Edinburgh family discovers over 100 antique silver items worth nearly £60,000

An Edinburgh family sold more than 100 antique silver items at auction in London last week, raising nearly £60,000, well above the original estimate of £23,000. The family found the pieces while clearing their home in Edinburgh's New Town, packed inside wooden chests with old newspapers and linen. Nobody had touched them for around a century.

The collection included tea services, candlesticks, a Victorian shaving brush, a Russian tankard, and an Edwardian jewellery box, among other pieces. Different generations of the family had apparently added to it over time, though knowledge of its existence had been completely forgotten.

The highest price went to a set of Danish cutlery, which sold for £5,200. The items were in remarkably good condition after spending so long undisturbed in the attic.