Autumn – the perfect season to let things go

Why not declutter, and see how much your treasures are worth at the same time?

As routines restart after summer and you prepare to spend more time indoors, it’s a great time to tidy and create a cozy space before the busy hosting and festive season arrives. And let’s face it, all those festivities can get expensive. So why not see if you can combine decluttering with raising some welcome extra funds?

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Find a Valuation Day

Book yourself in for a free valuation slot soon at the Canterbury HQ, just opposite Canterbury West train station. Ring 01227 763337 for dates and to book.

Kent & East Sussex vintage railway station, Tenterden, October 15: 10am-3pm.

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You never know what treasures you might discover in your attic, (and it’s cooler up there now too) Or you might just want to refresh your surroundings and send off some of your old items for a new owner to love. Either way, how do you know what you’ve got?

Whether it’s a Chinese artwork or eye-catching vase; some silver or gold handed down, a piece of jewellery that just MIGHT be precious or even a sealed pack of Pokemon cards. You can get your items valued completely free by specialists from the Canterbury Auction Galleries.

This team of experts hold regular valuation days at their HQ (usually on a Friday, though check before you go) and hold frequent roving ‘Antiques Roadshow’ style valuation events too, which are great fun. Just turn up with your goodies and see what the friendly team thinks.

Earlier this year they held a valuation day at Tenterden’s historic Kent & Sussex Railway station, and a woman turned up with a lovely old ring with a pink stone that she just wanted to check WAS made of glass. It wasn’t! The stone turned out to be a spinel – a little-known gem historically mistaken for rubies or sapphire, though much rarer than either, and which come in a range of vivid colours from cobalt blue to hot pink. Further, the ring was Georgian. The Canterbury Auction Galleries was asked to offer it at auction to their databse of thousands of keen bidders across the globe and it fetched a very healthy £7,200 in their June sale.

Why ask an auction house about values?
While jewellers or antique shops will have a view, it really is wise to consult specialists with a long-held reputation for accuracy and honesty, especially if you’re selling gold and gems. The Canterbury team boasts specialists in fields ranging from fine art to jewellery, ceramics to furniture, clocks to Chinese art – right up to 20^th Century collectibles and rare coins.

Only experts with decades of experience can spot the tiny details that could mean your item is way more precious than you thought. Their experience of what items actually fetch at auction gives them a real edge too. They will know what people are looking for and what trends are hot, so their views on value are usually really accurate, though even they are often surprised by the prices achieved when bidding really hots up.

A recent sale of original art by late Kent artist Peter ‘Bagpuss’ Firmin saw a gorgeous illustration of Noggin the Nog sell for £5,800, a Dunhill lighter for £3,900 and a Paraiba tourmaline ring for an astonishing £7,400.

They can’t guarantee you’d be that lucky, but it’s amazing what prices can be fetched when thousands of people worldwide are bidding.

Ceramics are always wanted: a lovely coffee cup by Modernist potter Lucie Rie, which many might not recognise, sold for £840. And if you’ve been left something by a kind relative but it’s not quite your thing, it’s sure to be someone else’s. A 1940s silver tea set by Roberts & Belks, Sheffield 1943, recently sold for £1,800.

So pull down that loft ladder and seek out your art, jewels, collectibles, ceramics, gold and silver – whatever! You might be amazed at what they could fetch…

See www.thecanterburyauctiongalleries.com for more information. Next sale is on October 2&3.