Coins

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History
Spink has been dealing in coins for almost three centuries. A founder member of both the International Association of Professional Numismatists (established 1951) and of the British Numismatic Trade Association (est. 1973); we lead the field in numismatic dealing, valuations and auctions.

Our first public coin sale was held in 1978 and we hold many records for prices achieved at auction. Some of the most recent and most widely reported were set on 15th May 2003 during the historic auction of the Slaney Collection of English Coins. Formed in the first half of the twentieth century, and privately owned, the Slaney Collection was possibly the last of the truly great coin collections.

...a record-breaking auction. In 25 years of reporting on London auctions I have never seen so many new auction records being set
John Andrew in Coin World

During the sale, all 285 lots were sold and the auction realised over £1million. The highest price achieved at this auction also set a new record for an English silver coin - the famous ‘Petition’ Crown of 1663, which sold for £138,000. Another star was the Charles I Exeter Mint half crown (£40,250). This coin had previously remained off the auction block for exactly a century.

Our sale in Milan on the 9th and 10th June 2003 consisted mainly of a choice collection formed between the two World Wars by a Milanese collector who kept careful records of all his purchases. Some fine coins of the Kingdom of Italy, including some great rarities, were also auctioned and the sale realised €1,334,000.

In March 2004, the Marshall Collection realised some amazing prices. A superb Henry VIII Testoon with full facing portrait fetched £34,500, and an extremely rare George IV plain edge proof sovereign of 1825 realised £14,950.

The Coinex sale in October 2004 saw the only known purpose-made Anglo-Saxon gold penny of clearly regal design (which in addition is the only known gold coin in the name of Coenwulf of Mercia) fetch a record-breaking price of £230,000. This magnificent coin, with its superb workmanship and remarkable state of preservation, is the most important discovery in British numismatics for many years, and is the first Anglo-Saxon gold penny to come to light for almost a century. The sale also featured over 140 highlights from the Pimprez Hoard of 569 British and French silver coins and ingots, deposited circa 1140 in France and discovered in 2002.

2005 saw continued success with strong prices for fine quality coins, particularly from single owner collections. In April 2005, another historic auction took place in New York where the American Numismatic Rarities in association with Spink auctioned the final part of the Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection of World Gold Coins and Medals. This exceptional collection, which spans the entire world and more than 2000 years of history, was passionately amassed over half a century by the Baltimore financier and well known numismatist, Louis E. Eliasberg (1896-1976). The sale comprised 3,600 lots sold over two days, and realised a total of US$10,118,246. Of the many highlights, two were of particular note: a Venetian 50 Zecchini circa 1763, which realised US$379,000; and a Korean 5 Won of 1908 at US$287,500.

In May 2005, the sale of the highly important Samuel King Collection of English Gold Coins featured a comprehensive selection of exceptional pieces from the reign of Edward III to the early 20th century. The collection offered an unrivalled opportunity to view and acquire some of the finest rarities in English coinage. This was the most important sale of English gold coins for many years and featured no less then 60 Five Guinea pieces, the largest in a generation. A Queen Anne Vigo five guineas of 1703 realised £149,500 and a George III pattern five guineas of 1770 sold for £80,500. The sale totalled £1,630,234.

Following this strong showing for English coins, the 30th June auction saw nearly 500 lots of Italian coins. These were mostly from one outstanding collection, and included many modern rarities. The top lot, a 5 Lire of 1901, realised £28,175; and in the general section an Austrian 10 ducats of 1674 sold for £12,500. An excellent example of Bermudan Hogg money recently discovered in the Isle of Wight sold for £8,500.

The Lucien LaRiviere Collections of Irish and Scottish coins and medals were sold in two very successful sales in February and March 2006. The sales totaled £366,120 for the Irish coins, and £486,090 for the Scottish including a new record price for an Irish coin the gold Pistole which realised £67,500. (add picture of the Pistole, lot 137 from sale 6028)

A new world record price for an English coin, and a record price for any coin sold in the U.K., was achieved in the June 2006 auction when the Edward III gold Double Florin or Double Leopard sold for £460,000 (add picture of the Double Leopard lot301 from sale 6013)

Our auction activity is complimented by our retail sales. We are always interested in acquiring quality single coins or entire collections, for sale either at auction or directly to our extensive list of discerning collectors. You can view our stock at our offices and selections of this stock can also be seen online. Alternatively, you can subscribe to our Numismatic Circular (published 6 times a year) which offers coins and numismatic books for sale, together with scholarly articles about coins.

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Numismatic and Collectables Articles
You may find some of our educational and reference articles of interest. Please click here to browse our collection, including our Guide to Coin Collecting.