WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Antiques Roadshow.
An guest needed to sit down after finding out that a children’s bank she stumbled upon was worth a five-figure sum.
expert Jon Bradley was among the specialists who ventured to The Scottish National Gallery Of Modern Art to meet with visitors and their unusual array of items.
Among them was a pensioner who had presented him with an American coasting bank used to help encourage children to save money.
He initially commented: “One of the most remarkable things about the Antiques Roadshow is after many many years of working on it, time after time, I see things that I’ve never seen before and this is one of them.”
She then went on to explain its provenance: “Well when my mother-in-law and I were spring cleaning, we found it in an old vanity case with some material about a year ago.
“So it must have belonged to my husband when he was younger but more than that I don’t know.”
Antiques Roadshow guest needs to ‘sit down’ as jaw drops at price of ‘holy grail’ of banks. (Image: BBC)
An Antiques Roadshow guest brought in an American coasting bank. (Image: BBC)
He clarified that he had never seen the item in real life before but had in an “old American catalogue from 1884”.
Bradley went on to demonstrate how the item works, with the child figure from the top of the slide being pushed down with the cold in its arms, before reaching the bottom where the money is deposited.
He stated that its base was made from cast iron with a brass slide before elaborating on why it’s so valuable.
He said: “What makes it so rare is that although it appears in this 1884 catalogue and it cost less than a dollar, an example, in my experience, and in all the records, have never appeared anywhere, in a museum or at auction.
“So from a collectors’ point of view, this is the holy grail in bank collecting.
“My problem is coming up with a valuation.”
Antiques Roadshow expert Jon Bradley valued an American coasting bank for at least £20,000. (Image: BBC)
Bradley continued: “Now the condition isn’t brilliant, obviously it’s been sliding up and down it for years but actually this is all the original paintwork on the base here, this could all be cleaned.
“So it’s an eight out of 10 from a condition point of view. Now the world record price for a bank ever sold is in America and the price was $426,000 which equates to about £285,000.
“Should you ever decide to part with it, America is where you’re going to find the market.”
He then went on to state: “I don’t think this is going to make that but if you decided to go into auction, I would strongly suggest you went in on a figure between £20,000 and £25,000.”
The guest’s eyes bulged and jaw dropped as the surrounding audience gasped in amazement.
She covered her mouth with her hands as she murmured: “Oh my God! Really?”
The bank’s owner struggled to find the words for a moment when she asked with a smile: “Can I have a seat and a glass of water? Wow. Thank you, thank you very much.”
Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on One and iPlayer.