Antiques Road Trip star raked in 'staggering' amount after household item makes biggest ever profit

BBC Antiques Road Trip expert Paul Laidlaw was left in total disbelief when a hidden camera made a 'staggering' profit after it was sold at auction for a record-breaking sum

An antique camera initially purchased for a mere £60 by BBC expert Paul Laidlaw fetched in a jaw-dropping £20,000 at auction in a memorable moment from a 2021 episode.

Paul stumbled upon the hidden treasure of a camera, priced at a mere £60, in a Margate antique shop filled to the brim with intriguing items. The enthusiastic shop owner described the store's layout, 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!"

Undeterred by the treasure trove's challenge, Paul light-heartedly said, "Don't send the calvary okay? " After thorough exploration, he came back from his hunt ready to haggle over the vintage camera, proposing, "In your cabinet over there, optical instrument... £75 on that I bid you £50."

The vendor stood his ground, countering, "Give me £60 and I'll shake your hand but I'm not doing any better than that, I'm afraid."

Following a cordial shake, the deal was sealed, and Paul, suspecting he might have unearthed something special, noted, "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,", as reported by the Mirror, reports the Express.

Upon Paul's arrival at the Bury St Edmunds auction in Suffolk, a rare gem immediately piqued the interest of auctioneer Edward Crichton who confessed he'd "never seen one" quite like it. Edward enthused: "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."

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As the auction commenced, the bids started strong at £1,000 and quickly surged, leading Kate to remark, "They're not messing around," while Edward announced: "£3,000, £4,000."

Paul, observing the escalating bids, noted: "He's now taking £1,000 increments," and Kate added: "Which is a very rare thing."

Kate and Edward shared with 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."

The bidding reached its peak when the auctioneer hammered down: "At £20,000 online, at £20,000 if we're all done, £20,000."

Astounded by the result, Paul couldn't hide his delight: "I'm over the moon. I am genuinely flabbergasted," and Edward concluded: "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 purchased his camera for £20,000. Paul's staggering profit of £19,940 smashed the previous record set by Anita Manning in 2016her Tibetan bronze deity, bought for £50, sold for £3,800.

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