COIN OF THE WEEK - 28/5/2014
May 28 2014

  Silver Denarius issued by Sextus Pompey, the Commander of the Roman fleet in the Western Mediterranean in the First Century B.C.  After falling out with Octavian and Mark Antony he retreated to Sicily and turned to piracy. With a strong fleet, Pompey was for a time unstoppable, raiding and pillaging up and down the coast of Italy at will. Eventually he was defeated, and was executed on Mark Antony's orders in 35 B.C. The coin will be offered at auction by Spink in London on 26...

COIN OF THE WEEK - 21/5/2014
May 21 2014

  An extremely fine gold Ducat of 1741 from the Swiss city of Bern. The shield shows a bear, the symbol of the city. There is still a bear park in the centre of Bern, the setting for the Mary Plain children's books. The reverse shows the city's Latin motto, dating from the time of the great Religious Wars that followed the Reformation of the 16th century.   The coin will be offered at auction by Spink in London on 26 June 2014. It is currently available for viewing in our London...

COIN OF THE WEEK - 14/5/2014
May 14 2014

  Scotland, James VI, 1567-1625, fourth coinage, Thirty Shillings, 1585, half-length crowned and armoured bust of the young King, rev. Scottish arms crowned, good very fine/  very fine, an attractive portrait.   Son of Mary Queen of Scots, James VI succeeded to the Scottish throne aged 1 in 1567 at a time of political and religious discord.  The Protestant faction took charge of the young king and he was brought as a Protestant.  His rule brought a period of peace...

COIN OF THE WEEK - 7/5/2014
May 07 2014

    Eadred, king of England, 946-55, Penny, south eastern mint, by the moneyer  Burhelm, symmetrical floral device with berries, rev. two line inscription divided by a cross between two anchors, extremely fine,  unique and the first recorded of this type for Eadred, for auction, June 26th 2014.   Eadred, a grandson of Alfred the Great put an end to the Norse kingdom of York and completed the unification of England. The exceptional  ornate design is only recor...

COIN OF THE WEEK - 30/4/2014
Apr 30 2014

  Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, 1653-58, Gold Broad, 1656, laureate head right, rev. crowned arms of the Protectorate, extremely fine, for auction June 26th 2014, a warts and all portrait by Thomas Simon, the finest engraver of the time.   Oliver Cromwell, leader of the victorious Parliamentary armies in the English Civil War, signed the death warrant of Charles I in 1649 and became Lord Protector of England in 1653. Offered the crown in 1657 he turned it down and d...

Coins of the Ancient Silk Road Issued at Chach and Khwarezm (9)
Feb 04 2014

Written by Barbara Wears It is always exciting to see something new. For me, the biggest thrill of collecting is finding that mystery coin, puzzling over its attribution then finally placing it in its historical context. Following the success of the Rhodes Tibet auction, Spink Hong Kong  are offering another one-off collection of intriguing coins, this time from the pre-Islamic Silk Road states of Chach and Khwarezm (Choresm). Khwarezm, Bivarsar (c. late 3rd -4th century AD), Tetradrac...

Important Indian coins to be offered at the March 27th Sale at Spink
Feb 20 2013

Lot 105: Vijayanagara, Krishnadevaraya(1509-30), AV presentation Double-Pagoda, 7.79g, Venkateshwara standing facing under arch ornamented withmakaras,rev.  Devanagari legend sri krishna raya. This coin is unusual firstly because of its weight, double that of a normal pagoda orvarahacoin, and secondly on account of its obverse image. Krishnadevaraya identified strongly with the Vaishnava deity Krishna, and went to some lengths to promote himself as the representative of this god on...

A collection of Durrani Mohurs, property of an Indian Prince
Oct 30 2012

A collection of Durrani Mohurs, property of an Indian Prince   On December 5th Spink is to auction the most extensive collection of Durrani gold Mohurs ever offered. The Durrani dynasty was to Afghanistan what the Mughals were to India, uniting the Pashtun tribes for a generation; long enough to mould Afghanistan into the form it takes today. The coins themselves speak of the extent of the empire, with mints as far flung as Shahjahanabad (Delhi) in the east and the holy city of Mashhad,...

National Treasure: Barnaby Faull
Jul 31 2012

Country Gentleman's Association Magazine Feature:   A Gentleman of Note Established in 1666 Spink of London have long been associated with the trade in ancient and rare coins. They also deal in the world's most desirable banknotes under the knowledgeable eye of Barnaby Faull If you should come across an eighteenth century Bank of England banknote in the back of an old drawer somewhere, you will be pleased to hear that the Bank will still give you the note's face value in return...

Coins of England & the United Kingdom
Jul 16 2012

Coins of England & The United Kingdom was first published in 1929 by B.A. Seaby Ltd. and was issued as a paper cover booklet with a cover price of 6d and was entitled Catalogue of Coins of Great Britain and Ireland. It later became the Standard Catalogue of the Coins of Great Britain and Ireland in 1945 which was written by H.A. Seaby between air raids, whilst in Air Raid Precautions Control Room in North London. So popular was this edition that it ran to three impressions, reprinted in 194...

The David Kirch Collection
May 01 2012

Of English Provincial Banknotes By Roger Outing English provincial banknotes offer a unique and fascinating insight into the historical development of the English banking system. The early days of the London goldsmith-bankers during the 1650's; the explosive expansion of provincial private bankers during the early 1800's; the establishment of the first joint stock banks in the 1830s'; the final consolidation of the "Big Five" banks in the 1920's, these can all be recorded in the wide range ba...

RMS Titanic
Apr 20 2012

RMS Titanic By Stephen Goldsmith Historical objects often strike chords that resonate within the hearts of collectors. This is especially true of objects that relate to the 1912 sinking of RMS Titanic, arguably the most compelling maritime disaster of all time. At Spink, three extraordinary Titanic-related items have recently come to light. The first relates to the early part of the Titanic's story, conveying the excitement and optimism that surrounded the debut of world's largest and most l...

Coinage and Currency in Eighteenth Century Britain: The Provincial Coinage
Apr 17 2012

By David Dykes  Written by an expert in the field and drawing on recent research, this book aims to put Britain's 18th-century provincial token coinage into the context of the currency problems of the time. On the basis of a wide range of both documentary and secondary sources, it examines its major manufacturers and their intentions, and through profiles of many of the issuers involved it sets out to give a living dimension to a bygone monetary phenomenon. Contains extensive photographs...

Banknotes of British Malaya: The Frank Goon Collection
Apr 17 2012

Including the Straits Settlements, Malaya, British North Borneo, Sarawak, Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore Spink is proud to announce the publication of this sumptuous new book; a celebration of a unique collection of banknotes, assembled over a period of 20 years by Mr. Frank Goon, a prominent Malaysian businessman. It is the most comprehensive collection of its type, spanning many eras of change within the lower area of South East Asia. The collection includes many unique notes, never before...

Portraits of Greek Coinage - 'Celenderis'
Apr 11 2012

By Robin Eaglen   AR Stater, c.410 - 400 BC. 10.70g (21mm diameter). Author's collection. Ex David Miller, 2004.  Fig 1. Obverse: Naked rider, with whip in right hand, dismounting from horse prancing r., framed by border of fine dots.   Fig 2. Reverse: Male goat l., kneeling on left foreleg, with head turned back. KE..E above, with N between hind legs. T in exergue. All within an incuse circle.   Celenderis, on the south-eastward coast of Turk...

The 1901 Pan-American Exposition
Apr 02 2012

Significant in History and Collecting By Matthew Orsini During the 19th century, across Europe and the Americas, a peculiar and often popular multi-form event emerged that significantly advanced many advertising and entertainment channels that remain popular to this day. That event, often labeled an "exposition", came to prominence as a way to promote a cause, or oftentimes many causes, in a manner that regularly resulted in widespread public attendance. The spectacular nature of these events...

The Gentleman's Magnifying Glass
Mar 31 2012

     

Historic British Coins Part 3
Mar 22 2012

By William MacKay This series of short articles takes as its subject a British coin which neatly enscapulates an important moment in the history of the British Isles.     No.3.' EDWARD DEI GRA REX ANGL Z FRANC D HYB' - EDWARD III CLAIMING THE THRONE OF FRANCE, 1340.  A Noble from the fourth coinage of Edward III, pre treaty period, 1351-61, series G, struck at London, 1356-61, Obverse, king standing crowned facing in ship holding sword and shield with arms of England an...

The Lure of the Penny Black
Mar 12 2012

Practically every stamp collector in the world would like to own a Great Britain 1840 Penny Black. It doesn't matter if you collect stamps from countries from Abu Dhabi to Zululand or anything in-between. The Penny Black is the Mother (therefore perhaps the Two Pence blue is the Father!) of Postage Stamps. However there is much more to the Lure of the Penny Black than the fact that it was the first Postage Stamp in the world, beating off other contenders for the title, such as the...

Top 10 Medals
Mar 10 2012

Since joining the Medal Department at Spink in May 2005 I have researched and catalogued several thousand medal lots- choosing just ten has been a far harder task than I imagined, as each medal group has its own story to tell. I wish I could have included many more. Of course there are also a number of medals that we have sold at Spink over this period that would definitely have made my top ten, apart for the fact that they were catalogued by my colleague Mark- sadly I cannot claim the credit f...