Spink

Following its recent discovery by a metal detectorist in the south of England, one of Britain’s rarest medieval coins is to be sold by London numismatists Spink.

Leading numismatic auctioneers and dealers Spink have announced the acquisition of B.J. Dawson Coins. Brian Dawson, who opened his first shop in Bolton, Lancashire and has over 40 years’ experience in the coin trade, will join the firm as director of the coin dealing business for Spink.

PAUL Barthaud, who has just stepped down as executive director of Spink, is the new chief operating officer for the Fine Art Auction Group.

London coin and stamp specialists Spink have been awarded an additional Royal Warrant for their services in philately.

The specialist British sale held by Spink (15% buyer’s premium) on May 5 consisted exclusively of the collection formed by Samuel King.

The last day of November saw a 633-lot sale at Spink (15% buyer’s premium). In all, this was a very successful sale; the failure rate being a negligible three per cent. The total was £415,486.

RIGHT: London auctioneers Spink’s pre-sale billing of this Anglo Saxon gold penny as ”the most important discovery in British numismatics for many years” gained tangible endorsement last week when they sold it for £200,000 – a new record for an English coin.

IT’S been billed as the most important discovery in British numismatics for many years. Now the London auction house Spink are to offer the first newly-discovered Anglo-Saxon gold penny to come to light for almost a century.

THE energy with which Spink pursue their business was made manifest on July 15 when they crammed in another sale which has not been part of their auction schedule in recent years. The total take was £250,850 and, although it was a 519-lot general sale, it offered several homogeneous sections. In all, it taught us really quite a lot about the state of the London coin market.

SALES of Victoria Cross groups continue to set new auction records.

IN this busy spring season – the busiest for some years – Spink’s have been batting hard. March 31 saw a fine sale which netted £626,750. But, not content with that, they fielded another 632-lot sale a fortnight later, on April 15. Again this sale referred mainly to British and related coins. However, the first 131 lots were devoted to the ancient world.

THIS spring season Spink’s have had some hard-hitting sales and it has to be said that the market for the best British material has become very buoyant over the last year or so.

THE new money-laundering laws appear inadvertently to have created a problem for the coin trade.

The date of November 5 seemed apt for Spink’s (17.65% buyer’s premium) 623-lot sale of Orders, Decorations Campaign Medals and Militaria (ODM), the fireworks of Guy Fawkes Day recalling the whizz-bangs and crashes of wartime when many of these medals were won. Some of these bangs and crashes left themselves to metaphor, as records were falling all over the place.

Coins of England and the United Kingdom published by Spink. ISBN 1902040562 £18 hb

Spink are hoping to hold more sales in France following the success of their first foray into the French auction world. The November 17 sale of the La Fayette Collection, considered to be among France's most important stamp collections, produced a series of landmark prices, including the €820,000 (plus premium) paid for the 1 franc vermillion, a four-stamp tête-bêche, the most expensive French stamp ever sold at auction.

Spink will hold their first ever sale in Paris on November 17 when they offer the La Fayette collection of stamps. Following a seven-month acceptance process, Spink have now joined the select band of outside auctioneers licensed to sell in the French capital.

It is such an obvious thing to do that it is surprising that there not similar dispersals to that of the Colin Adams collection of English pennies (1797-1970) at Spink (17.65% buyer’s premium) on July 23. It required 375 lots to cover this collection and so we are furnished with a price guide for what is surely a popular if relatively elementary passion.  

A CHARLES II pattern crown from 1663, the Petition Crown(*), has set a new world record for English silver coins at auction.

The first, the finest, the rarest – and with an unbeatable provenance. It is not often that an auctioneer can boast this dream recipe for a lot, but Spink offer this heady mix of ingredients when they open their two-part sale of the Slaney collection on Thursday (May 15).