PERHAPS it was down to the runaway success of the Sunday night TV drama Victoria, but the contents of a veritable Aladdin’s Cave of Victoriana made thousands of pounds more than experts had expected at an auction of antiques in the Cotswolds last week.

When valuers from Moore Allen & Innocent in Cirencester were asked to dispose of the estate of a deceased antiques collector, they were amazed to find his modest cottage and outbuildings stuffed with trinkets from the era.

And at their auction on Friday, October 7, the collection dominated the list of top prices.

A large collection of Victorian silver and white metal brooches featuring greetings including Mizpah, Good Luck, hearts, and horseshoes set the standard, selling for well over the estimate at £2,000.

The trend continued with another lot containing approximately 550 badges and brooches, mainly on a theme of Royal commemoration, achieved £1,600 against an estimate of £300 to £500, while a lot of enamelled badges and pins depicting animals, many attributed to owners’ clubs, achieved £1,350.

Meanwhile, a collection of 20th Century enamelled butterfly and bird brooches achieved £750, while a collection of various silver and white metal brooches, each depicting buildings from the Houses of Parliament to Malmesbury Abbey attracted a winning bid of £700.

From the same estate, souvenir medallions attracted considerable interest, with an assortment of medallions from various agricultural shows making £820, a collection of sporting related silver, bronze and other sporting related medallions achieving £720, five trays of various Royal commemorative medallions and tokens selling for £680, and a box containing assorted commemorative medallions including Sixty Years of Queen Victoria's Reign by St Gabriel's Church, Pimlico, The Charge of the British at Waterloo, and The Exhibition of Art Treasures Manchester 1857 making £600.

In fact the domination of the Victoriana was broken only by three notable lots: a collection of Chinese blue and white wares including a dragon decorated jar and cover, which achieved £1,750 against an estimate of £200 to £300; a Moghul School gouache on paper portrait of a seated prince, which attracted a winning bid of £1,550 against a £200 to £300 estimate; and a collection of approximately 100 Wentworth jigsaw puzzles, for which auctioneers had anticipated bids of between £50 and £80 before bringing the gavel down at £700.

In all, £65,000 worth of antiques were bought and sold on the day. For more information about buying and selling at auction, log on to mooreallen.co.uk