Woman who bought three glasses from boot fair for 40p stunned when they sell at auction... for £19,000
By ANNA EDWARDS
Last updated at 1:54 PM on 8th July 2011
Most bargain-hunters dream of stumbling upon a precious treasure when they rummage around a car boot fair.
And for one gimlet-eyed woman that dream came true, when she bought three wine glasses for 40p each at a car boot sale and sold them at auction for nearly £19,000.
The eagle-eyed shopper bought the intricate six-inch high vessels on a 'hunch', completely unaware they were rare 18th century William Beilby glass.
What a find: The bargain hunter was shocked when she learnt just how much these precious Bielby glasses were worth
After the fair in Portsmouth, Hampshire, she took them to a saleroom in Chichester, West Sussex, to ask if they were worth anything.
The anonymous woman apologised to staff if she was about to waste their time, but when they saw what she had brought they soon realised they had a precious load before them.
Dealers and collectors clamoured for the find and after a furious bidding session at Stride and Son auction house saw them go under the hammer for £16,000 pounds.
The winning bidder, who deals in glass, paid a total of £18,880 after all the extra fees were added on.
The vessels were made by revered glassworker William Bielby, who was known to have produced enamelled glass.
Place your bids: Collectors clamoured to buy the rare glasses
Mark Hewitt, from auctioneers Stride and Son, said: 'The lady was at a car boot sale and just bought them on a hunch.
'She didn't haggle or anything, she just paid what the person was asking - which was 40p each.
'Then she brought the glasses to us and was a bit embarrassed and said she didn't want to waste our time.
'When I saw them I made sure I put them in a locked cabinet. The lady said that last time she had had a "touch" she had made £800.
'Before the sale she was trying to gauge how excited I was but I didn't give anything away and I think she was a bit shocked when I opened the bidding at £500.
'Then within just a few minutes the bidding got up to 16,000 pounds.
'After we put it on the website it was clear that collectors and dealers thought they were "right".
'They are rare Beilby glass - which is a famous name - and were made at the workshop in Newcastle.
'The person who bought them said afterwards that because they come up so rarely he had to have all three.
'They are museum quality pieces and it just shows that you can pick things up at car boot sales and make money.'
The items were made in about 1765 and fewer than 100 of these armorial glasses are recorded.
His workshop in Newcastle-upon-Tyne produced these three examples with the arms of John Thomas, a churchman from Cumberland.
At the time the glasses were made he was a vicar of St Bride's in London's Fleet Street.
It is thought that the set originally consisted of a set of five - and two others have sold at auction in recent years.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2012542/Rare-glasses-bought-40p-boot-fair-sell-auction-20-000.html#ixzz1RWgZEDJr
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