Collectables

Thomas Edison’s electric pen might not have flourished as planned for the purpose of duplicating documents but if you have a tattoo you can be thankful.

A substantial Victorian monocular microscope auctioned by Flints (25% buyer’s premium) dated 1858 and 1863 on the objectives was not only a good bit of kit with lots of accessories included but came signed with the owner’s name in several places.

The record business enjoyed by London’s coin auction houses during Covid lockdowns largely continued last year.

A cache of material from descendants of the Starbuck family, a Quaker whaling family influential in both the abolitionist movement and the founding of Nantucket as a whaling centre, was the highlight of Catherine Southon’s sale on February 8.

An unusual visitor to UK shores last year was this gold ‘Liberty head’ quarter eagle (two and a half dollars) from 1830.

Large collection of action figures offers multiple examples of hitherto scarce models to test the market

Struck c.1500 in Lisbon from Guinean gold provided by the explorations of Vasco da Gama, the 10 cruzados piece or Portugués do ouro of Manuel I (1495-1521) is a coin synonymous with the Age of Discovery.

Sixteenth century work edited by Hakluyt aimed to encourage English expansion and influence

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

The Indian Mutiny Victoria Cross offered by Morton & Eden (20% buyer’s premium) on July 20 was awarded to Master George Bell Chicken, a civilian volunteer attached to the Indian Naval Brigade.

This single-page letter offered on January 19 by Mellors & Kirk (24% buyer’s premium) tells the remarkable story of Abdul Rahman Ibrahima Sori (1762-1829).

Henry III (1216-72) issued his ‘gold penny’ for probably less than a year from August 16, 1357.

The sale at Hansons (25% buyer’s premium) in Teddington on January 28 included what was marketed as ‘Queen Victoria’s post box’.

Our regular listing of UK and Irish book auctions.

Instituted by Maria Dickin, the founder of the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), in 1943, the Dickin Medal has been awarded on 71 occasions – 32 of them going to pigeons, 34 to dogs, four to horses and one to a cat.

Harmers’ (20% buyer’s premium) third numismatic auction held on September 26 was topped by this Indian rarity, a Gold Mohur issued under the Mughal emperor Nur al-Din Muhammad Jahangir (1605-27).

The sale of gallantry awards held by Baldwin’s (20% buyer’s premium) on September 15 included this Edward Medal Exchange George Cross awarded for bravery at the Hedley Pit in 1930.

To one side of this gold aureus struck in Rome in 180-83 is a sensually draped portrait of the goddess Venus.

It is thought that Thomas Edison invented the first PsychoPhone in an effort to record messages from the subconscious or the afterlife.