THE boom in trading precious metals and collectables for cash during the recession has hit Oxford.

And taking advantage of the demand to turn gold into hard currency is the Treasure Hunters Roadshow, which is taking place at the Cotswold Lodge Hotel in Banbury Road, North Oxford, until tomorrow.

Scores of people have already sold items ranging from coins and ornaments to jewellery and gold teeth.

It is the 15-year-old American company’s second show in Britain, following a similar event in Portsmouth last week.

But it insists it is not just cashing in on record-high gold prices.

Garry Cox, its chief operating officer in Europe, told the Oxford Mail: “We’ve had more than 1,000 shows in the states.

“It’s a big thing at the moment to see adverts asking people to send their gold valuables in the post. But you don’t get true values and you don’t get personal service.

“We sit down with people face to face and look at a whole range of stuff from Samurai swords, to Second World War memorabilia, coins and jewellery.

“We don’t buy everything we look at it, but we have a database of buyers, try to match them to the items, and take our commission from the buyers. We had a guy recently who brought in a Fender Goldtop guitar from the 1950s, which one of our buyers paid just over £60,000 for.”

In Portsmouth last week, up to 270 people came through the doors in five days. About 70 per cent of items were bought for a total of about £30,000.

Asked how the company safeguarded against buying stolen items, Mr Cox said: “Whenever someone comes in we take their name and address and register them on our system.

“The guys are trained to read the customers and they can tell if something doesn’t quite stack up.

“We also give out cheques, so there’s a paper trail.”

Pensioner Brian Rawlings, from Wolvercote, was among those visiting on Wednesday.

The 71-year-old brought along a presentation set of Silver Jubilee coins from 1977, which cost him about £25 new, and some half crowns, florins and six pences.

He said: “I’m thinning down my collection. I was a collector in the past but not any more.”

Having accepted £100 for the lot, he joked: “I haven’t decided what I’ll spend it on yet, I’m sure the wife will make the decision.”

According to Goldprice.org, gold was valued at about £652 an ounce this week.

A year ago it was as low as £447.63, five years ago the figure was £219.93 and in 1999 gold was valued at just £170.12 an ounce.

Between 1999 and 2002, the then-Chancellor Gordon Brown sold off more than half of Britain’s gold reserves.

The 395 tonnes was auctioned for about £2.2bn.

It would now be worth more than £8bn.