I bought an old teddy bear at a car boot sale on a hunch – and now it’s worth thousands

• It turns out that the bear, which was purchased in Wales, is a 1905 Steiff toy 
• READ MORE: Mother left in disbelief over REAL value of ‘cheap’ bottle of wine 

A rare teddy bear bought on a hunch at a car boot sale is expected to fetch thousands of pounds when it goes under the hammer later this month.

Jeanette Davies, 60, and her son Kyle Johns, 29, purchased the special teddy at Monmouth Showground, South Wales, in June.

The pair bought two teddy bears after Jeanette had a ‘gut feeling’ that they might be valuable.

Both toys cost a grand total of £130, the largest amount the pair had ever spent at a car boot sale.

But little did they know that one of the toys was a 1905 Steiff teddy bear, which is expected to be worth between £4,000 and £5,000.

Jeanette Davies and her son Kyle Johns stumbled upon the Steiff teddy bear at a car boot sale in South Wales 

The Steiff teddy is set to be sold by Derbyshire-based Hansons Auctioneers on August 16.

Jeanette and her son also managed to make a profit on the other teddy, which is a pre-Second World War Chad Valley bear, and it’s estimated to fetch between £80 to £120.

Jeanette said: ‘I just had a feeling – a gut feeling.

‘I thought he looked like a Steiff bear, a make which can be valuable.

‘Sometimes you just take a gamble and I’m glad we did.’

The hunch was strong enough for the pair to part with the largest amount of cash they had ever spent at a car boot.

Kyle Johns said: ‘We’ve been going to the Monmouth car boot sale every Saturday for years but we’ve never found anything as valuable as this.

‘Mum was convinced the bear might be special, but I wasn’t too sure. In fact, I was reluctant to spend £130 – she had to persuade me.

The teddy was sold by a 70-year-old woman who was selling her belongings because she was moving to Australia 

‘The teddy bears were being sold by a woman in her 70s. She told us she was clearing everything ahead of a move to Australia.

‘The bear my mum thought might be valuable belonged to her grandfather for 60 years.

‘I shared a photo of it on Facebook and started getting messages from people saying it was special.

‘I messaged Charles on Twitter and it all went from there, pretty quickly really.

‘Me and mum were really surprised when we received the valuation. We had no idea the bear could be worth so much.

‘We would have been pleased if we’d doubled our money with a valuation of around £250.

‘We’re going to Hansons to watch the auction. We hope the bear will be bought by someone who will love it, perhaps a keen collector. Maybe it will join a family of bears.

‘It is a brilliant find for us. I help mum run a weekly flea market stall but we’re certainly not antiques experts. Mum just had a hunch it was special.’

The Steiff bear, which has a rare cinnamon shade of fur and original boot-button eyes, is expected to sell for up £5,000 

The 118-year-old bear has a rare cinnamon shade of fur, earning the name Mr Cinnamon.

It also has original boot-button eyes, with Hansons stating that one ear has been sewn back on ‘slightly in the wrong direction’.

The auctioneers also estimated that the paw pads were replaced in the 1920s.

Janet Rawnsley, a teddy bear consultant for the auctioneers, said it was an ‘amazing chance discovery’ and that the bear was in ‘good condition for its age’ and ‘retained its original beauty’, despite some age variation to the fur.

Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons Auctioneers, said: ‘Finds like this make people’s day and give them hope.

‘They remind us there are always treasures to be found at car boot sales, flea markets and charity shops.

‘I’m looking forward to helping Mr Cinnamon find a new home. He’s a wonderful collector’s item.’

The bear will be sold at the auction at Bishton Hall, Wolseley Bridge, Staffordshire.

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