Agatha Christie Fortune 'Sold By Accident'

An auction house is fighting for the return of a collection of treasures which belonged to Agatha Christie after mistakenly selling it inside a trunk for a thousand times less than its value.

The items are believed to have belonged to the mystery writer Agatha Christie

A fan of the writer bought the leather trunk, thought to have belonged to the author, for £100 at an auction by Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood in 2006.

But the buyer, Jennifer Grant, recently discovered a locked box inside had been secretly hiding jewellery and coins worth up to £100,000.

The chest which bears the initials 'C.M.M' - those of Agatha Christie's mother - was sold following the death of the author's only daughter, Clara Margaret Miller.

Ms Grant had not tried to open the small locked box inside the trunk until recently.

It was a talking point at dinner parties for years but I never thought there might be anything in it.

She said: "When I received it, I realised it contained a locked strongbox, but the auctioneer had no knowledge of a key.

"It was a talking point at dinner parties for years but I never thought there might be anything in it."

Eventually, curiosity got the better of her and she asked a builder who was working on her house to prise it open with a crow bar.

Inside lay 35 gold coins in a small bag, a diamond engagement ring and a buckle-shaped jewelled brooch.

"I was thrilled that I had something that touched Agatha Christie's life," Ms Grant said.

However, Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood auction house is not so thrilled.

Senior consultant at the company, Andrew Thomas told Sky News Online that he plans to fight to see the treasure returned to the auctioneers.

"The question of good title has been raised and we are currently taking legal advice.

"What was offered in the auction sale was the leather chest, not the items of jewellery or coins later discovered.

"As these newly-found items were not described in the catalogue list, I believe we have a case."

Mr Thomas says there is a precedent for this case and that a similar incident had resulted in a victory for the auctioneers.

"There was a case in September 2007 in which drawings were discovered in a bureau after it had been auctioned.

"Because the art was not listed at the time of sale, and there was no intention of selling it, we could reclaim the sketches."


/Sky News/