Noonans

Lord Ashcroft’s superb collection of medals on public display at the Imperial War Museum in London has grown even larger thanks to a George Cross bought at auction.

King Richard III is the Marmite Monarch. You love him or you hate him. On one hand he is regarded as a monster, on the other as misunderstood and unfairly maligned.

Lord Ashcroft has added another Victoria Cross to his mightily impressive and ever-growing collection. He bought the VC awarded to Yorkshire hero George Sanders for bravery at the first day of the Somme in 1916 and other honours Sanders had earned, including a Military Cross.

It ain’t rocket science: rarity adds value. While various other factors come into play, the number of a particular item in existence is a clear driver of auction prices, and in militaria the defence of Rorke’s Drift is a classic example.

Keep Calm and Carry On is the now famous instruction from the Second World War thanks to a plethora of copycat items inspired by the poster which was never officially issued.

“Zulus, Sir. Thousands of ‘em”  - one of the classic lines from the 1964 film starring Stanley Baker and Michael Caine that brought the heroic defence of Rorke’s Drift to public attention.

Besides the danger of a dog bite, delivering the mail is not generally seen as a perilous business. However, as a presentation sword up at auction in London shows, on occasion it can be a matter of life or death.

It is not always the most obviously valuable coins that make the most at auction. Or even the ones with the highest original value. A humble Irish 20p dating from the relatively recent year of 1985 is a good case in point.

The Golden Age of Polar exploration is a constant source of fascination. Essentially, this period is the first three decades of the 20th century, when names such as Shackleton, Scott, Amundsen and Peary came to fame.

A ‘unique’ Victoria Cross at auction usually means one thing – a bid from Lord Ashcroft. And that’s exactly how it turned out at the latest orders and decoration auction held by London saleroom Dix Noonan Webb.

Three leading specialists in orders, decorations and medals are leaving Spink to join rival London firm Dix Noonan Webb.

The man himself may have disappeared in 1974 but a series of cheques showing Lord Lucan’s spiralling gambling debts have now emerged and will be offered at auction later this month.

Dix Noonan Webb have achieved the second highest price for a George Cross just eight months after selling the GC awarded to the secret agent Violette Szabo for a record £260,000.

The George Cross medal group awarded to Second World War heroine Violette Szabό has sold for £260,000 at London auctioneers Dix Noonan Webb.

Lord Ashcroft is best known for Victoria Crosses as a collector, but the bravery of the Dambusters inspired his latest attempts to buy gallantry awards.

The online-only sale of a modern British gallantry award estimated at a hefty £100,000-120,000 was always going to be an interesting test of the market.

The highest denomination note issued by the Bank of England, this £1000 banknote is a rare survivor of a limited run that was cut short as the Nazis tried to destabilise the British economy.

The name Æthelberht and the title REX on an Anglo-Saxon penny just sold in London may provide a vital clue to a royal murder.