I’m an antiques expert – spot these 8 items in your attic and you could make THOUSANDS
THEY say one man's trash is another's treasure - so could those forgotten items in your loft actually be worth a fortune?
Antiques expert Mark Hill has revealed just how much money you could make in the auction room by raiding your attic.
The Antiques Roadshow star has identified eight valuable items that could be gathering dust in your home.
From costume jewellery to early computer games, there could be a whole lot of cash in your attic that you aren't even aware of.
He told insurance company Saga about eight commonplace items that could be highly sought after by collectors.
Costume jewellery
Mark says costume jewellery can be unexpectedly valuable and hotly desirable.
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Popular names from 1930s onwards are hotly desirable, such as vintage Dior.
He said: “Jewellery that is made to resemble or mimic precious jewellery, but is made from base metals and glass or crystal is often ignored.
So raid your old jewellery box for necklaces and earrings you'd forgotten about or disregarded as junk - they could actually be a diamond in the rough.
Medals
While the condition of a medal is important in the auction room, the significance of its backstory is often more valuable, research shows.
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A Distinguished Service Cross - a military decoration awarded to officers of the British Armed Forces - sold for an eye-watering £120,000 in 2011.
Even if you don't have any medals in the loft yourself, you could keep an eye out for them at car boot sales.
Mark suggest medals links to “key events, great bravery, and important moments or people in history can be valuable”
First edition books
It's well worth checking your bookcases to see if you have any valuable first editions hiding behind new books.
Harry Potter first edition books have been known to sell for a staggering £80,000.
And it's also worth checking if you own any lesser-known titles like The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
A first edition of the popular children's book by Eric Carle has previously sold for £2,439.
While you may have ditched your paperbacks in favour of a Kindle or tablet, make sure you don't ditch your physical copies as they could soon become priceless classics.
Mark says looking at the numbers inside the front cover can help you to work out if you have a true first edition.
He added: " Consider the popularity and desirability of an author or book, combined with rarity.
"Harry Potter first editions are a case in point - only 500 copies of the first printing of the first edition of Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone’ were printed with laminated covers.
"Most were sent to libraries, and copies can fetch a small fortune today."
Mark suggests checking the condition of the book to check it is in the best condition possible before thinking about reselling it.
Comic books
Your old childhood comic books could be worth a small fortune at auction.
A comic book featuring the first ever appearance of Spider-Man, titled Amazing Fantasy #15, sold for an unbelievable £2.75 million in 2021.
It is the most expensive comic book ever sold.
Your old Beano and Dandy editions might not fetch quite as much, but they could be appealing to collectors.
Mark says first editions are often more desirable as well as well-known characters.
He added: “Characters can also come and go in terms of desirability.
"Spider-Man saw a huge rise in value when the new films were released, which is still strong today."
Modern British art and sculpture
Modern and contemporary art is just as popular now as it ever was.
The value of these types of works can start at £1,000 and increase significantly over time.
If you think you have a particularly unusual piece hiding in your home, consider taking it a trained specialist to help you find out how much it is worth.
If you know who owned it before and who the artist is, this can help in determining how much cash the art might fetch at auction.
Mark suggests Modern British art of the 1920s to 1970s is particularly popular.
Glass
Vintage glass items from the 20th century can be particularly valuable - and you might just have one sitting at home.
Mark says a 1960s Murano glass vase by designer like Fulvio Bianconi for Venini can fetch thousands of pounds depending on the design.
You can use online price guides to help you categorise your antiques and find out their potential value.
Ceramics
Antique ceramics can be worth thousands of pounds and are relatively affordable to collect.
Figurines by English ceramic's manufacturer Royal Doulton can be worth good money to collectors.
"Rarity and desirability combined are key", Mark says.
Tribal art
Rare pieces of tribal art can turn out to be a very
valuable.
Some tribal figurines are currently listed on online auction websites at more than £400.
If you don't own any piece of tribal art, you could visit some junk shops or car boots sales, and see if they have any treasures on sale.
One collector was left "gobsmacked" after he found out that a "creepy" tribal mask he found at a junk shop was actually worth up to £5,000.
Mark says it's always worth getting tribal art valued by an expert, because many valuable pieces have been found in people's homes.
He added: "Some pieces brought back from a relative decades ago, or acquired before the market began to move upwards, have turned out to be a very valuable."
It's also worth considering checking out online marketplaces like eBay to see if you could make hundreds from your unwanted junk.
Around three-quarters of Brits are selling items from around the house to raise some extra cash.
And according to Ebay, you could pocket as much as £1,106 if you pick the right items to sell.
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Selling your unwanted belongings at a car boot sale is also a great way to make some extra cash.
You could come away from the sale with hundreds of pounds, but there are some tips in this guide from The Sun to make things easier.