Monmouth: Teddy bear found at car boot sale could sell for £6,000

A teddy bear found at a car boot sale could sell for up to £6,000 according to auctioneers.

The antique teddy was spotted at a car boot sale at Monmouth Show Ground by Jeanette Davies, 60, who said she had a "gut feeling" it was valuable.

Ms Davies and her son paid £130 for the teddy and another toy bear.

The teddy has been identified as a rare Steiff bear from 1905 and is expected to fetch between £4,000 and £6,000 at an auction later this month.

Ms Davies, from near Cwmbran, Torfaen, said she thought it looked like a Steiff bear, a German make which can be valuable.

"Sometimes you just take a gamble and I'm glad we did," she said.

Hansons Auctioneers teddy bear consultant Janet Rawnsley described the 1905 cinnamon-coloured bear as "rare and hard to find".

"He has a remarkably handsome face and shaven muzzle. I call him Mr Cinnamon," she said.

The teddy has a mohair coat, original boot-button eyes, stitched smile and cupped ears, one of which has been sewn back on, slightly in the wrong direction, she said.

"Despite some small repairs, the bear is in good condition for its age," said Ms Rawnsley.

"This is a great teddy bear of exceptional rarity for a serious Steiff collector. Cinnamon teddies were a rare production and an expensive toy from around 1905 to 1908," she said.

Ms Rawnsley said looking at the material used to stuff soft toys was a good way to spot a valuable teddy bear.

"Something that's full of wood wool, which has a straw-like feel and indicates it's quite early," she said.

"It doesn't matter if it's in a bit of a state," Ms Rawnsley added, adding that anything German tends to have a premium.

The other toy bear bought at the car boot sale, a pre-World War Two Chad Valley make, has been valued at £80-£120 by Hansons Auctioneers.

Ms Davies' son, Kyle Johns, 29, 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 bears were sold by a woman in her 70s who said she was moving to Australia, and the most valuable teddy had belonged to her grandfather for 60 years.

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

"My nan's a big fan of Charles Hanson who runs Hansons Auctioneers. She likes watching him on the TV antique shows and suggested we contact him," he said.

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

The bears will be auctioned by Hansons at Bishton Hall, Wolseley Bridge in Staffordshire on 16 August.