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Spink is extremely pleased to announce that the “Three
Kings” collection of British Gold Coins - consisting
of 217 rarities - will be sold in our highly exciting 5th May 2005
auction. More details will follow in the near future.
March 31 Auction: Foreign section
An interesting collection of gold and silver coinage from
the Order of the Knights of St. John of Malta, including an extremely
rare gold Zecchino of the Grand Master, Louis de Vasconcellos (1622-23)
A fine collection of continental hammered coins including
a very rare gold Solidus of the Merovingian ruler Clotaire II (A.D.
613-29)
A selection of the much sought after platinum rouble issues
of Tsar Nicholas I (1825-55), along with other Russian Imperial
Gold issues
Also, a fine selection of Spanish colonial gold 8-Escudo
pieces
March 31 Auction: Indian and Islamic section
The auction contains several rare and historically important coins
from the Asian and Islamic worlds, including:
 A
UNIQUE ABBASID DIRHAM
Zubayda was the wife of Harun al-Rashid (786-809), famed for being
the inspiration behind the tales of the 1001 Nights. She had control
of several silver mines which may have enabled her to issue this
previously unrecorded dirham, struck at a newly discovered mint
called il-Hada’iq Dhat Bahjat (the Glorious Gardens) in AH185.
A chance to own a coin of real historical significance.
ZODIAC MOHURS OF JAHANGIR
One of the great Mughals, Jahangir (1607-28) was known as a connoisseur
of the arts. His series of gold Zodiac Mohurs were issued monthly
over several years, with each one bearing the sign of the Zodiac
relevant to its date of issue. They were only given to favoured
people and have always been highly sought after: hence they were
often copied. We have a selection of these coins on offer (and a
couple of the copies).
 DIRHAM
NAMING CHINGIZ KHAN
Chingiz Khan (1206-1227) and his Mongol hordes swept across Central
Asia in the early 13th century. For such a ubiquitous ruler, his
coins are surprisingly scarce and are rarely found bearing his name.
We are pleased to offer this coin bearing his full titles “The
just and very mighty Chingiz Khan”.
A RARE QUARTER RUPEE OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY
The East India Company struck many coins at Indian mints designed
for local circulation, some which may be as yet undiscovered. The
great cataloguer of this series, F. Pridmore, guessed that this
Quarter Rupee of this 1815 issue must have been struck by the Benares
mint, but he could not find an example of one. So, although it is
small, this coin is extremely rare.
Also on offer at this sale are scarce Indo-Greek copper coins,
Umayyad dirhams struck at several rare mints, an unusual Arab-Khwarezm
portrait Dirham of Fazl bin Sulaiman (governor of Khorasan, 783-787),
a gold Dinar of Ala al-Din Mujahid Shah, of the Bahmani Sultanate,
a quantity of coins from Aksum and Harar, and a good selection of
later Egyptian issues.
If you have Indian or Islamic coins that you wish to consign to
auction in the future, or for further details about the coins in
this section of the March sale , please contact Barbara Mears, bmears@spink.com,
0207 563 4019 or 0779 1558954. The auction catalogue can also be
viewed throughout March on our website.
 March
31 Auction: Ancient section Ancient Greek, Roman
and Byzantine Coins
A Collection of British and Continental Celtic Coins
An interesting Collection of Aksumite Coins
A superb Gold Solidus of the Roman Emperor Eugenius (A.D.
392-394)
Consignment deadline: Our first coin auction in
2005 will be held on 31 March 2005 in London. Should you wish to
consign coins for the next auction on 30 June, please contact us
before the deadline of 13 April 2005.
The following selection of our extensive stock is now available for
purchase online:
• 192 Roman coins
• 154 Greek coins
• 6 Byzantine coins
• 21 Celtic coins
• 35 hammered coins
• 294 milled coins
• 19 tokens
Some of our highlights this month are as follows:
Galba (A.D. 68-69), AR Den. Bare head r. IMP SER GALBA AVG. Rev.
SPQR / OB / C S in three lines within oak-wreath... £1,950.
SICULO-PUNIC (c. 325-300 B.C.), AR Tetradrachm (16.71g). Head of
young Herakles r., wearing lion-skin... £1,250.
John V (A.D. 1341-1391), AV Hyperpyron, Constantinople... £525.
 William
and Mary, Half-Guinea, 1689, first conjoined busts right, rev. first
crowned shield of arms, with an escutcheon of the... £3,250.
William III (1688-1702), Crown, 1695, first laureate draped bust
right...£875.
Elizabeth I (1558-1603), Crown, 29.76g., sixth issue, bust 9A, m.m.1...£2,540.
Henry VI, first reign (1422-61), Groat, 3.86g., pinecone-mascle,
issue, Calais, crowned bust facing, pinecone and mascle stops...
£225.
NB: If you are interested in any of this month's featured
stock highlights, you can find these by entering part or all of
the descriptions into the "Search Spink" facility online.
As we regularly add to our online stock lists, please remember
to check the site frequently to avoid disappointment. To browse
through the offered stock, please click
here.
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Steve Hill’s March
Numismatic Report |
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Things have been rather busy here of late in the coin department
as we now have some very exciting projects in the pipeline.
The February Circular proved very popular, with the Irish and Scottish
coins selling especially well. Eighteenth Century tokens have continued
to be snapped up quickly, and, together with some good sales on
ancient and hammered coins, overall this has been a very pleasing
list.
The 31st March auction is our next major event, and includes something
for everyone. We have Ancient British, Continental, Ancient Greek
and Sasanian Indo-Greek collections. There is a good collection
of Aksumite coins of ancient Ethiopia (an interesting series now
attracting new collectors), as well as Roman Imperial and Byzantine.
Anglo-Saxon, early Norman, Tudor, Stuart and milled coins also feature.
A collection of Indian and Islamic coins (previewed above) is available
as well as European Medieval and later Foreign coins. This is a
general coin sale of a particularly high standard, and we hope to
see many of you in the auction room on the day.
Other exciting news is the highly anticipated auction of the Samuel
King Collection which is scheduled for Thursday May 5th. This is
certain be one of the most impressive sales of British gold for
many years as it includes many of the major rarities in the series,
and concentrates mainly on the large size gold coins of each reign.
More updates will be given at a later date.
Until the next report – enjoy your coins.
Stephen Hill
Associate Director
Spink
69 Southampton Row
Bloomsbury
London
WC1B 4ET
E: info@spink.com
(general)
E: enquiry@spink.com (website)
T: 020 7563 4000
F: 020 7563 4066
W: www.spink.com
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