I bet I’m not the only one who’s had this daydream.

I’m rummaging about in the garage/loft/spare room searching for something, when suddenly, I spot a mystery object I don’t recognise.

It could be a painting, a box of medals, a tarnished silver cup or an old music box and although it looks dusty and uncared for, I polish it up and it turns out to be the next big thing on Antiques Roadshow.

I blame all those TV programmes Cash in the Attic, Bargain Hunt, Antiques Road Trip, Flog It!, Collectaholics, Salvage Hunters, as they give the impression we could all find the odd Monet or Rembrandt languishing up in our eaves, if only we’d take the time to tackle a bit of a spring cleaning.

Both my grandfathers were coal miners in South Wales, so there’s a bit of a shortfall of heirlooms in our family.

I do have a spectacular Davy lamp which takes pride of place on the hearth and a gorgeous china tea set from my mum.

But In reality, there’s more chance of me finding a real, live red Welsh dragon in our garage than there is of unearthing a priceless old master.

But there’s always a bit of you that can’t help but imagine ‘What if…?’ It’s not all about the cash, there’s also a mysterious and swashbuckling element to excavating a priceless set of antique tie pins on an archaeological dig where you don’t even have to leave your own home.

About seven years ago, when I first started working for the Oxford Mail’s sister paper The Oxford Times, I covered a story about an Oxford family who had discovered a broken vase kicking around their home.

They thought it might be worth £50, if that, so were amazed when former barrister Nick Williams, who runs Banbury-based auction house Holloways (hollowaysauctioneers.co.uk or 01295 817777) spotted its true value.

It turned out to be a rare 18th-century Italian Doccia porcelain vase and that greyish-white, chipped, old object, which the owners almost threw away, fetched £7,600 in a sale.

Then there was another time I wrote about a rare map of the Americas, which lay forgotten and used as lining material for a chest of drawers for almost two centuries.

Its true value only came to light when Nick Williams picked up the old piece of furniture as part of a house clearance job lot.

He sent the whole drawer and its lining to a specialist restorer in London to have it extracted and cleaned and the map, drawn in the 16th century, was later valued at up to £3,000.

Old jewellery can also turn out to be surprisingly valuable, even if it’s not Elizabeth Taylor-style diamonds.

There’s been a surge of interest in 20th-century pieces, with earrings, necklaces and bracelets from the 1920s through to the 1970s fetching good prices at auction.

And if the only items knocking around your home are paste diamonds rather than the real thing, don’t despair as quality costume jewellery is also in demand, if it’s the right sort. Art Deco pieces from the 1920s and 1930s tend to be a hit and anything where the craftsmanship is high quality (even if the stones are not real) is likely to do well.

The auctioneer Bonhams has a sales room in Kidlington, where it holds regular antiques valuation days plus there are others held around the Thames Valley region.

The firm’s experts can give advice advise on pictures, jewellery, silver, furniture, ceramics, glass, clocks, books, bronzes and cars and there are around 45 auctions sales throughout each the year.

For more details take a look at visit the website www.bonhams.com, or call the Kidlington branch on 01865 853640.