Car Boot Sale Finds That Change Lives & My Own Lucky Finds

Ahoy there and welcome to another instalment of 'Blog Post Monday'. 

It just so happens to be 'Yorkshire Day' today and the morning after the heroics performed by our English women's football team last night!  A bit of a tenuous transition here, but, by gum I feel lucky to live in Yorkshire and I feel very lucky to have witnessed an England football team finally winning something....  And, this brings me on to the subject of this week's blog post.... Lucky finds at car boot sales that have made a pretty penny!  I told you it was a very tenuous transition...

Anyway, I read an article about an item that appeared on the Antiques Roadshow the other night.  A tiny little gold ring, bought for £90 from a car boot sale and subsequently valued on the show at £2,000...!  Lucky bugger, I thought...  Whilst I'm still waiting for my life changing find, I have found a couple of little treasures which have turned a nice little profit... not life changing... but it meant that I could eat chips AND rice, folks, chips AND rice...!

So, as always, get that kettle on and cue that pompous Antiques Roadshow music, as we take a look at some of my luckiest car boot sale finds...

Antiques Roadshow: The ring from the 16th or 17th century (image BBC)

Firstly, more about the ring on the Antiques Roadshow.  This little pinky ring (pictured above) is a gold devotional ring believed to date from around the 16th or 17th century and was picked up at a car boot sale in Lincolnshire for a mere £90.  The Roadshow expert, however, fell in love with it and gave it an estimated value of £2,000...!

Antiques Roadshow: Ronnie Archer Morgan was fascinated by the ring (image BBC)

Now, as a dealer, we all dream of striking it lucky and this particular find pales into insignificance compared to some of the finds that some dealers I know have had!  We all hope that one day we'll find that one piece that gives us the means to grow to another level as a business.  I really hope I haven't set your expectations too high with this introduction.... but here are some of my luckiest car boot sale finds...

First up is actually one of my favourite finds.  An antique leather cigar case once owned by a William Francis 2805 of the Norfolk Regiment (pictured above).  On it, William had detailed his early service history, dating from 1891 to 1904.  I managed to pick this piece up for a cool £40 from a car boot sale.  And, after a lot of research, I was able to obtain his entire service history.  The cigar case, combined with the full service history, ended up selling for £295.  I do miss this piece though... 

Next up was another militaria find.  This time a working World War I sterling silver trench watch with original strap.  For those of you who aren't familiar with these pieces, the trench watch was a type of watch that came into use by the military during World War I, as pocket watches were not practical in combat.  They were a transitional design between pocket watches and wristwatches, incorporating features of both.  I managed to pick this one up for a cool £20 and sold it for £195.  I kind of wish I'd kept this piece for a bit longer too...!

Then there is the legendary tale of the rare band poster...  On my way out of a boot sale one time I saw a cardboard tube with "Iron Maiden Tour Poster" written along the side of it.  I stopped, popped the plastic lid off the top and asked the seller how much it was.  He replied "oh, i don't know, £1...?"  So I paid the man and trundled off home.  Now, on getting home, I removed the poster from the tube to have a proper look.  It was in its original film and was like new!  I carefully removed the film and unravelled this 'Maiden Japan' poster.  There was a lot of interest in this piece and it eventually sold for £150, which, I've been told is a bit of a bargain...!

Another one of my favourite finds up next...  A fabulous rare miniature novelty travelling inkwell in the form of a globe, c.1900.  Not only did it have all of its original paper surround, but it also had its original glass insert.  I forked out a healthy £45 on this piece at a boot sale and it didn't hang around, selling for a cool £225.  Yet, another piece I wish I could have hung on to for a bit longer!

And, finally, probably one of my luckiest and most beautiful finds...  A late 18th century French steel chatelaine with a group of attachments, including a wind-up tape measure, two steel balls and an initialled seal, c.1780.  This piece cost me £40 at a boot sale.  It sold for £320 and to be fair, it's probably worth more.

Well, folks, that's it for this week.  I hope you've enjoyed this little look into some of my luckiest car boot sale finds.  I've not found my life changing find yet, but let's hope it comes in time for the next increase in utility bills here in the UK because otherwise, there'll be no chips OR rice for me...!  Let me know in the comments below if you've struck lucky at a car boot sale.

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So, until next week, stay safe, keep buying those antiques and keep spreading that Source Vintage love!

Cheerio!

Stephen

Owner Source Vintage

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