MONEY: TREASURE HUNTERS

1 Comment | Sunday Mirror, Apr 23, 2006 | by JAMES BREESE

Q I HAVE a folder of the 1978 UK tour of Eric Clapton. It has got documents on tour venues and receipts. Also there are some receipts signed by the group. What is it is worth? - Mr Dave Hutchings, via email

A THIS sounds like an extraordinary piece. Clapton (inset in 1978) is still collectable. Recently a legendary Clapton guitar sold in New York for $1million! If genuine, this is a fan's dream. It needs to be evaluated by a specialist. It is guesswork when it comes to value - anywhere from pounds 500 to several thousand.

Q I HAVE Wade Pearly King and Queen figures, not boxed but in perfect condition. Are they valuable? - Ms Rose Sheehan, via email

A THESE are hard to come by. They were made in 1959 and to have survived for that long is great. Both pieces should have the original Wade stickers. Together they're worth pounds 200 to pounds 240.

Instant Expert

IN 1887 Emile Berliner made the first gramophone. The Gramophone Company became HMV and turned into one of the finest makers of gramophones and records.

Breese's Basics

THOMAS Edison invented his tin-foil phonograph which recorded sound in 1877. But Berliner with his gramophone stole the show with his flat "records" which became a hit. HMV's very first store was opened to much fanfare in 1921 by the composer Sir Edward Elgar on London's Oxford Street.

How much?

SOME particularly sought-after gramophones/phonographs have sold for substantial amounts at auction. For example a rare phonograph by Edison went for pounds 32,200 at Christies. An unusually rare HMV model 202 gramophone sold in 1995 for pounds 14,625. The original condition HMV table-top gramophones attract most interest. But you can pick up a smart, portable model 101 player for about pounds 100 - HMV made some of the finest portables from 1928.

The Real Deal

OTHER names to look out for include Edison Bell, Decca and Columbia. Many folk are disappointed to discover their gramophone is a reproduction. Most are, or at least comprised of parts which don't match. Some are complete fakes. Look out for the weird and wonderful such as the Pocket Phonograph "Mikiphone". This wonder from the mid- 20s makes pounds 200 to pounds 300.