5:20pm Friday 3rd April 2009
By James Wilson
A CLOCK that was ready for the dump has fetched more than £20,000 at auction.
Nick Hall, from Frank Marshalls Auctioneers, based in Knutsford, said the company found the clock in the Northwich area when valuing a property.
“One of our estate agents was valuing a cottage that a woman had inherited from her boyfriend and she said she was going to ‘skip’ everything in the house so he asked if we could have a look and we went round there,” he said.
The grandfather clock – dated from the 18th century – sold at the auction, on March 17, for £22,000.
Most Georgian long case clocks go for around £600-£800.
Nick added: “This one had a case that had never been restored, a good maker who didn’t make a lot of clocks and had a top quality movement, which would appeal to enthusiasts.
“When I first saw it my initial thoughts was that it was worth £8,000 so we put a £2,000 estimate on the front of the brochure to generate interest.
“We had seven phone bids booked as well as the live internet bidding and also a cluster of serious clock buyers.
“There were several items from the house that were making hundreds of pounds, I think the owner must have been a bit of a clock buff.”
He added that it was the items that people least expect to be of a high value which were the ones that sold for large amounts.
“We spot a lot of items that are worth a lot of money, that is the reason why we say just give us a call and there is a good chance we will find something of a significant value.”
On the day, the auction was being filmed for BBCs ‘Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is programme, which will be screened later in the year.
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