BBC Antiques Road Trip expert speechless after £60 household item makes staggering profit

BBC Antiques Road Trip expert Paul Laidlaw was left gobsmacked as a seemingly ordinary item he bought for £60 went on to sell for a staggering £20,000 at auction

In a remarkable moment from Antiques Road Trip in 2021, BBC expert Paul Laidlaw made a stunning discovery when a camera he purchased for £60 sold for an astonishing £20,000 at auction.

Paul had found the vintage camera in a treasure-filled antique shop in Margate, Kent, where the enthusiastic owner had invited him to explore the vast premises, saying: "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!"

Undaunted by the task, Paul joked: "Don't send the calvary okay?" After searching the shop, he returned with the camera and negotiated the price, initially offering £50. The seller stood firm, saying: "Give me £60 and I'll shake your hand but I'm not doing any better than that, I'm afraid."

The deal was sealed with a handshake, and Paul commented: "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."

At the Bury St Edmunds auction in Suffolk, Paul's arrival brought a buzz of excitement when a rare find caught the seasoned eye of Edward Crichton who confessed he'd "never seen one" like it ever before.

Curiosity piqued, Edward stated: "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 auction house was quickly humming with anticipation as bidding opened at an eager £1,000 and swiftly surged into the thousands. Amid the action, Kate pointed out, "They're not messing around," while Edward declared: "£3,000, £4,000," reports the Express.

Observing the pace, Paul could not help but comment on the striking changes: "He's now taking £1,000 increments," which Kate chimed in saying: "Which is a very rare thing."

Kate and Edward proceeded to set expectations for the crowd: "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."

As the bids climbed higher and higher, the moment of truth arrived with the auctioneer proclaiming: "At £20,000 online, at £20,000 if we're all done, £20,000."

In the aftermath of the surprising bid frenzy, an ecstatic Paul couldn't hide his feelings: "I'm over the moon. I am genuinely flabbergasted," while Edward summed up the event succinctly: "Most items in this sale make between £50 and £500, so £20,000 is staggering, wonderful,".

Kate was "chuffed" for Paul when a private collector from Switzerland snapped up the camera he had purchased for a staggering £20,000, netting him an impressive profit of £19,940. This remarkable sale smashed the previous record held by Anita Manning, who bought a Tibetan bronze deity for £50 and sold it for £3,800 in 2016.

Moreover, all profits generated from the series were donated to Children in Need.

Antiques Road Trip is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.