An Antiques Roadshow guest has given a kiss to an item of junk he found for £10 and had lying in a garage for 20 years after discovering it was worth more than a car.
Wednesday’s episode of the BBC programme, which first aired in 2015, featured a pensioner who had brought a poster of a racing car to Walmer Castle in Dover.
Expert Lisa Lloyd was on hand to give her an accurate estimate of the value of the BP sign, which quickly caught her eye.
Lisa said, “Wow, what a fantastic image. What do we have here? It really represents everything about the age of speed.”
Referring to the driver in the picture, Lisa continued: “Here he is, accelerating as fast as he can to cross the finish line. It really conveys the era of speed.”
An Antiques Roadshow guest gave a kiss to an item he found in a junk shop for £10 and which had been abandoned in a garage for 20 years after discovering it was worth more than a car.
Wednesday’s episode of the BBC programme, which first aired in 2015, featured a pensioner who had brought a poster of a racing car to Walmer Castle in Dover.
Expert Lisa Lloyd was on hand to give her an accurate estimate of the value of the BP poster that had quickly caught her eye.
‘You see the driver here, he’s got a little racing helmet on, he’s shifting gears and he’s desperately trying to get to the finish line.
She continued: ‘This sign is known as the “The Winner” sign and if you are a collector or a fan of enamel car signs then this is the most elite sign of all. This is the one for you.
‘Tell me, how did you come to have this?’
The guest replied: ‘I went to a junk shop to buy something military as I was interested in that… I couldn’t buy anything I wanted and as I turned around and walked out I noticed this on the wall and just said “that’s for me” and that’s what I did.
“I bought it on the spot and have loved it ever since. It’s my epitome of what speed and those times were all about. I bought it just over 20 years ago.”
Lisa explained that the sign, which had been made in the mid-1920s, was an enamel sign used to advertise various products outside places such as garages and gas stations.
She said: ‘You can quite often see that they have screw holes in the corners where they were fixed to the wall and we see a lot of them that are terribly rusty.
‘This one is actually not bad at all… A lot of people would love to have it, not just enamel sign collectors, but classic car enthusiasts as well.’
Asked if he had his sign hanging at home, the guest said: ‘No, it’s been in the garage for 20 years.
‘I know it’s there, I look at it when I walk into the garage and that’s where it stays.
Lisa said: ‘This sign is actually known as the ‘The Winner’ sign and if you are a collector or enthusiast of enamel sign cars then this is the crème de la crème of signs.’
The guest said: “I bought it on the spot and I’ve loved it ever since… It’s my epitome of what speed and those times were all about. I bought it just over 20 years ago.”
Although he bought the sign for £10, when asked how much he thought it was worth, the pensioner said “£200, £250”. At Lisa’s insistence, the crowd guessed “£400” and “£500”.
Lisa shocked everyone when she revealed: “I think if this came up for sale at a really good classic car or motoring auction, I think it would fetch between £10,000 and £15,000.”
After being speechless for several moments, the retiree finally spoke up to address the sign and say, “Honey, I love you,” and kissed it, causing Lisa and the audience to burst into laughter.
“I’m afraid my wife wouldn’t like having it on the wall with some of the other stuff I have, so I left it in the garage.”
After being told that he had bought it for £10, Lisa asked the guest how much he thought it was worth. He replied: “£200, £250.”
When he put the question to the audience, their guesses ranged from £400 to £500.
Lisa said, “Okay, we’re going up, we’re going in the right direction.”
He then revealed: “I think if this came up for sale at a really good classic car or motoring auction, I think it would fetch between £10,000 and £15,000.”
The audience gasped and the guest was left speechless and open-mouthed for a few moments: “No. That was in my garage.”
Turning to the sign, she said, “Honey, I love you,” and kissed it, causing Lisa and the audience to burst into laughter.
Antiques Roadshow airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
