BBC Antiques Road Trip expert makes show history as £60 item makes £20k

A remarkable find on Antiques Road Trip stunned both the expert Paul Laidlaw and viewers when a rare old camera, sourced for a mere £60, fetched an astonishing £20,000. Expert Paul Laidlaw was exploring an antiques shop in Margate, Kent, with a myriad of items spread across three floors when the shop owner described the layout: "Three floors, the upstairs is mainly furniture but there's stuff everywhere.

"And on this floor, there are four rooms through and in the middle, there's a staircase which goes down to a room full of chairs and another room full below." In response to the challenge ahead, Paul jokingly remarked: "Don't send the cavalry - okay?" While digging through the assortment, Paul located the camera and proposed: "In your cabinet over there, optical instrument... £75 on that. I bid you £50."

The shopkeeper countered with, "Give me £60 and I'll shake your hand but I'm not doing any better than that, I'm afraid," culminating in a handshake deal for £60 as the owner declared, "Good man, deal done." Paul then shared his discovery: "What do you get for your money when you open it up? That looks like a peepside... and it is! "

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He surmised, "I think this is a very early camera. If I'm right, that could be quite exciting. The photographic market is very much in the ascent, it's a hot market, I think that's a good thing.", reports OK! The camera achieved a spectacular result at a Bury St. Edmunds auction house in Suffolk, leaving fellow expert Kate Bliss equally shocked by the outcome.

When Paul arrived with his unique find, auctioneer Edward Crichton was clearly captivated, commenting: "The sub-miniature camera - I have never seen one, in fact, we have carried out some research and cannot find any other example which has sold at auction. We were very excited to see this and it has certain potential to make a significant profit."

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-Credit:BBC

As the bids swiftly escalated, Edward had to start at £1,000 due to the immediate interest, saying, "We must open - we've got five phones on this - we must open the bidding at £1,000. 11, 12, 13, 14." Someone on the line quickly raised the stakes, leading Edward to acknowledge, "£2,000."

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Meanwhile, Kate was taken aback by the pace, whispering, "They're not messing around," as the auctioneer pressed on with, "£3,000, £4,000." Paul caught onto the changes in the auction's rhythm, pointing out, "He's now taking £1,000 increments," to which Kate added that such an occurrence was "a very rare thing."

Excitement peaked when Edward announced a sensational bid online, "£10,000 online!" and he continued rallying for increased offers, "£11,000 is next, £12,000, £13,000." Kate observed the non-stop action, stating, "He's not slowing down," while Edward gave context to the record-breaking moment: "It's not a record price, a record price for a general sale is £15,000, for a home and interior sale £16,000. £17,000, £18,000, £19,000, £20,000."

Attempting to coax just a little more, he asked, "May I ask two?" yet no further bids came. He said: "At £20,000 online, at £20,000 if we're all done, £20,000." Paul could hardly believe the outcome, exclaiming, "I'm over the moon. I am genuinely flabbergasted," by the extraordinary result of the auction.

Reflecting on the event's spectacular high point, Edward summarised, "Most items in this sale make between £50 and £500, so £20,000 is staggering, wonderful," equally astonished by the unexpected windfall.

"What an incredible result, I am so chuffed for Paul," said Kate, moved by the astonishing auction outcome. Meanwhile, the original owner remarked in astonishment: "I really was shocked, when he bought it, he knew he bought a good thing, but I don't think he realised. And he said 'it looks like a camera' but we didn't know it was a camera."

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The fortunate collector who snapped up the camera for a mere £20,000 four years ago resides in Switzerland. Paul's staggering profit of £19,940 outdid the previously unmatched success of Anita Manning's Tibetan bronze deity purchase for £50, which later auctioned for £3,800 in 2016.

All proceeds from the celebrated show were generously donated to Children in Need. Tune into BBC Two at 4.30pm every day to catch episodes of Antiques Road Trip.

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