Clearing an inherited home — or handling a probate estate — often means sorting through a lifetime's accumulation without knowing what matters. Watches in drawers, silver in boxes, coins in tins, medals in cases. We assess it all.
Send us the whole mixed box. Our specialists sort items across every relevant desk. You receive one written report covering everything — with each piece valued individually, not lumped together. Free insured postage. No obligation to sell. Paid within 72 hours.
In our experience, the most valuable items in a typical British home are rarely in obvious places. The following categories appear most frequently in inherited and probate collections — and are the ones most often sold below their true value because their significance is not recognised.
Often found in bedside drawers, on dressing tables, in men's clothing pockets, in jewellery boxes. Pocket watches in cases, wristwatches in fabric pouches, military watches in webbing. Any watch by a named maker — Omega, Rolex, IWC, Longines, Cartier, Zenith — should be set aside before clearance continues.
Jewellery boxes are obvious sources; less obvious are tissue paper folded into drawer corners, the backs of wardrobes, inside gloves, in old handbags. Rings, brooches, bracelets, and pendants in gold, silver, or set with stones. Hallmarks indicate gold and silver — check the inner surface of rings, the clasp of bracelets.
Sideboards, dining room display cabinets, tea trolleys, old trunks. Canteens of cutlery, tea and coffee services, dressing table sets, candlesticks, frames. Hallmarks on British silver are struck into the metal — look for assay office marks, date letters, and maker's marks inside or underneath pieces.
Old tins, cigar boxes, coin albums, wallets, the back of drawers. Pre-decimal British coins, foreign currency from travels, commemorative sets, old bank notes. Silver coins — anything pre-1947 in the UK — have inherent metal value. Named coin collections should be kept intact.
Display cases, uniform pockets, tin boxes, ribbon drawers. Campaign medals with a soldier's name on the rim are particularly valuable and traceable. Group medals — multiple medals awarded to the same person — are worth more than individual pieces. Do not separate groups before assessment.
Camera bags, cupboards under stairs, hallway shelves. Film cameras, particularly by Leica, Rolleiflex, Hasselblad, or Japanese SLR makers from the 1960s and 1970s, can have significant value. Include any lenses, cases, and accessories found with the camera.
If we receive a mixed box and assess some items as outside our buying criteria — or not at a level that justifies an offer — we return them to you fully insured at no cost. You are never charged for items we do not buy, and the return journey is fully covered.
We will also tell you honestly if something falls outside our specialist area but might be of interest to a different buyer — and where possible, suggest where to take it. We would rather help you get the right outcome than make a low offer on something outside our deepest expertise.
Identify the categories most likely to have value. Email us photographs of anything you are unsure about — we will tell you what to keep back and what can be cleared.
We send a free prepaid, tracked and insured label. Your parcel is insured to £5,000 from the moment the courier scans it — at no cost to you.
Your box is opened publicly on YouTube before any specialist touches it. Every item is documented on camera in the condition received.
Each piece assessed by the right specialist. One itemised written report. Accept what you want to sell; we return the rest free. Paid in 72 hours or +3%.
Call us on 01234 815116 or email support@fairvintage.co.uk.
Get your free pack →Email us photographs before you clear anything. Items that appear unremarkable — a tarnished silver object, an old watch, a box of coins — can have significant value. Our initial assessment is free and carries no obligation.
Set aside anything that may have value before disposing of the rest. The categories most likely to have value: watches, jewellery, silver, coins, medals, and cameras. We can advise on what to look for and assess what you find.
Yes — and this is precisely what we do well. Send us the whole box. Our specialists sort items across every relevant desk and you receive one itemised written report. You don't need to sort, identify, or research anything first.
We return them fully insured at no cost. There is no charge for items we do not buy, and no obligation to sell anything we do make an offer on.
We are a specialist service. A mixed box from a house clearance — particularly one containing watches, jewellery, or silver — is ideal. A single item of clear significance is also welcome. Email us a photo first if you are unsure.
Within 72 hours of your parcel going live on YouTube — guaranteed. If we miss that window, we add 3% to your total.
Send us the whole mixed box. One written report covering every item — assessed by the right specialist. Open live on YouTube. Paid within 72 hours.