The Validity of Valuation
Posted by Iain Brunt on 04/01/2022
If you have potential valuables in your attic, then it's a good idea to have them valued. This is so that you can have them accurately insured in case of theft, and in case you choose to sell or auction in the future.
As a way of celebrating the new valuation service on-site with www.antiques.co.uk, we've chosen a fun way to celebrate some famous unique finds. We may not find anything like this in our own homes, but they make for some interesting stories when retold.
We've picked 7 of the most interesting. Not all were found in an attic, but they may help give you a little motivation to go searching for something in the back of your attic or spare room, or to go looking around local shops and antique stores for that special find.
1 F.A. Cup Trophy
No, this was definitely not found in someone's attic, but s reportedly the most valuable item owned by a sporting institution and worth a staggering £1 million. That's a lot of money for a cup with handles.
2 Angel of the North
No, not the real one, that'd be hard to move or find in someone's attic. This was a model of the original and was, at the time, the first item to be valued at seven figures.
3 Chinese Vase
Now this is something you'd get excited about finding in your attic, or anywhere for that matter. This was one of the oldest bronze vases, dating back to the 13th century. It was valued between £10,000 and £15,000.
4 The Book of Urizen William Blake (1st)
The first book of Urizen by William Blake is only one of eight surviving copies which sold at Sotheby's back in 1999 for a cool $2.5 million. That's one book you'd definitely want to find in the attic or back of a spare room. Although, question is, would you want to sell it? Or maybe wait until it was worth more? After all values shift in the crazy world of antiques and valuables, and what's not valuable today could be considered a rare find tomorrow. Trends change - although perhaps you'd be happy to settle for $2.5 million in the bank instead.
5 J K Rowling's chair
Inscribed with “You may not find me pretty, but don't judge on what you see,” J. K. Rowling's chair saw the birth of Harry Potter, and thus a magical world was created in the mind of one woman. On the same chair was written “I wrote Harry Potter while sitting on this chair.” It was enough to make someone pay $349,000 for it. Perhaps you're not likely to find a chair like this in your attic, but you never know, you may have a book in you, or two, or three – just make sure you keep the chair.
6 Gold plated Leica Luxus II Camera
Yes, I'm sure this camera took its fair share of photos back in the day, it may have seen some happy events and shared in some fantastic memories. And once its job was done it sold to the highest bidder between £50,000 and £8,000.
7 Winston's Churchill's cigar
Yes, you heard it right. A partially smoked cigar. But not any cigar, just the cigar smoked by Winston Churchill as he was sitting calmly planning D-Day. It sold for £800.
Inspired, motivated to take a torch into the dusty attic?
And you may find none of these in your attic, but you may find something of interest that might be worth something today or tomorrow. You may even create something of value yourself, something you sat on, wrote with, took photos with, or something you drank your coffee out of. It doesn't have to be completely outside the realms of possibility either, you are master of your own destiny. And you know, if you do own something of value in your attic, you won't know it's worth until you have it valued – and if you come to us, the sooner you find out, the sooner you'll be able to do something about it.