HIDDEN GEM
You have the eyes of a hawk if you can spot treasure worth a fortune on charity shop shelf – it’s harder than you think
YOU’LL need the eyes of a hawk to be able to spot the hidden treasure on a charity shop shelf.
Famed auctioneer Charles Hanson was out and about looking for hidden gems which were undervalued and underpriced at local charity shops and jumble sales.
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He spotted an item that if it had been in pristine condition could have fetched as much as £120 but due to a slight bit of damage it was valued much lower.
The star from the BBC’s Bargain Hunt was playing Track the Treasure with his fans and was recently in an unnamed charity shop in Burton, Derbyshire.
Track the Treasure is similar to the popular Where’s Wally game, where players have to pick out a rare, treasured or valuable item from a hoard of ornaments in a shop.
Charles teased his fans with the photograph above – can you find the rare item that caught the expert’s eye?
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Posting the image to his Twitter page on Saturday, he wrote: "Evening all! … Track the Treasure is back.
“Can you spy and track the antique treasure I spotted on a charity shop shelf today.
“Good luck and answer later on tomorrow afternoon. Make a memory and call it!"
The post attracted hundreds of comments as people came up with their own guesses as to which item had interested Charles.
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Only a small number got it right, though and the answer was revealed on Sunday evening.
Charles revealed that the choice pick was a small porcelain vase.
It can be seen just to the left of the middle on the photo, behind a dark blue porcelain dolphin.
Charles explained in his tweet: "In colours it is reminiscent of the period 1800-1820.
“It bears a red script crown mark for the Derby porcelain factory. It is rubbed in gilt work, but a nice find!"
He later told Derbyshire Live: "It was made when William Dewsbury was proprietor of the factory in Derby.
“It was probably made almost when Robert Bloor took the factory over in 1811.
“It's full of great regency colour but unfortunately it's got a chip on it."
Charles paid just £1.50 for the vase and estimated it would sell for around £40 due to the chip.
He said though that without the chip it would be worth around £120.
His original tweet picked up 176,000 views and attracted 350 guesses.
Among the wrong guesses were a larger white vase, a teapot, two porcelain shire horses and a ceramic goblet.
Charles said: "It looks quite like an antique so it wasn't the most difficult one.
"I'm always quite eager and it's nice to find more modern day collectibles which are making a lot of money nowadays because people don't realise their value."
He added: "It's always really exciting uncovering items which tell a story.
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“When you handle something that was made in the 1800s when George III was King of England, and only ten years after the French Revolution, it's always lovely.
“Being able to uncover something like that is great."
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