Teddy bear found at Monmouth car boot sale sells for £3,800

The stuffed toy was spotted on a trip to Monmouth Show Ground by Jeanette Davies

A teddy bear found at a car boot sale has sold at auction for £3,800.

The stuffed toy was spotted on a trip to Monmouth Show Ground by Jeanette Davies, 60, who sensed it was valuable.

The rare 1905 German Steiff bear was expected to fetch between £4,000 and £6,000 when it went under the hammer at Bishton Hall in Staffordshire.

But, having only paid £130 for it, Ms Davies, from near Cwmbran, Torfaen, still made a £3,670 profit.

The bear was auctioned by Hansons Auctioneers, whose Teddy bear consultant dubbed the antique Mr Cinnamon because of its colour.

Auction house owner Charles Hanson said: "I'm thrilled for Teddy. What a tremendous result for both seller and buyer alike."

• World War Two Easter egg set for auction

• Massive 60-year teddy bear collection up for auction

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.

Speaking before the auction, Ms Davies said: "Sometimes you just take a gamble and I'm glad we did."

The Teddy, dubbed Mr Cinnamon, went under the hammer for £3,800

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 at the car boot sale by a woman in her 70s who said she was moving to Australia.

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

• CELEBRATING WELSH MUSIC: From the swinging sixties to Cool Cymru

• LADY BIGFOOT: A lonely Bigfoot has fallen in love...