Antiques expert Charles Hanson evaluates charity shop finds

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Charles Hanson has always had a passion for history and art and his parents even bought him a metal detector at nine years old. After discovering his first find, the Bargain Hunt expert’s love only grew from there and after leaving university, he took the plunge and landed his first job in the antique world.

Charles admitted when he first started out, he struggled with “the business side of things”.

But after learning the trade and gaining more experience, he went to open his first auctioneer house.

From there, he landed roles on both Bargain Hunt and Antiques Road Trip.

Throughout his time on the BBC programmes, Charles has helped many guests to find unique items in the hopes of making a profit.

But in an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk, he admitted he doesn’t always get it right when it comes to the valuations – which can often lead to disappointment.

“I am a general valuer but it is important to have consultants,” the expert began.

“Consultants who have the knowledge, who can tell you what things are, and then you’re able to value on the back of their knowledge.”

“From different fields from military coins, toys, books and textiles,” he explained before admitting: “You never know it all.

“And I think in our business, we always see new things every day.

“So never think you know it all [as] you never do and, you know you’ve got to respect the fact that some things will require further research and that’s why it’s so important.

“You’ve got that bedrock of knowledge and colleagues who allow me as an auctioneer to sell things well because things are well described.”

Despite making a few errors in judgement, there are times when Charles gets it right and he has made a huge profit on some items.

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He recalled: “I’ve been on the Antiques Road Trip and I’ve bought things for £1 and they’ve made £200. Another time, I bought a ceiling light for £150 and it made £1800.”

Discussing how his career began, the Antiques Road Trip star said: “I was no businessman and I had a passion for art and history.

“I loved what I was doing but when it came to the business side, chasing debtors and doing all of that, I was out of my depth.

“But I had a colleague who worked for me three days a week, and that helped my business.

“I used to work out of my parent’s cottage, or hold my sales in a local church or hotel, and then the business grew.

“I then bought an old bathroom centre… it had all of the old showers and I took the showers out that became my saleroom.”

He added: “I thought, ‘I’ll never fill that’ but it got busier and we sort of outgrew it.

Bargain Hunt is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

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