Pots of money as €8 vases bought on a whim sell for a huge amount
A pair of vases bought by a Staffordshire woman for just eight euros at a Spanish car boot sale have been sold at auction for £1,200.
Christine Rehm, 65, bought the iridescent glassware on a whim about five years ago when she and husband Manfred, 69, were living near Alicante.
But the vases were actually a pair of Art Noveau pieces dating back to 1900 by renowned European manufacturer Loetz.
At the Lichfield Auction Centre on Tuesday, they sold for £1,200.
The couple, who have three grown-up children, moved back to the UK in 2021 having lived in Spain for 15 years.
Christine said that when she had them valued: “I didn’t know they were valuable or what they were when I bought them, I just liked the style and particularly their colour."
“The seller had marked them up for ten euros but said I could have them for eight as that’s what he’d decided to let them go for.
“I’m very glad we brought the vases back with us when we came back.”
Alex Keller, from Richard Winterton Auctioneers, said it was always worth bringing them anything that might be of value, particularly those items brought abroad.
Other recent sales included part of a collection of 750,000 post cards owned by Burntwood grandmother Jane Westwood, The first part of the collection fetched £2,025 at auction, although staff at Winterton's estimate it will take years to sell all of them.
And part of a bicycle collection dubbed a 'celebration of cycling' recently fetched £1,310 at the auction house.
For auction information, to book valuations or to discuss property clearances and large collections, email office@richardwinterton.co.uk or telephone 01543 251081.
