Valuable Items Hidden in Elderly Relatives’ Attics

‘Chucking it up in the attic’ is a norm for many Brits who might struggle with throwing things away. 50 percent of UK residents say they struggle with decluttering due to sentimental attachment to items, and 26 percent of homeowners are clueless about what is in their attic.      

However, not everything we hold onto is a waste of space. Years of collecting could have turned your older relative’s attic into something of a treasure trove – with some items being worth quite serious money.  

At Homeprotect we have analysed eBay’s sold listing data for common household objects which would likely be found in grandparents’ homes to discover which items hold the most value.  

We looked into the top 5 most expensive listings for various items that might be in attics across the country, and these were our findings for ‘hidden treasures’: 

Top 10 most valuable items to look out for, according to our study  

Coins and stamp collections are the most valuable items you’re likely to find lying around an elderly relative’s attic – particularly rare 50p coins.  The top rare coins sell for an average price of £11,670 on eBay, with some such as the Benjamin Bunny 50p recently selling after being listed for a whopping £20,000.   

If you’re looking to cash in on some rare coins, now would be a good time, as searches for ‘rare 50p coins’ have gone through the roof in recent months, with 49,500 average monthly searches on Google – a 123% increase YoY and 49% in the last three months alone. This is likely the result of several reports from mainstream media circulating recently that detail the profitability of the rare Beatrix Potter coins, as well as details from Royal Mint themselves, with people looking to cash-in on their silverware.  

Vintage jewellery is the second most valuable category we examined, with vintage engagement rings piquing the interest of 9,900 people per month in the UK on Google search, fetching an average of £7,277 on the online marketplace.  

A Platinum Blue Sapphire No Heat Sri Lanka 18K Diamond Ring is the most expensive ring found in our study, sold recently for nearly £18K on eBay. Tiffany and Co. rings also pick up a tidy sum at auction on resale sites, with one selling for just over £4,000. It’s worth bearing in mind that securing a high price for vintage jewellery generally depends on the item’s condition and whether it comes in its original packaging.   

Antique furniture is the third most valuable find, with an average of £6,485 made from relevant eBay sales. Specific designers are particularly well sought-after, with a set of four chairs from Danish designer Borge Mogenson selling for £8,000, a single wardrobe by Robert ‘Mouseman’ for nearly £6,000, and a set of two armchairs for £5,500.   

Furniture from certain eras also fetch a pretty penny, specifically 18^th-century furniture. A Boulle-style dining set sold for £8,000, while a mahogany breakfront bookcase went for nearly £5,000 earlier this year.  

In fourth place, vinyl records, specifically 1960s vinyl, are selling for nearly £4,000 on average for the top listings.   

Recent big-money sales include a promo copy of The Velvet Yellow Underground & Nico featuring iconic art from Andy Warhol which sold for £6,747, the Beatles Please Please Me stereo first gold label vinyl for just over £4,000, and a promo copy of Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde album for just over £3,000.  

Promo releases (copies of albums or singles distributed for free by record companies before release) tend to do well – with experts suggesting they generally sell for 50% more than a standard pressing, minimum.  

Clocks are the fifth most valuable item you can find in the attic. Grandfather clocks garner 12,100 Google searches on average per month and the best can sell for a tidy sum of around £2,671.  

It seems the older the better when selling old clocks on the online marketplace, and hand-carved ones do well, too. An Art Nouveau Italian Baroque grandfather clock carved with cherubs sold for above the average price of a top-tier clock in its category at nearly £4,000, as did a red lacquer longcase clock by Thomas Bell London which went for £3,450.  

 Completing the top 10 most valuable items you might find in your elderly relative’s attic are porcelain dolls (£2,006), vintage lamps (£1,867), vintage posters (£1,829) and WW1 medals (£1,554).   

David Joyson, Chief Customer Office at Homeprotect commented on the findings:   

“It’s incredible how much value can be hidden in everyday items that may have been gathering dust in an old cupboard, garage or attic – with some now selling for thousands on sites like eBay.   

“If you, or an elderly relative have items like these lying around, or if you come across an item you think may have a high value, it’s worth getting them professionally valued, so you can check that you have the right insurance – many insurers will ask you to specify an individual item on your policy – at Homeprotect that’s the case if an item is worth more than £1,500. Not doing this may mean that it wouldn’t be covered if you needed to make a claim.   

“If you have financial power of attorney for an elderly relative and/or have been named as an executor for their will, in the event of their death it is worth auditing and valuing items, to ensure you have a complete list of their assets and to understand the value, whether you intend to keep any treasured items or if you are considering selling anything in the future once the probate process is complete.”   

  Methodology:     

The Homeprotect team made a seed list of household objects often found in grandparent’s homes:  

1. Antique kitchenware   
2. Antique furniture   
3. Vintage jewellery   
4. War memorabilia   
5. Clocks   
6. Coins and stamp collections   
7. Lamps   
8. Silverware   
9. Model trains and accessories   
10. Vintage board games   
11. Vintage suitcases/trunks   
12. Ceramic figurines   
13. Paintings/prints and posters   
14. Vinyl records   
15. Retro electronics   

We then ran this through Google’s Keyword Planner tool to determine which objects had the most public interest.  

We searched on eBay for recently sold listings of these popular items and organised them by highest price. We took the top five most expensive items related to our list for each category and used their sold prices to calculate our ‘average’ price.  

Some items were sold abroad; in these instances, we used eBay’s approximate price in Pounds.  

Some of the items we examined sold using eBay’s ‘best offer’ feature- because of user privacy policies we do not have access to all the final sale prices, in these instances we presumed the offer was close to the asking price.   

All data was captured on 15/04/2025. All items assessed were sold or had their auctions concluded on eBay in the proceeding 90 days.