a Clichy paperweight has sold in excess of £50,000 before.

MARGARET WHISTLES

So that's how expensive they can become.

Now, this one here, this is millefiori,

-which, as the word suggests, is 1,000 flowers.

-Ah, right.

-And do you know how that's made?

-No, no.

That's made by tiny rods, coloured rods, cut into segments,

a bit like Brighton rock.

And those segments are placed into the bottom of the weight there,

and then the clear, see-through glass is poured on top of that.

It's always been very popular.

-Are you thinking of selling these?

-Yes, please.

-Yes?

-You want them to go?

-Yes, yes.

-Well, we're looking here at probably £50 to £80 at auction.

-Really?

-Yeah.

It seems there are collectors for everything,

and Jonty's just spotted another dead cert.

This china racehorse sculpture

originally belonged to Margaret's mother.

Its stablemates are two shire horses, a Beswick donkey

and two younger animals.

This proud-looking thoroughbred is labelled, rather auspiciously,

as The Winner.

Now, Jonty reckons they have an odds-on chance

of making £40 to £60 as a collection.

Now, Margaret, I know that you have done so many jobs in the past,

you still enjoy yourself to the full.

-Definitely.

-But I gather life for you began on a farm. Where was that?

-Seven miles from here.

-Literally seven miles?

-Yeah.

-Did you have to work on the farm?

-Well, you had to.

My father was the boss,

and you had to do, in those days, what you were told!

I carried on after I left school until I was about 20, I suppose.

And then I started branching out,

-and that's when life took a... different hold.

-Yeah.

So, what did you do next, then, as a job?

-I started off as a lollipop lady!

-Elliot, what do you think?

-Well, yeah!

-A lollipop lady at your school. Would that be good?

Erm, yeah-ish!

My son started school earlier,

because I became a lollipop lady in the village.

-And then I became a traffic warden.

-No!

Yes, one of those hated ladies!

-How did you bear that?

-It was really good,

because it is never what it seems, and we had a good life.

I mean, we didn't just issue tickets. You helped people.

-Did you get into any fights or arguments?

-Never any fights.

-But I'm tall, and I can eyeball them.

-Don't mess with your gran!

-He knows!

-And then, after all of that came the Prison Service.

-What was that like?

-Very good. That was the best job I've ever had.

-No!

-Yes! And it was working with some nice guys.

I worked in the canteen, which was the shop.

But then I also did controls, searching, posts.

Did you manage to build up any kind of rapport with the prisoners?

No.

I was one of those that they knew, if they were allowed it, I would fight for them,

and if they wasn't allowed it, they didn't get it.

Elliot, I can see your eyes getting wider and wider.

What do you think about Gran working in the Prison Service?

I think she'd be a nice prison warden.

-She'd be nice for them all, would she?

-Yes.

She'd be very kind, and she wouldn't be mean to them.

Can you see her with a big, big bunch of keys, locking people up?

Ish, yes!

You seem, Margaret, to have this attitude

of living every day to the Nth degree.

Is there something that happened in your life

that made you take that attitude?

By losing my husband, I suppose.

And then you think, after time, you think, "Get on with life."

I think the older you get on, you know how precious life is, isn't it?

It's to be enjoyed.

I think the older you get, the more you've got to do it.

Absolutely right, Margaret.

Young Elliot is really excited about going to New York with his gran,

but we need more loot to make sure that happens

and look what he's just discovered in that drawer.

Margaret has been through a watch-collecting phase, it seems.

Jonty values these gold watches at £20-£40,

bearing in mind that ladies' watches are difficult to sell on.

Downstairs, Margaret has located some souvenirs

of the once-thrilling supersonic Concorde.

-Jonty, look what I have here.

-What have you got?

-Concorde.

-That's my favourite aeroplane.

-They've got "Concorde" on there.

What have we got in these little boxes?

-That's a paperweight.

-OK. Did you fly on Concorde?

-I did.

It was a really lovely thing to do.

Really? So did you go London to New York?

No. I wish.

-No, I went London to Manchester.

-Oh, really?

-And we were up in the sky a very short time.

-Yes.

Up there and back down again.

I think from London to New York, it was just over three hours.

-Three hours 20.

-Yes.

That must've been wonderful.

What have we got? We've got a paperweight.

-Was this given to you on the flight?

-No, I think we must have bought that.

There we've got Concorde

-and that's the tenth anniversary of it being in service.

-Yes.

So the first flight of Concorde was '69,

when man landed on the moon, as well.

You can imagine that fantastic optimism

that we all shared in this part of the world,

with man landing on the moon and Concorde flying in the sky.

We must have all thought we were invincible.

That's right, definitely!

That's lovely. Very interesting. What else have we got?

That's a tiepin.

That's something I picked up at a boot fair.

A little tiepin. It's rather sweet.

-I just thought that would go with it.

-That's rather sweet. What's in this?

That's what gave us on the flight.

Unfortunately, the aeroplane isn't in there. I made it up and it collapsed.

-Oh, you got a little model?

-Yeah.

We've got certificates in here and postcards. Can we sell these?

Yes, please.

We're not going to get a fortune, something like £20-£30.

-That sort of area.

-Really?

-Are you happy about that?

-Yes.

-Who knows, it might take off and get more than that.

-Ah, I like it.

I like it too, Margaret.

Unfortunately, her flight to New York with Elliot will be in an era

where supersonic flight is no longer an option.

Elliot is busy. He's been a treasure today as he ferrets about

in the nooks and crannies for likely novelties to add to our pile.

He's found some original World War II magazines

collected by his grandfather's family.

There are over 200 copies here of The War Illustrated,

which was published for the duration of both world wars.

Surprisingly, they're common in the marketplace

and may only fetch £20-£30.

However, Elliot's rummage in the attic

has produced one final possibility.

-Look what I've found.

-Oh, gosh, where have you been plundering?

-In the loft.

-You've been rooting in the loft!

Wow. Look at this.

Now, Jonty will know, but I think that is a sovereign.

-Have you ever heard of a gold sovereign?

-No.

I think it's worth quite a lot of money, these days.

You hold that for a minute. Well done, Elliot.

Oh, yes, look, this is a 1980 proof sovereign, look.

I don't know much about it so I'll have to get Jonty. He's the expert.

Jonty! Come here. I think your Elliot

has literally found cash in the attic!

-You found it, did you?

-These were the ones we saw first, Jonty.

There are two in there, not one.

Oh, wow. Look at these. These are proper old sovereigns.

We've got Edward VII. What else have we got here?

This looks like an old one, too. We've got a date.

1899. Queen Victoria. The old head there.

-See that?

-Very old.

-It's lovely.

This one seems to date to 1980.

A completely different date again.

That's with our current Queen's head. See that head there?

-Recognise that head?

-Yeah, it's the symbol on a coin.

These are fabulous.

-So, Elliot, have you seen a sovereign before?

-No.

They're coins and they date back... They've been used for centuries.

They look quite similar to a pound coin, don't they?

But there is a difference. They're similar in colour,

but these coins, sovereigns, are solid gold.

22-carat gold.

-Cool.

-Cool!

-There's a difference!

That's the reason why they are looked after

and that's why they are sold, sometimes, in these special packs.

-Are you impressed so far?

-Yes.

-Good!

-Like the sound of it?

So I'm going to put you on the spot, Elliot.

What do you think they're worth each?

-50 quid.

-50 quid. Phwoar! That's a lot of money.

50 quid for one?

-You could do with 50 quid, couldn't you?

-That's a lot of money.

-Well, it's worth three times that each.

-Awesome! 150.

At auction, these three coins will be valued between £400 and £600.

THEY ALL GASP

Elliot, well done! That's fantastic.

-How about that?

-I want to see that big grin from ear to ear.

Do you realise, Elliot, that just the coins you found in the attic

-would buy your ticket to New York? Is that good news?

-Yes.

-Would you like to know the big total?

-Yeah.

-You do? OK.

I have a piece of paper that's going to tell me...

SHE GASPS

..you're going to New York.

-You have got 1,260!

-Hey!

THEY CHEER

-What do you think?

-It's amazing.

It sure is.

We're so far over the £800 target, that Margaret will be able to afford

an extra glass or two of something bubbly on her flight to New York.

But at the auction, will those lovable Royal Doulton snowmen

be able to melt the hearts of the bidders for £500-£800?

And what of those other splendid Doulton figurines,

the Christmas story? Will they herald another £50-£75?

Finally, can those three sovereigns crown our auction experience

with a further £400-£600 for our total?

I certainly hope so.

Still to come on Cash In The Attic,

can our expert keep his professional cool in the face of enthusiasm?

I have been over-swept by the optimism of these guys.

And as something sells for less than we hoped,

can we rely on young Elliot to sum it all up?

Disappointing. It shows that people come to an auction room

to find a bargain.

Yes, that's true.

-And they got one!

-'You're so right, Elliot.'

'And there's more before the final gavel falls.'

Today we've come to the Rye Auction Galleries

on the East Sussex coast

and we're really, really interested

to see how Margaret's fine array of collectables

will fare when they go up for sale.

Just to remind you, she wants to raise at least £800

to take her lovely grandson Elliot to the Big Apple.

So let's hope the public dig deep when the auction gets under way.

It's busy here today in Rye, as we wait for the sale to begin.

Margaret has managed to transport her possessions without any breakages.

No mean feat with all these china figures!

I tell you what, Margaret, doesn't this display look magnificent?

They've done a really good job.

-Haven't they?

-It looks really good.

How does it feel to see your collection displayed like this somewhere else?

A bit sad, but, just think of New York.

GLORIA LAUGHS

I think it looks terrific. What do you think?

Really nice.

-Nice? You can do better than that.

-Amazing.

-It is amazing.

-That's much better.

-I've got some good news,

because the whole collection has been split into seven lots.

Seven lots?

On the day in your house, you debated that.

You said, "I'm not sure what the auctioneers will do."

I've been very impressed with what they've achieved,

but all I can say right now is it is very exciting.

If you're considering selling your collectables at auction,

bear in mind that auction houses charge various fees,

such as commission,

so contact your local sale room for advice on those extra costs.

As we take our places, events are in progress

and to start us off is the initial group from our huge army of snowmen.

-The first lot is the collection of the musicians.

-Ah!

And it's a complete set

and I understand there may be some telephone bidders.

Oh! Great.

-100 I have. 100 here.

-Straight in at £100.

Do I see 120?

120 I have. 150. 180.

-(180.)

-220, I'm out.

220, 250, 280.

300, 320.

300 at the back of the room. At £300 for the first lot. At 300.

GAVEL BANGS

-Oh!

-How about that? £300.

-Pretty good!

-Yes!

Right, we're moving straight into the next lot.

The selection of Royal Doulton Snowman collection figurines

to include snowman tobogganing,

building a snowman, James, stylish snowman. At 120.

150, 180 to the lady.

200. 220. 250. At 250.

550 already!

Eight boxed Royal Bolton Snowman money banks. There they are again.

Are we all done? They will sell. At £70.

GAVEL BANGS

Two boxed snowmen. There are money boxes, clock,

two saving books, trinket pots, bowls, etc.

70 I've got.

80. 90, is it?

90 to the lady. At £90 then.

And another £90.

Do you know what, I think the got the tickets already. I do!

15 Royal Doulton Snowman mugs with different scenes.

Some are boxed.

At £85, we're all done here. At 85.

-Oh, my goodness.

-£85.

Three Royal Doulton Snowman trios.

Seven cups and assorted plates.

-At 95.

-£95.

-That's amazing.

-Right, this is the last lot coming up.

A selection of Royal Doulton Snowman

series boxed gift sets, plates and bowls, etc.

Are you all done now? At £80.

GAVEL BANGS

£80. Everything sold. How about that?

Everything way above the estimate.

Do you know, I am exhausted with it all.

Had a bit of hot flush through that one. It went so fast.

-How it exciting. How do you feel, Margaret?

-Really excited.

-Really glad.

-And John?

-Unbelievable.

Just unbelievable.

-Is that more than you ever expected?

-Indeed.

-You have made, just on your snowmen alone £970.

-Oh!

Elliot, seriously, nearly £1,000 on the snowmen.

I honestly don't think I've ever seen an auction begin

with such an impressive flurry of activity

and with such a beneficial result.

Raymond Briggs's Snowman character has done us proud,

but what of the other items? How high can we possibly go?

Our stable of four-legged friends were valued at £40-£60.

30 I have. 30 here. Do I see 35?

35. 40. From five. 40 I have.

40, 40. Do I see 45? At £40.

I will sell them.

At £40.

That was rather disappointing, I thought.

After the excitement of the snowmen, we're back down to earth.

They did match the lowest estimate, right on the nose at £40,

taking us over the £1,000 hurdle already.

Now let's see whether these pretty Nao and Renaissance china maidens

from the late 1980s can attract the predicted £10-£20.

And £10 I'm bid. £10. Do I see 12?

Very nice little figurines. £10 only.

£10, £10. Who's got the 12?

At £10. Are we all done here?

At £10.

GAVEL BANGS

-Are you sad?

-Er, yeah.

You're not going to cry on me?

-We can't win everything.

-You can't win everything.

Why didn't I think of that? Exactly.

Gorgeous Elliot has the right attitude

and the modest £10 is again bang on the lower estimate.

This is lovely Royal Doulton, the Christmas story.

-We've got quite a lot on this.

-It's great collection.

Margaret, you do so well on your collections.

They're in great condition. Well done you.

Which means that we should sell and sell well. I put £50-£75.

-I hope we do more than that.

-Hm.

-Yes, yes.

I have got to start you here at £50. 50 I've got.

We're straight in.

50 I've had. Five. 60. Five.

70. Five. 80. Five.

90.

Five. I'm out. 95 here. At £95.

I will... 100 here.

-(100!)

-110.

Do I see 110?

Take 105, if you wish. 105.

110.

-115.

-There's a bit of a war going on.

125. 120 I have. 120.

120. Do I see 125?

-At 120. Have we all done?

-It's going to be sold.

-At £120.

Wow!

-Well above the estimate.

-Isn't that great?

-What a result!

-Yes.

-Elliot, a kiss for the Nativity.

There you go. Any opportunity!

The stylised Christmas story figurines

have really answered our prayers

and delivered us another excellent result.

But can our lucky streak continue

with £50-£80 for these three glass decanters?

The hallmarks on the silver tags

reveal they were made in 1989 in Birmingham.

Where are we starting? £50?

20 I've got to start you, then.

-20's no good.

-22. 25. 28.

30. Two. 35, 38.

I'm out at 38.

40. Two.

40 at the back of the room.

40, do I see 42?

42. The lady has come back. 45.

50? No. At £48 at the back of the room. At £48, are we all done here?

At 48.

-I would have liked to have seen more.

-Me, too.

But I am being over-swept by the optimism of these guys.

Well, £2 below his lowest estimate won't dampen our spirits,

not after the morning we've been having.

Can the supersonic airline memorabilia speed us on

to even happier heights with the modest £20-£30 Jonty predicted?

-25, 28, 28 on my right.

-That's good.

Are you all done? Selling, then, at 28.

GAVEL BANGS

'Gone for just inside our top estimate.

'I bet Margaret is more than happy to swap her jet set mementos

'for an exciting trip to New York with her grandson.

'Talking of which, I'm wondering how our total is shaping up

'after a very memorable first half.'

£800 was the target.

We know we've got the 800, because of the snowmen,

but, you have got at the halfway point, with items still to go,

£1,216.

No! Right!

-That is good.

-Isn't that amazing?

Did you imagine it would be anything like that?

Strangely enough, I said Margaret was going to do well,

-and she has.

-Confidence.

-Yes. Thank you. Yeah.

'Everyone is delighted with the way things are going,

'and justifiably so.

'After some light refreshments, I bump into Jonty again,

'who has that expert eye on another sale.'

Jonty, I can always depend on you to find something of interest.

You're intrigued by this pottery.

Absolutely. And not a snowman in sight!

Unusual colouring.

If I'm being honest, first glance, maybe slightly dull.

There's a reason why I am looking this pottery.

I'm used to handling ceramics from all over the globe.

-Everything you see here has travelled a long way.

-How far?

-Half a mile.

-Half a mile!

We're looking at Rye pottery.

Have you seen a lot of Rye pottery before?

It's so nice, more to the point,

to see it being sold here in the town itself.

Do we know why it is...?

I'm not saying it's dull, but when you've a dull green and brown,

it's not necessarily the most vibrant thing.

I see where you're coming from,

but it was the fashion at the time and this particular jug

was made in 1901 and it was the fashion at the time.

But they have made to surround mix here for centuries,

there's medieval pottery, because the clay was local.

-Is it very collectable?

-Very, very desirable.

-This particular vase, the estimate is £300-500.

-No!

-Yes.

And here's me calling it dull.

'OK, Jonty, I stand well corrected.

'Unfortunately, the usual collectors of Rye pottery

'were not able to be at the sale today,

'but one odd little piece,

'the 1902 pilgrim flask, made £480 on its own.

'All the rest, including the 1901 jug, sadly remained unsold.

'Now it's on to the collection of first-day covers and stamp albums,

'priced at between £50 and £75.'

Done here at £55.

-That's OK.

-The middle of Jonty's estimate.

That will make a nice starter pack

for someone beginning their stamp-collecting career.

The War Illustrated was a magazine published in both world wars

and this mountain of copies

was collected by Margaret's husband's family in the 1940s.

-Do you think these will do well?

-There's been, historically,

a lot of publications that have come and gone.

I often see whole collections of various magazines.

But, at auction, they never seem to sell particularly well.

So that's the reason I've only put £20-£30

on this really very large, substantial collection.

Good reading. Who's got £30 for them?

20, then?

£10 I have. A bid of 10. Do I see 12?

There's a lot of magazines.

Have we all done? At £10.

-At £10 only.

-GAVEL BANGS

It seems crazy

that those wouldn't be bought by a collector

or even to illustrate somewhere.

I think a medal is a lot easier to transport

than a collection of magazines.

It seems a shame that such historic editions aren't more highly valued.

But we're grateful for the £10 it made towards the kitty.

When it comes to paperweights, our next item, I don't get it.

Some of them are very beautiful,

but I never know where to put them - whether on windowsills...

I'm going to pick you up on the windowsill.

Don't put them on your windowsill because they act as a prism.

The sunlight can come in,

burn the surface, could even burn your house down.

-Really?!

-Oh, yes.

-But I never know where to put them.

Yes, just don't put them on your windowsill.

No. I'll put them in the auction along with yours!

There are ten altogether. A nice little lot. I can start you at 35.

38. I've got. 38. Do I see 40? 40 upstairs. Two?

45, sir. 45 is now with you. 45.

45. Is it 48? At 45 on my right.

I will sell. 45.

GAVEL BANGS

So the sparkling paperweights sold just under the lower estimate

and after Jonty's dire warning,

I hope the new owners won't leave them on the window ledge in the sun.

When you think back over the toys we've owned, it's the earlier ones

that seem to be the most sought after,

especially mint condition in their box.

The later ones are less valued.

Has this assortment, priced by Jonty at between £50-£100,

appreciated in value?

I've got to start the bidding at 30. 35 I have.

35. 35. Is it 40?

-£35. 35.

-Come on, they're worth more than that.

At £35.

-ALL: No!

-Oh!

ALL: Ah.

THEY ALL GRUMBLE

That is disaster.

Very disappointing.

It shows that people come to an auction room to find a bargain.

Yes, that's true.

-And they got one.

-They did.

-THEY LAUGH

They did, indeed, Elliot.

Hopefully, Margaret's collection has found a good new home.

Now it's time for those ladies' gold watches

which Elliot discovered in a drawer.

Can the timepieces defy expectation by attracting a decent bid?

And bidding, I can start you in at 75.

-80.

-Brilliant. There we go.

-No!

-Do I see £90?

80 I have. 80, 80, 80.

Do I see £90 here?

At £80. I will sell them.

At £80.

GAVEL BANGS

Short and sweet.

-The estimate was 20 to 40 and they sold for 80.

-Yay!

That was a very nice surprise and, as our experience shows,

ladies' watches are a hard sell.

Maybe the gold content had something to do with it.

Talking of which, here's our final lot.

Now we're talking gold

-and there has been an emphasis on gold in recent years.

-Hm.

-You've got a nice collection here.

-We've got three sovereigns

and the auctioneer, very cleverly, has split them up.

But I put 400-600 on the whole lot.

Very good. Yes.

I would like one myself!

THEY LAUGH

The first sovereign is the 1907 sovereign.

Estimate 150 to 200.

Where do we want to start? 100 I've got.

110. 120. 130.

130 I've got. 140. New bidder.

150. At £150.

-GAVEL BANGS

-£150!

Edward VII did well at £150,

but can his mother's coin from 1899 do better?

At £160 on my right. Have we all done? At 160?

-Yes!

-Very good, very good.

Gosh!

£10 better at 160

and that just leaves Queen Elizabeth's 1980 sovereign

in its presentation box.

170 at the back of the room.

At 170. Do I see 180?

-At £170.

-GAVEL BANGS

-400 from this alone.

-That is great.

£480, guys.

-480!

-Yes!

We've done so well with the three sovereigns,

adding a further £480 to our grand total.

You would have been happy with £800

to go to the Big Apple, to go to New York?

Well, you have...

£1,921.

ALL: Oh!

-Nearly £2,000.

-Thank you.

-Fantastic.

-Nearly £2,000. Kiss!

-Well done.

-Thank you.

-John, you give me one as well.

-That is so fantastic.

-Well done, sir.

And after that fantastic result,

Margaret and Elliot waste no time

in organising their trip to the Big Apple.

I was amazed. We only expected to get, like, £800. It was amazing.

-New York!

-Well done.

What part are we going to?

We're going to Manhattan.

We've got our hotel there.

It was Elliot's idea to go to New York,

because there's a big store there that sells things he collect.

Cards.

It's the best shop ever. I really want to go.

It's such a vibrant city.

There are so many interesting things to see and to do.

And they're going to love it.