12 common items your parents probably have in their loft that could be worth thousands

Put those steamers away and carefully dry your hands before you accidentally tear a fortune. While it's likely your dad's collection won't be worth a lot, with even the old Penny Blacks found for potentially up to £300 

Errors and rare editions, kept in good quality, boost their value while some stamps are so sought after you're almost guaranteed a healthy sale. Just over 10 years ago, a collection of 35 candarin or 'Imperial Dragon' stamps sold for £80,000, the keen-eyed buyer planning to sell them in Hong Kong for over £250,000.

Everyone remembers the first record/tape/CD they bought and blasting it at full volume in your room is a right of passage for every angsty teen down the generations. For those particularly dedicated fans who required a more personal touch, artist signings made their year – and perhaps, now, your fortune. 

A copy of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band signed by Paul McCartney is currently listed for over £5,000 while Prince's Purple Rain record signed by the whole band is listed for almost £1,000. So get rooting around those chock-a-block boxes!

Some of us are destined to dream of owning an early copy of Pride and Prejudice (sigh), but with four volume editions of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey and Persuasion listed for £6,000 - with some potentially reaching up to a staggering £100,000. 

It's happier news for those clearing their attics out. If you find a first edition you can count on nostalgic yearning and collector loyalty to boost your earnings, especially if your copies are in particularly good condition or even signed by the author.

There have been some jaw-dropping sales in the world of sports memorabilia: from Diego Maradona's £7.14 million jersey, worn during the 1986 England vs Argentina World Cup quarter-final, to Babe Ruth's $5.6 million jersey, worn when he "called the shot" in the 1932 World Series.

These staggering numbers might be a little more than you're likely to find in the loft, but vintage jerseys can still make a tidy sum online, starting at around £40.

If there's anything better than hearing the crackle of vinyl, it's hearing your favourite musicians live. Unfortunately, for many fans their favourite band split long before they could walk. The next best thing is surely being able to own a little of that live experience with a ticket from their heyday.

Even better than that is, of course, a ticket signed by the artist, a cancelled event or an early show that predates their international stardom. Or, in the case of the '60s icons, at the height of Beatlemania: a collection of ticket stubs for 1960s concerts in Birmingham sold for £400 – including in the haul two stubs for The Beatles in 1963 and 1964.

Like stamps, there are certain coins that collectors are always keeping their eyes peeled for. The 1943 copper Lincoln cent in particular is a rare and sought after edition, with only very few known to have been produced. 

One coin sold for a whopping $1.7 million, while an example of the 1943D Bronze Wheat penny is currently listed for just over £10,000.

Trainers aren't just comfy footwear for your office commute: they're a long-lasting staple of design history with the fanbase to match. A set of Air Jordan sneakers, the brand of NBA legend Michael Jordan, sold for just over $8 million.

But it's not just celeb-owned footwear that can bring in big money. Special edition are also prized collectables, like the Dior x Air Jordan 1 Pack which are currently listed at around the £5,000 mark.

After featuring in one horror movie too many, dolls have rather gone out of vogue. But these creepy characters still have plenty of fans, despite (or because of) their disturbing nature: a study by Replica Luxury Handbagprotect found that porcelain dolls, on average, are valued at £2,000.

So gird your loins and get ready to face their unblinking eyes. It could be worth the risk of sorting through these haunting figures. Unless they start to move, that is...

Medals, machinery and personal mementos can make military memorabilia an easy moneymaker. High-tech devices can reach higher into six-figures, with a Nazi Enigma machine selling for $556,900 in November 2025.

Even mass-manufactured medals can bring in a startling sum. Around 1.8 million Purple Heart medals have been awarded but they can still earn you a few hundred pounds each, with a current listing of three up for £600 on eBay.

Let your parents' old lamps guide you like shining gold to a pile of hidden treasure. Vintage furniture, particularly mid-century pieces, are certainly back en vogue so look out your old lighting for a new generation of antique obsessives.

Cash in on the mid-century trend with orange shatterline lamps ranging from £130 to £2,000, or dive a little further back into the age of Bauhaus with 1930s lamps by Max Shumacher reaching to £1,500.

Do you remember the first movie you saw in theatres? Chances are you're not the only one with a formative attachment to those early days of big screen entertainment. 

Movie posters for big-time hits like James Bond and Star Wars are sure to do well, while special editions and particularly rare copies might boost your chances of a fortune.

Tick-tock, tick-tock... Do you hear that? It's the sign of time passing and your collection of timepieces becoming even better investments. 

According to Replica Luxury Handbagprotect, vintage clocks can sell for an average of £2,671 so, if you're already using your phone, maybe it's time to haul down those awkwardly sized mahogany editions and find them a new home.