Antiques Road Trip camera bought for £50 breaks show record with staggering real value (Image: BBC2)
In a historic moment from 2021, a seemingly ordinary purchase by expert Paul Laidlaw turned into an auction sensation when it fetched a staggering £20,000.
Paul discovered the hidden gem of a camera priced at merely £60 in a Margate, Kent antique shop brimming with treasures. The enthusiastic store owner had shared, “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! “.
Not overwhelmed by the daunting prospect, Paul quipped, “Don’t send the calvary okay? ” After scouring the shop, he returned with his find, eager to negotiate on the ancient camera’s price. His initial offer was, “In your cabinet over there, optical instrument… £75 on that I bid you £50.”
The seller responded firmly, “Give me £60 and I’ll shake your hand but I’m not doing any better than that, I’m afraid.”
A handshake later, the transaction was completed. Sensing the camera’s potential, Paul remarked, “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 .
The camera was bought for just £60 but made a huge profit (Image: BBC)
Upon Paul’s arrival at the Bury St Edmonds auction in Suffolk, a rare find immediately caught the attention of Edward Crichton who admitted he’d “never seen one” like it before. Edward remarked: “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.”
The bidding war kicked off with an impressive £1,000 and rapidly escalated by the thousand, prompting Kate to observe, “They’re not messing around,” as Edward called out: “£3,000, £4,000.”
Paul, witnessing the bidding pattern change, commented: “He’s now taking £1,000 increments,” while Kate noted: “Which is a very rare thing.”
Kate and Edward informed the attendees: “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.”
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The bids soared until the auctioneer finally declared: “At £20,000 online, at £20,000 if we’re all done, £20,000.”
Overwhelmed by the outcome, Paul exclaimed: “I’m over the moon. I am genuinely flabbergasted,” to which Edward responded: “Most items in this sale make between £50 and £500, so £20,000 is staggering, wonderful,”.
Kate was “chuffed” for Paul as the camera was purchased for £20,000 by a private collector in Switzerland. Paul’s massive profit of £19,940 beat the previous record, which was a Tibetan bronze deity bought for £50 by Anita Manning, selling for £3,800 in 2016.
And all profits from the series went to Children in Need.