Auctioneer has lots more to offer

An expert in collectibles has just relocated to fakenham where he has opemed an Aladdin's Cave for hobbyists.

It's a business which grew out of his very first sale some 40 years ago when he bought an old sixpence (2½p) for 10/- (50p) and sold it the same day for £1.

That was in 1969 when David James opened his first shop in Norwich after a career in the Army serving in Borneo and Aden.

After a more recent period on Syderstone business park he has now relocated to Norwich Street, Fakenham, where 5000 square feet of storage space houses thousands of items such as postage stamps, cigarette cards, medals, bank notes, coins, postcards, old maps, prints, books and much more besides.

"We have one of the largest stocks of collectables in this country, if not in Europe." he said. As an auctioneer and valuer he is an expert in the many branches of collecting but also has at his elbow a team of 20 consultants whose specialist expertise gives the business a vast knowledge of the worth of anything and everything a collector might be after. That ranges from valuable penny blacks to ten-a-penny contemporary trade cards given away by companies such as Brooke Bond, Kellogg's abd McDonalds.

At any one time the company has up to 500 items on eBay as well as holding monthly auctions and fairs around the eastern region. "We sell one tonne of stamp albums through our auctions every month and we've just past the 2000 auctions." he said.

But it is also very challenging business where collecting habits can change rapidly. Cigarette cards are currently not in vogue unless they are early and rare. But anything containing either gold or silver is much sought after as the value of bullion rises world-wide.

It is also a business where big money is paid for rarity. Currently he has letters, sent before postage stamps were introduced in 1840 with the advent of the Penny Black. One, dated 1666, is valued by the distance it travelled: the greater the distance the greater the value. Marks on the correspondence record the total mileage with the recipent paying accordingly. Another lucrative market is old cheques and postal orders.

Taken from the Lynn News - www.lynnnews.co.uk - 11th November 2011 - Picture by Peter Bird