Monthly Meeting Report
NORTHWICH u3a – June meeting
At the monthly meeting of Northwich u3a, the members were warmly welcomed by Vice Chair, Pauline Kilbourne, who updated us about trips and concert visits.
Our speaker was Peter Ashburner, an auctioneer with a wealth of knowledge and experience from Congleton who has appeared on ‘Flog It!’ and ‘Bargain Hunt’ and whose presentation was entitled, ‘Flog it!’ Peter told us that he became an auctioneer by accident. He studied at the Royal Agriculture College and in 1979 he found a job in a company which was involved in many areas, including selling cattle and a salesroom. He worked in the salesroom for a while and enjoyed it; working more and more in that position and less and less in the agricultural department. The company then found that it needed someone to manage and develop the salesroom and he was the perfect candidate.
Along with his antique, rose wood gavel, Peter gave us an insight into the value of several items and the world of antiques. He told us that during Covid, selling was based around the internet and prices increased quite significantly. An auctioneer can sell about 100-120 items per hour, (it’s slower nowadays because the auction houses have to wait for the internet bidders) and Peter said that his record was 210! Apparently atmosphere is quite important in the auction room and auctioneers talk a great deal in order to get people to spend money before they have had time to think about it!
Peter talked about the value of many things, from tennis rackets to swords, toys to works of art and the range of values therein. He recounted a story about a young man who sheepishly brought his father’s broken watch for a valuation, expecting to collect about £20 - £10 more than his father had bought it at a car boot sale. In fact, the watch was quite rare – an Italian Naval diver’s watch from the wartime, with a Rolex movement. The auctioneers expected it to fetch £15 – 20,000. It actually sold for £46,000! Another one sold shortly after – in a poorer condition but with the diver’s initials engraved on it – for £55,000!
Alcohol is apparently a good investment. An 1830 bottle of cognac sold for £10,000 and numerous people, e.g. Alex Ferguson and Andrew Lloyd Webber have bought many bottles. Stamp collections and furniture (particularly Victorian and Georgian), however, are no longer good sellers as most of the younger generation are no longer interested in them.
Peter has also auctioned many lots with very interesting histories. One such piece was the briefcase of a couple in Winsford which contained a watch, bow-ties, pliers, a scrapbook, a tape measure and a diary – all belonging to the hangman, Harry Allen. (It all sold for £17,200). Another interesting lot was a piece of art work, which, after much investigation, turned out to be a Lowry original and which sold for £60,000.
Peter kept us entertained with lots of anecdotes and interesting facts regarding the world of auctioneering and reminded us about 3 important factors when sorting out ‘old’ things: (i) it’s not always age but scarcity which makes an item valuable, (ii) it may not look pretty or interesting but it may be worth something and (iii) to always have a valuation before selling at a car boot sale or giving away!
The next meeting will be on Wednesday 19th July at Owley Wood Club, Weaverham at 2pm, when Alan Eastwood will entertain us with ‘The Origins of Pub Signs’! Come and join us! Look on the Northwich u3a website for more information.