An Antiques Roadshow guest was lost for words as gold found in their attic was worth a staggering amount.
Sunday’s (October 12) episode of the hit BBC programme took place at the Hill of Tarvit Mansion in Fife, Scotland, where locals arrived to have their antiques and fine arts appraised by experts.
During the instalment, British and Continental furniture specialist Cristian Beadman was presented with a collection of solid gold coins.
“When you came to my table and said you had a coin collection, I thought, ‘Oh dear, she hasn’t read the blurb that we don’t have a coin specialist or a stamp specialist,'” Cristian began.
“A single coin collection can take a day to go through so we don’t normally look at coins unfortunately. Then when I saw them, I thought I would have a go at these after all.”
The guest explained that she found the coins in a blue ice cream box that was situated in her loft. Two of the coins had Queen Victoria’s head on them, and were dated in the 1800s.
Cristian then revealed that the coins were made of Gold Bullion, an investment-grade gold in its physical form, typically bars or coins, with a high degree of purity.
“Nice attic find. I wish I’d bought your house. These are Gold Sovereign, you’ve got 21 Gold Sovereigns and two half Sovereigns. In theory, they are legal tender. You could spend it, but they’re used as a form of storing wealth effectively,” the expert continued.
“Now, something that’s important is the dating on them because some of the earlier ones can fetch more for their collectible value than for their gold weight. The earliest ones here are late Victorian. The rest are either Edward VII, George V and George VI.
“They’re largely late 19th and early 20th century. There are also some that have got a bit thumb worn, but there are still 21 Gold Sovereigns and two half Sovereigns.”
The guest didn’t know how much they’d be worth as she didn’t realise they were real gold until the expert revealed their purity.
“You can get fakes that aren’t gold, these are gold. Gold has outperformed everything for a few years now,” Cristian said.
The specialist then revealed that the coins were making £400 each at auction a year ago, but now they could fetch £550 each. The guest’s collection was therefore worth the best part of £10,000 to £15,000.
“Who doesn’t dream of running their fingers through chests full of gold coins, and you got it,” Cristian added, with the guest excitedly replying: “That’s amazing! Absolutely amazing. They are absolutely beautiful coins as well.”
Antiques Roadshow is available to stream on BBC iPlayer