Ross Cash in the Attic

Hello and welcome to Cash in the Attic.

We treasure family possessions that have been handed down the generations,

but in the end there comes a time when you just

have to have a clear out, even if it's to make some more space.

And that's when we're often called in, to help sort out the wheat from the chaff.

Coming up on Cash In The Attic, my valuation for a Victorian miniature dictionary is spot on.

Jonty, I've never, ever been right before. Ever.

No. There's always a first.

And our host tells us what she had in mind for some silver and maybe even gold watches.

I always remember them being in a drawer

and I put them in a box and I was going to throw them out.

At auction she gets very excited after a particularly good sale.

-Isn't that fantastic?

-That's wonderful.

-Here I come, Canada.

-It's one to remember when the hammer falls.

-224.

-Today, I'm in Hampshire.

I'm on my way to meet Karen Ross,

who wants to raise some money for a very special trip.

Karen's house is home to many family heirlooms she's inherited from her parents.

Her German mother and English father were both keen collectors.

She and her husband, Malcolm have three children - Kerry, Danielle and Adam, plus two grandchildren.

Karen and Malcolm will be celebrating

their silver wedding anniversary next year and that's why we've been called in.

Jonty Hearnden is with me today, and he's itching to start valuing the family's treasures.

Helping her mum is eldest daughter, Kerry.

-Hello?

-Hi!

-Karen? Yes.

-Yes, it is.

-And Kerry?

-Yes.

-Well, it's very nice to be here,

thank you for inviting us.

-You're very welcome.

-Did you do that, or did you put her up to it?

-That was me.

-So why have you put your mum up to this?

-Well, she's hoping to go to Canada next year.

It's not the cheapest destination to fly to, so we thought it would help towards the air fare.

-Why Canada especially?

-I've family over there.

I've got two cousins that emigrated over there in the '70s

and we thought we'd like to go and see them. Do New York as well and it's our 25th wedding anniversary.

Ah! There we are.

So, it's a silver wedding anniversary celebration?

It certainly is.

-So, how much do you think you might be able to raise?

-Probably about £400.

-All right. Do you think we can do it?

-Yes!

OK. Let's go and have a look. Show me around the house, will you?

Karen's parents both had an eye for collecting.

So, hopefully, that means we should find plenty of valuable possessions

to raise the money for that special trip. Jonty's had a chance to have a quick look around and something

has earned his seal of approval.

I love it. We have a little natter and he gets stuck in. This is Karen.

-Hi, there. How are you doing?

-Very well, thank you.

Well, I have found a really interesting collection of stamps. Whose are these?

-They belonged to my dad.

-Lovely.

-So can we sell them?

-Yes.

-Have a look at those, Jen.

What an old-fashioned hobby this seems to me!

Though, I don't know, do people still collect stamps a lot?

-They do and it's a growing market all of a sudden.

-Is it?

It went through a quiet period, but now it's really quite big business all over again.

Coins and stamps are at the top of the tree in collecting.

So, do you remember your dad sitting at the table going through his stamps?

-Yes. All the time.

-It was a real passion?

-It was, yes.

Now, I see a lot of collections of stamps and a lot of them are of used stamps.

Sometimes from around the world, but they have so little value, but because all of these

are in such good condition,

most of them are in mint, if not all of them are in mint condition, then they do have value.

-Any really rare ones?

-I haven't found any particularly rare stamps.

Let the dealers... Let the people who really know their market, let them decide.

But I think that our collection's worth roughly

between £50 and £100 at auction.

-Good start!

-That is a good start.

-I'll put these away.

-You can lead us on to somewhere else.

Where shall we go next? Come along, Jonty.

Wait for me. Wait for me!

Fingers crossed there'll be some philatelists bidding on the day.

People are always storing things away and then forgetting about them, so I make a habit

of rummaging around wherever I can to see

if there is anything worth taking to auction.

A search of the cupboard under the stairs proves fruitful for Karen,

as she finds a Carlton ware biscuit barrel in the shape of a cottage.

Her mother bought it from Woolworths in the late '60s and she remembers it on display in the kitchen,

along with this matching butter dish.

They've never been used. Their estimate today is £10 to £20.

'I love discovering new words, so I'm delighted with my very dainty find on the window sill.'

Oh, look what I have here. It's extraordinary!

-Look. It comes in its own little box.

-How lovely.

-It's an English dictionary. Are there really all the words in there? I can't see it.

-I think so.

-Can you read it?

-Not with MY eyes. No.

Well, YOU won't be able to either.

Well, the lid of the case here, should be

-a magnifying glass.

-You've seen one like this before?

Yes, I have. But on the back...

What have we got here?

30th of the 12th '93. What do you know about this?

Well, I always remember it being tucked away. It belonged to my nan or my granddad.

We were never allowed to touch it.

If you open up the inside cover,

which will be very, very difficult to do, you have to be so careful,

-but it does say the smallest English dictionary in the world. Can you just see that?

-Yeah.

You said the 30th of the 12th, '93?

-That's right.

-1893?

-1893, yeah.

Amazing!

That really is superb.

Now, it's lost... There is a little catch here, which would allow you to just swivel this around.

So it's technically broken, but the case here is hallmarked, so this is a silver case.

-What do you think it might be worth?

-I don't know, £30 or £40.

-OK. So, Jen, what do you think?

Well, I'd like to think, I really would like to pay £100...

£200 for it. That's what I think.

-Well, you're spot on.

-Am I?!

-I will stop you there

because that's the sort of price I would put on it - between £100 and £200.

Because it's damaged, I'm not really quite sure. Got to let the market decide.

-Jonty, I've never been right before. Ever.

-No. There's always a first.

It's only taken about ten years!

And when that tiny offering goes before the bidders, they like it big time.

Any advance on 90, 110?

But we'll have to wait a little longer to find out

what words the auctioneer utters before he brings down the gavel.

224.

As we all get on with the business in hand, Kerry decides to tackle this chest of drawers.

'But what catches my eye is this pretty little heart-shaped compact.

'It has a Japanese scene on the lid and Karen thinks that her father may have brought it back from Singapore

'where he was stationed when he was in the RAF. He'd always bring back gifts for his wife.

'It was made specifically for the tourist trade,

'which is reflected in the estimate of just £20 to £30.'

What have you got there?

A camera of some description.

Ah! So, whose camera was this?

I think that it belonged to my granddad

that was given to him by my nan's father, who was German.

What we need to do is have a jolly good look at the camera. I need to take it

out of the leather casing to see if we can have a good look.

There we go. I've just seen on the back there "Franka" and it says "Made in Germany, US zone."

So that's obviously post the Second World War,

but this particular range-finder camera was probably an early '50s version.

So probably around the time that your grandparents got together.

I would imagine so, and I would imagine it was a gift of some description.

And this was a very popular make of camera in Germany.

They started at the beginning of the 20th century and they finished in 1966.

On a good day, we are looking at £20 or £30.

But on a bad day, we might not get a bid. So shall we give it a try? Let's be positive.

-Yeah, take it.

-Great!

Let's hope we do make that estimate to help us

reach the goal of £400 towards the silver anniversary trip to Canada.

In fact, going by Jonty's lowest estimates up to now, we stand to make £200 at auction.

So we decide to leave our expert to it for a while an take the weight off our feet.

-We're doing quite well so far, but we deserve a break, don't we?

-Yes.

-How did you meet your husband, Malcolm?

-Malcolm, met him in a pub

in Winchester and, as I say, next year we've been married 25 years.

-And was it love at first sight?

-He'd probably say no,

but I've grown on him, I think, over the years, yeah.

I can see just from the two of you that you're obviously a very, very close family.

You don't live here anymore, but you seem to pop round quite a lot?

Yeah, I'm just down the road, so any opportunity and she's home, we'll pop in. Cup of tea.

Do you like having the kids around?

I love it. Sundays are wonderful. We always have Sunday lunch together and they're always here.

The house is always full.

-I just love having them around, especially my two grandchildren.

-I bet.

How wonderful!

Now, you look through and through British to me, but in fact,

your mother was German. Did she teach you the language?

She didn't, which made my dad quite cross.

I used to pick it up when we went on holiday, then obviously

we'd come home and I'd forget it, but he learned to speak German quite fluently,

but, no, I do know a little bit, but not enough to get by, I don't think.

So, the family you're going to see in Canada, are they from the German side or your father's?

No, they're from my dad's side.

We recently went to a 90th birthday party, my aunt's, and her two sons came over from Canada.

They both emigrated in the '70s and they always said, you know,

"If you want to come over, come and visit," so that's what we want to do.

Well, hopefully we'll be able to get them there and they'll have 25 years of planning to pack into the trip.

Kerry's been having a thorough search of the kitchen and has come across a Royal Albert tea set.

Her German grandmother bought it to sit in her display cabinet, along with lots of other similar pieces.

They all remember dreading being roped in to help on dusting day.

Unfortunately, this set is not complete, but we hope it'll raise at least £20 to £40 on the day.

And Jonty's keen eye has spotted this silver pill box with a flip-up lid.

It has a Birmingham hallmark, which dates it at about 1910.

It's another of Karen's mother's possessions,

but she believes it may have belonged to her grandmother and been handed down.

Jonty's estimate is £10 to £20.

-I've got some watches, Jonty. Can I show you?

-Yeah, sure.

-Hidden away.

-They are.

-I don't know whether they're...any good.

-Let's have a look.

Ooh, we have a complete collection.

We've got four. One little pocket watch. That's the oldest one, of course.

So, where do they come from?

-From my dad's side, I believe.

-Shall we have a look at them on the bed?

We can have a look.

So, that would be dated around the turn of the century. That's roughly 100-years-old.

-Really?

-You can tell it by the style.

This one here is a nice watch here.

This is a wristwatch that would have been made between the wars. This is made by JW Benson,

who were very important clock and watchmakers

towards the end of the 19th century and well into the 20th century.

They had royal warrants and they had shops in Bond Street, etc.

I assume that that isn't a gold case, but we need to test it first.

So that is what that is all about.

Then these two here look like they're post-war.

So, do you remember your dad wearing any of these at all?

No. I always remember them being in a drawer.

I actually put them in a box

and I was going to throw them out and a friend said "No, don't throw them out.

"What's your rubbish, somebody else could be interested in."

That's really good news you didn't throw them away. Very sound advice

because they do have some value.

Not a great deal, but we are looking here

at between £20 and £40 at auction.

-For something I was going to throw away. That'll be OK.

-So, you're happy to do that?

Absolutely. I'm glad I kept them now.

And if Jonty's hunch about the JW Benson watch

being gold is correct, who knows what the sale price will be?

He's staying upstairs, but Karen has found some Beswick horses.

There are four of them in total and they belong to her mother.

This Staffordshire-based pottery company was famous for its ceramic animal figures.

It started in 1894, but all production ceased in 2002.

I've seen so many examples of Beswick selling for high prices at auction.

So this could be a great find for Karen.

The estimate for this little lot is £30 to £40.

Guys, look what I found for you.

Come have a look.

-What have you got?

-A pair of watercolours.

There we go. Where were they from?

They were my dad's and he used to have them in the lounge at home.

They were there for years. Pride of place.

Not pride of place in your house?

No. I like them, but they don't go with what I've got.

So rather than put them up in the loft, they've been in the drawer.

-What do you think of them, Kerry?

-I think they're a little boring, to be fair.

-I do have to agree.

There's the most enormous expanse of rather boring sky.

-There is, isn't there?

-I tend to agree with you.

I'm holding my hand up, these are not most exciting pictures I've ever seen.

But what is exciting is that we've got a signature down at the bottom.

There's one faint here, but there's one very clear here, A Hulk.

In fact there were two artists, they were both Abraham. One was senior, one was junior.

His father was a known artist, but Abraham Jr was much better known,

and he did oil paintings and he also did watercolours.

He also exhibited at the Royal Academy towards the end of the 19th century.

-So he's a well-known artist.

-That's great. That's really good, isn't it?

So, our incredible A Hulk pictures with the signature, let's hope that we can get between £100 and £200.

-Well, that's brilliant. No, that's lovely. Thank you.

-OK.

Well, I think, actually, that means we can end our day of rummaging. Have you enjoyed yourselves?

Had a lovely day, thank you, yes.

We were looking for £400 at the start of the day

to try and send your on your way to Canada for your silver wedding.

Well, based on Jonty's lowest estimates, you're not quite there,

but things could change on auction day.

-We hope you'll get £380.

-That's all right, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Excellent. Lovely, thank you.

-Not bad for a day's work, is it?

-Not at all. No.

And you never know, we may do even better, because going to the saleroom

will be that miniature English dictionary

in a silver box, complete with its own magnifying glass.

I have high hopes for this at £100 to £200.

And there's Karen's father's stamp collection,

including many first-day covers.

It could bring us £50 to £100.

And what about the four watches?

They were valued at £20 to £40, but if one of them does turn out to be gold, as Jonty suspects,

Karen and her husband could be flying to Canada first class.

Still to come on Cash In The Attic, will the bidders be impressed

as I am about one of our very special items?

Now, this is absolutely, positively my favourite lot.

A no sale turns this auction into a bit of a roller coaster.

That's a bit of a knock-back, actually, as it's a big hole in your target.

Join us for the ride until the hammer finally falls.

224.

Well, that was quite a busy day we spent with Karen.

We found some interesting pieces to put towards the silver wedding anniversary fund.

Today we brought them here to Duke's Auctioneers in Dorchester,

where we're hoping to beat that target of £400 and send her off to Canada in style.

The historic and very pretty county town of Dorset has much to attract antique hunters.

Duke's general sales take place every three weeks in the Grove.

Now, if you're interested in buying or selling at auction, do bear in mind that charges

such as VAT and commission will be added to your bill, so it's always worth checking

with the saleroom first.

I'm glad you're in here because it's pouring with rain outside.

-You have your lovely paintings.

-Certainly have.

-Yeah.

-I wasn't sure they were so lovely, cos there's a bit too much sky,

-but they're kind of growing on me.

-Are you going to miss them?

-No.

Very positively said.

What about reserves? Are you going to put reserves on the pictures at all?

I've left it to the auctioneer.

-So he has discretion?

-Yes.

-I think they probably will sell, don't you?

Let's hope. I never really can tell.

No. Let's hope so.

Karen and Kerry have never been to an auction,

so we want to try to give them a really positive experience.

The first of their family heirlooms to come up is some Carlton ware, which has an estimate of £10 to £20.

-Where are they from?

-They were from my mum, and she bought them

-from Woolworths.

-That might be a bit vintage.

Yes, it will be now that Woolworths is closed.

£10 to start. £5 is bid. £5.

£8 anyone?

5, 8, 10.

10, anyone want? At 8. 10. 12.

14, 16. 18. 20.

-That sounds better, doesn't it?

-Yes, it sounds much better.

-I've got £18. I'll take £20 from anyone now, if you will.

-Please.

Selling at £18. £20 right at the back, thank you, sir.

Last minute, £20. Going then now at £20 at the back of the room.

-Thank you, sir.

-Wasn't that good?

-Not too bad at all.

A perfect place to sell, here in Dorchester, because the whole surrounding area

seems to be full of little cottages just like that one. So, good.

A great start, and Kerry's very excited already.

So how's their next lot going to fare?

It's the mid-20th century German Franka camera in a leather case.

I was a little wary

about whether it would sell or not.

-Hmm.

-How do you feel about it now?

I'm a little bit nervous that it won't, but I don't want to take it home.

£10, please, for this old camera.

10 is bid. 10. 12 anywhere now then?

I have £10. £10. £10. Old camera.

Interesting, what a nice collection it might make! Old cameras.

He's trying. He's trying.

I'm flogging the proverbial dead horse here. Going at £10, 12.

Anyone for 12? 14 anyone now then? 14 anyone? Nope?

-Please.

-All done?

Unsold, I'm afraid.

I don't want to take it home!

Never mind. Never mind.

The auctioneer obviously thought that the camera was worth more

than the £12 it reached today.

So, it's a no-sale for us.

I love this little compact. It's a pretty little thing.

The shape of the heart. It's lovely. Where did it come from?

That was a present from my dad to my mum.

I know she had it for sort of over 30 years, but it's very, very pretty.

I put £20 to £30, so let's see if we can get that.

-Let's hope so.

-10. 12.

14. Any advance on £14? 16, anyone.

At 16 is bid. 16. 18.

-Please.

-I'll do 18.

20 for you, ma'am? I've got £18.

I'll take 20 now then.

Selling and going at £18, we're done.

-Never mind.

-18.

That's not bad. It's not too bad. That's OK.

Well, I don't think we can grumble at that.

I wonder if it is going to become a special gift for a sweetheart again.

Now it's time for those four watches, and Jonty has some good news.

One of the watches is a gold watch.

I've put £20 to £40 on the whole collection, but I'm convinced that it should do

a lot more than that.

£60, will you say? 60. 70 commission. 80.

90. 100. 110. 120. 130.

140. 160. 170. 180. 190. 200.

We're out at 210. 220. 230. 240.

£230 this stands. Any further bids?

I can't believe it.

OK, then. £230.

I can't believe I nearly threw them in the bin!

-I'm going to cry!

-You are, aren't you?

I can't believe it.

-How about that?

-Oh, my God. I was going to throw them out!

-Oh, my goodness.

-Isn't that fantastic?

That's wonderful.

Here I come, Canada.

It just goes to show, even damaged or broken collectibles could still have a useful sale value.

I expect Karen's counting her blessings that she didn't ditch these in the bin.

And she's just about time to compose herself before the next of her lots comes up.

I'm feeling quite hopeful about this lot of all your stamp collection, which was your father's

-stamp collection.

-That's right.

-A lot of them were in good condition.

-I put on £50 to £100, so let's see what happens in the room.

-30.

Five at the back, thank you, sir.

35. 40. 45.

55. 60. 65.

75.

85. 95.

100.

-I think I'm going to cry.

-Going at 110. On the side at 110.

That's brilliant. I'm very happy with that.

I'm sure her father would have been delighted

that his prized collection sold so well, helping bring about a family reunion.

Karen's almost made her target already, but we'll keep that as a nice surprise for later.

The incomplete Royal Albert tea set is coming up next.

My mother always told her off because she always tried to get it out of the cabinet to play with it.

And now she's going to give it away!

Have a bid at this. £5 to start me.

A fiver is bid. Ten now then?

A nice lot of pots here at £10.

-Please!

-12. Any advance on 12? 14. Are we done at £14?

16 anyone?

-That's OK.

-I have 14.

16 is bid. Are we done at £16?

If there is no further bid, we go at 16.

Thank you very much.

-You will never play with it!

-No.

Poor Kerry. Still, she never has to get roped into

dusting it again, so that's a bonus.

Another lot that belonged to Karen's mum is about to come up.

It's those four Beswick horses with an estimate of £30 to £40.

Yours, I sell for £50.

A very good result. I knew we could rely on Beswick

to do well for us.

Now it's those two watercolours by A Hulk Jr,

the prolific Victorian artist who exhibited at the Royal Academy.

So, even if Karen and Kerry are not keen, maybe an art lover will still snap them up.

I've put them on at £100 to £200.

They're worth that, but we are selling them here at a general sale.

So are they going to be picked up by the people in the room?

Are they going to fully appreciate what they are looking at?

Not quite sure. We're about to find out.

At 50. 60, 70.

Any advance on 70? £70 for these.

80. Anyone, now, then. Come on, 80 anywhere.

Everybody done at £70.

So, those are unsold.

That's a bit of a knock-back actually,

cos it's a big hole in your target!

The auctioneer obviously decided £70 wasn't enough for them.

This is turning into a classic roller coaster ride,

and when the early 20th century silver pill box,

a family heirloom from Karen's mother,

comes up for £10 to £20...

I'm going at £40. Everybody out at £40?

..it's double the top estimate.

So there are smiles all round again. And it's taken us to our final lot.

Now this is absolutely, positively my favourite lot.

Your gorgeous, tiny little dictionary! Very ancient.

I do hope it sells well. We want at least £100 for it.

What I have got for this, start me off, please at £70 to get on with it. 70's bid.

80 I'll take now then. At 70.

80? 80.

90. Any advance on 90? 100,

110. Any advance on 110?

120, 130 now then. 120, 130, 140.

£140, and now at £140.

Is everybody out and clear?

To go at £140. Thank you very much.

That's fine. That's lovely. I am really, really pleased.

-That's excellent.

-That is fantastic!

-No, I'm really, really happy with that.

-Good.

What a great result and a really fantastic way

to end Karen and Kerry's day here.

Am I going to Canada?

-You know you are, and some!

-You've done brilliantly.

You were looking for £400 to get to Canada for your silver wedding.

Well, you can go home and tell your hubby, that actually, you've made £624.

Brilliant. Excellent. That's lovely.

-That's lovely. Thank you.

-What a journey we have had today!

-We certainly have, yeah.

I feel like I've been to Canada and back.

It just remains for us really to wish you a very happy silver wedding.

I'm absolutely delighted. Thank you.

-Great result.

-Absolutely brilliant.

Thank you.

Karen and her husband Malcolm are planning how to spend their auction earnings.

They brought grandson Louis for a walk in the park while they discuss

their silver wedding anniversary trip to Canada and America.

We want to do Niagara Falls when we get there.

With having family out there, it is great to catch up with them.

They're planning to sort the itinerary a little bit and the journey will end

with a trip to New York and we'll fly back from there.

Once Karen's done her inevitable shopping,

-of course.

-I'm going to do lots of shopping, I can assure you.

And what about their children and grandchildren?

-Will they be going with them?

-No.

We will make sure that we spend lots of money on them

and bring them back lots of little pressies and that'll be lovely.

It will be a wrench not to have them with us,

but we're having the opportunity to have some time for ourselves.

But a nice family meal before we go, I think, to celebrate 25 years will be brilliant,

-and you'll be a part of that, won't you?

-Absolutely.

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