Collector’s memorabilia including Robson & Charlton Man Utd shirts sold for nearly £400,000

Three vintage Manchester United shirts and the oldest known Utd medal have reached tens of thousands of pounds at auction.

Bryan Horsnell, 82, had been collecting medals, caps, official match pennants and vintage jerseys for 60 years.

The collection of more than 200 lots was tipped to fetch up to £170,000 but sold for over £392,000.

Among the highlights of the sale was Sir Bobby Charlton’s signed red Manchester United No 9 home jersey dating from around 1965, which sold for £18,075 to a private collector.

Two other Manchester United shirts from the 1980s also did extremely well.

Bryan Robson’s signed white Manchester United No 7 away jersey from the 1984/85 Uefa Cup campaign sold for £10,243 to an overseas private collector, while Mike Duxbury’s red Manchester United No 12 substitute’s jersey from the 1985 FA Cup final was bought by a UK collector for £10,845.

Sold separately was the earliest Manchester United football medal ever to have been offered for sale, which fetched £24,100.

The Manchester Senior Cup winner’s medal was awarded to Newton Heath’s Thomas Fitzsimmons in 1893.

Newton Heath, who became Manchester United in 1902, beat Bolton Wanderers 2-1 in the final, which marked the end of the club’s first season in division one of the Football League.

The other notable lot in the sale from other teams was the Cliff Bastin cap collection, which sold for a total of £61,817 – nearly double the forecast.

Mr Horsnell, a retired postal worker, put his collection up for sale as he is selling his home in Reading, Berkshire, and moving to a smaller property with his wife.

Auctioneer Graham Budd, from sporting memorabilia specialist Graham Budd Auctions, said: “It has been one of the most successful auctions we have had for many years, which is a tribute to the outstanding quality of the Bryan Horsnell Collection.

“The auction overran by nearly two hours at the scheduled rate due to the intense body of bidding from all over the world via the internet and on the telephones.”