We are one of Britain's foremost public auctioneers of Coins and Banknotes. Our six sales each year contain hundreds of collections and individual coins and banknotes, with sections of ancient coins, British coins, investment gold and world coins and British and foreign banknotes.

Public auctions of GB and world coins and banknotes, medals and militaria, toys and die-cast models and model railways are held six times a year. The dates of our 2010 sales are as follows: April 14th, June 16th, August 11th, October 13th, December 8th.

Our next general public auction of Coins & Banknotes will be held at the Court House, Warwick, on Wednesday 14th April, starting at 11 am. The online catalogue will be available approximately 3 weeks before the sale. To view the online catalogue, once it is uploaded and place bids on items in the sale click here. To download a catalogue (without illustrations) click here.

The sales take place at the Court House, Jury Street, Warwick, in the ballroom, which is on the first floor. The building has a lift. The entrance to the building is in Castle Street and the nearest car park is in New Street. The nearest railway station is Warwick Town and the nearest major international airport is Birmingham. For directions please visit our How to Find Us page.

Public viewing for all of our auctions is held at our own premises, the sales being too large to transport to the auction venue. Account settlement and lot allocation takes place progressively at our premises whilst the auction continues, so as soon as the section which interests you has been knocked down, you can pay and collect your lots without waiting for the end of the sale.

Public viewing for this sale is available at our offices on the following dates:

• Friday 9th April, 09.00 – 17.00
• Monday 12th April, 09.00 – 17.00
• Tuesday 13th April, 09.00 - 17.00
• Wednesday 14th April, 08.00 onwards

There is no need to attend an auction in person, as commission bids can be placed in advance of the sale via our online facility, or by telephone, mail, fax or e-mail. For further details please visit our Online Catalogue.

If you would like to receive a free sample printed catalogue, or alternatively to apply for a catalogue subscription, please complete our catalogue enquiry form. However please remember that the printed catalogue contains far fewer illustrations of lots than the online catalogue.

Contemplating Selling?

Are you thinking of selling your entire collection or part of it? Would you like us to value it and give you advise on how best to market it? Visit our Marketing Your Collection page.

High Bullion Value reflected in Very High Realisations for Gold Coins

The current high value of gold bullion is continuing to affect the realisations for coins made from the precious metal in our auction sales. On Wednesday February 10th, an Edward VII 1902 £5 to Maundy matt proof cased set, FDC, estimated at £1,750, realised £2,645 and a similar George V 1911 set, estimated at £3,000, realised £4,140. From the reign of George VI, a 1937 set of £5, £2, sovereign and half sovereign, estimated at £2,300, realised £3,105.

Amongst the earlier British coins, the following results were recorded.

• Edward IV / Edward V London Mint groat, mintmark halved sun and rose, good fine, portrait very fine (S.2146A), estimated £500, realised £977.

• James II 1687 guinea, fair / fine, estimated £400, realised £690.
• George IV 1821 SECUNDO crown, good extremely fine, estimated £600, realised £690.
• Victoria 1843 sovereign, extremely fine, estimated £200, realised £719.

• Victoria 1847 Gothic crown, about uncirculated, estimated £900, realised £1,437.

Quality Sovereigns appreciated by Collectors

The December 2009 auction included a very large section of British sovereigns, dating from 1817 and they were keenly contested by a large and enthusiastic room attendance.

The highest price achieved by a sovereign was the £4,715 which was paid for a 1917 sovereign, in good extremely fine condition.

A realisation of £3,565 was achieved by an 1838 sovereign, uncirculated and in proof like condition.

An 1839 sovereign, good very fine, estimated at £1,000, surprised the auctioneer by realising £3,105.

Other realisations for sovereigns were as follows:

• 1820 uncirculated, tiny mount marks on obverse, £776;
• 1832 extremely fine, £920;
• 1833 very fine/good very fine, £690;
• 1835 very fine/good very fine, £977;
• 1836 good extremely fine, £1,552;
• 1859 Ansell variety sovereign, good very fine/nearly extremely fine, £2,415;
• 1924SA good extremely fine, £2,242.

Proof sovereigns made the following prices:

• 1923SA, about FDC, with some scratches in field, £1,265;
• 1937 FDC, £1,437.

A superb range of Indian rupees were on offer. A specialised collection of 107 1874 – 1901 rupees, mainly very fine to uncirculated, was estimated at a conservative £300. Tough bidding pushed the final realisation to an outstanding figure of £3,335.

Amongst the individual Indian coins on offer, an 1834 rupee Restrike/Pattern, uncirculated, made £1,380 and a 1918 15 rupees, very fine, made £776.

Good Market for Early English Coins

The October 14th sale contained a good range of coins from pre-civil war England, which proved very popular with the room bidders. In chronological order, the following result were achieved:

• Aethelred II crux type penny, bare headed, with sceptre / voided short cross, with CRVX in angles, extremely fine, with some lustre (S.1148), estimated £350, realised £380;
• Cnut pointed helmet type penny, WINEMAM ON DEOD (Thetford), extremely fine (S.1158), estimated £300, realised £414;

• William I bonnet type penny, nearly extremely fine, central crack (S.1251), estimated £400, realised £862;
• William I PAXS penny, BALDRIC ON WIHREC, extremely fine, part of legend flat (S.1257), estimated £350, realised £834;
• James I third coinage quarter laurel, mintmark spur rowel, good very fine (S.2642). estimated £450, realised £506;
• Charles I Tower Mint under the King crown, group III, type 3a, mintmark crown over bell / crown third horseman FRC XV/XXXI, fine/good fine, apparently 1 of 5 known in private hands, estimated £1,900, realised £1,955.

From the Commonwealth period, a 1651 Unite, very fine, with a 24mm repaired crack, was estimated at £1,500 and realised £1,725.

Results for later British gold coins included the following:

• 1832 sovereign, good extremely fine, estimated £700, realised £1,006;
• 2002 Golden Jubilee proof cased set of 13, £5 - Maundy, FDC, estimated £2,500, realised £3,680.

The foreign coins on offer produced at least one unexpected result: £949 was paid for a Zeeland (Netherlands) 30 stuivers, good extremely fine, estimated at a conservative £100!

The best results amongst the British banknotes were as follows:

• J. Bradbury 1914 10/- A/3 015313, good extremely fine (Duggleby T9), estimated £450, realised £506;
• B.G. Catterns 1931 (17 Feb.) £10 188/L 46724, extremely fine (Duggleby B229), estimated £380, realised £495;
• K.O. Peppiatt 1936 (29 Sept.) Liverpool £100 96/Y 24555, nearly extremely fine (Duggleby B245), estimated £800, realised £1,006.

Alfred Penny makes £862

Amongst the early British individual coins on offer in the Warwick and Warwick August 13th auction was an Alfred the Great first coinage penny “ETHELULF MONETA”, very fine, estimated at £450, which realised almost double estimate, at £862. An Edward VI 1551-3 facing bust sixpence, mintmark y, very fine / good very fine, was estimated at £550 and realised £632. From the reign of Elizabeth I, a milled coinage 1562 sixpence, tall narrow bust, with decorated dress, very fine / good very fine, with an estimate of £400, sold for £517.

A Charles II 1671 3rd bust crown, very fine / good very fine, estimated £400, made £460 and a William and Mary 1692 half crown, good very fine, estimated £400, made £506.

Gold coins again achieved figures dictated by the current high bullion price. The highest realisation in this section was achieved by the 1937 proof cased set of £5, £2, sovereign and half sovereign, FDC, which was estimated at £2,300 and which sold for £3,220.

In the world coins section, a Portuguese Johannes III 1521 – 1557 gold St Vincent holding ship in palm of hand / coat of arms design, weighing 7.7 gm, nearly extremely fine, with very minor bend was estimated at £750. Room and commission bidders took the final realisation to £1,265.

Amongst the British banknotes an uncirculated 1967/70 £1 pair with consecutive numbers and different cashiers, namely J.S Fforde and J.B. Page, was estimated at £250 and realised £425. A 1918 (1 June) E.M. Harvey £5, extremely fine (Duggleby B209a) estimated £200 made £345.

Remarkable Prices realised for early English Coins

The June 2009 sale offered an excellent selection of single coins from the reigns of Aethelred II onwards. The high grades of many of them ensured high realisations, many considerably exceeding estimates. The following results were achieved.

• Cnut penny quatrefoil type, good extremely fine, estimated £220, realised £425.
• William I penny two stars type, nearly very fine, estimated £250, realised £563.
• Edward VI 1551 crown, mintmark y wire line inner circle, fine, estimated £450, realised £1,035.
• Elizabeth I seventh issue crown, mintmark 1, good fair, estimated £400, realised £1,006.

• Elizabeth I seventh issue half crown, mintmark 1, nearly very fine / very fine, estimated £1,300, realised £1,840.
• James I first coinage EXVRGAT crown, mintmark lis, nearly fine / fine, estimated £500, realised £1,207.
• Charles I Tower Mint group C double crown, oval shield, CR at sides, mintmark plume, nearly very fine, creased, estimated £320, realised £776.

• Charles I Tower Mint group E, fifth Aberystwyth bust double crown, oval shield, CR at sides, mintmark anchor, nearly very fine / very fine, estimated £800, realised £1,495.
• Commonwealth 1653 crown, mintmark sun, good fine / nearly very fine, estimated £750, realised £1,495.

• Cromwell 1658 shilling, good very fine, estimated £600, realised £1,380.
• Charles II hammered second issue shilling, without inner circles, mintmark crown on obverse only, fine / good fine, estimated £350, realised £719.
• George II 1741 roses crown, extremely fine, estimated £850, realised £1,207.

• Victoria 1847 Gothic crown, about uncirculated, estimated £900, realised £1,035.

• Edward VII 1905 half crown, about uncirculated, estimated £3,000, realised £3,680.

Major Tom Craze collection of Straits Settlements and Malaya banknotes

Major Tom Craze, Royal Signals, was seconded to the Malaysian Army from 1961 to 1971. During this time he was an enthusiastic collector of coins and banknotes from Straits Settlements, Malaya, Sarawak, Hong Kong, Borneo and Malaysia. He was a committee member of the Malaysia Numismatic Society, which was founded in 1968. Major Craze passed away on 6th December 2008 at the age of 86. His collection was offered in our June 2009 auction.

• Straits Settlements 1921 $10, about very fine, estimated £1,500, realised £2,530

• Straits Settlements 1925 $50, fine, estimated £1,200, realised £2,645

• Straits Settlements 1933 $10, good very fine, estimated £200, realised £495

• Malaya 1942 $100, nearly extremely fine, estimated £600, realised £1,150

Major Tom Craze proudly receiving the Pingat Jasa Malaysia medal, presented by Colonel Tajri Alwi,
defence advisor to the Malaysian High Commission in London 20th November 2007

Rare Guernsey Banknotes feature on Local Radio

Three exceptionally rare banknotes from Guernsey were on offer in our April 8th 2009 auction and achieved amazing results, which delighted the vendor. Richard Beale, our banknote expert, realised their rarity and contacted the local press and radio in Guernsey, which were delighted to carry the story. The three notes were described as follows.

• Guernsey Commercial Banking Co. Ltd. 1921 (1 March) £1, B 05130, with Beer and Blicq signatures, good fine. Estimated at £1,500, it sold for £12,075.

• Guernsey Commercial Banking Co. Ltd. 1921 (1 March) £1, A 40489, with Arnold and Mauger signatures, good fine. Estimated at £2,500, it sold for £8,050.

• States of Guernsey 1921 (1 March) £1, E/P 2628, with J. Esten de Jersey printed signature, hand signed Breton, good fine. Estimated at £2,000, it sold for £2,875.

• Amongst the British coins in the April 8th auction, a Richard III groat, London mint, mintmark halved sun and rose, nearly very fine, with good portrait, estimated at £600, made £1,437.

• A Victoria 1860/59 penny, obverse extremely fine, reverse nearly extremely fine, with knock in Britannia’s arm and traces of lustre, estimated at £1,000, made £2,760.

Gold Coins continue to climb in Value

In our December 10th 2008 auction we reported on a William and Mary five guineas, about very fine, achieving £3,400. With the gold price showing no sign of reducing, a very similar coin, in very fine condition, made £3,910, in our February 11th sale.

• A George II 1738 two guineas, good very fine, made £1,437.

• From the reign of Queen Victoria, an 1839 crown proof, FDC, estimated £3,000, achieved £3,450.

• An 1853 Gothic crown SEPTIMO proof, FDC, estimated £5,000, delighted the vendor and purchaser alike, with a realisation, after intense competition, of £6,612.

The sale contained an excellent selection of later crowns.

• A 1934 crown, uncirculated, estimated £3,200, made £3,680.
• A 1937 crown “VIP” proof, FDC, estimated £700, made £1,782
• A 1960 crown “VIP” proof, FDC, estimated £400, made £690.

The sale had a strong banknote section. Amongst the world banknotes, 4 collections were offered intact. In total their estimates came to £2,000. There was intense competition for them, both in this country and from foreign bidders, bidding by internet and phone, with the result that they realised the staggering total figure of £13,570!

• One of the best results for the banknotes offered singly was the £1,495 recorded for the India 1917-30 100r Bombay, signed Taylor, about very fine. (Pick 10b)

William and Mary Five Guineas realises £3,220

The best individual result of the December 10th sale was the £3,220 paid for a William and Mary1691 five guineas, about very fine, which had a pre-sale estimate of £2,200. From the same reign, a 1692 crown, very fine, with metal flaw on edge, made £460.

From earlier reigns, the following results were achieved:

• Edward VI 1551 crown, mintmark y, fine/good fine, £834
• Elizabeth I sixth issue silver crown, mintmark 1, good fair, £518;
• Charles I Tower Mint group B unite, mintmark negro’s head, fine, £690;
• Cromwell 1658 crown, good fair, £748;
• James II 1687 crown, good very fine, £748.

The Georgian period and later reigns were also well represented:

• George I 1716 crown, good fine/nearly very fine, £495;
• George IV 1823 £2, nearly extremely fine, £834;

• William IV 1831 half crown, proof fdc, £1,150;
• Victoria 1843 half crown, good extremely fine, £776;
• Victoria 1847 Gothic crown, good extremely fine, £1,035;

• Edward VII 1903 half crown, good extremely fine, £1,495;
• Edward VII 1905 florin, good extremely fine, £834.

Gold coins from the current reign faired very well because of the current high price of gold bullion. A 2002 Golden Jubilee £5 to Maundy gold proof cased set of 13, fdc, realised £2,875.

Scarce Banknotes in 8th October 2008 Auction

Banknotes from Zanzibar are rarely seen and our 8th October auction contained an excellent example of a 1916 10 rupees. Estimated at £5,000, it attracted considerable interest and eventually sold for £8,625. This sale also contained other scarce banknotes. A Portuguese India Banco Nacional Ultramarino Nova Goa 1906 (1st Jan) 5 rupias steamship with seal type 1, good fair (Pick 15a) made £1,495 and the 10 rupias of the same date, fair, made £2,127and an East African 1916 (1st May) 10 rupees, fine (Pick2A) made £1,495.

• An Australian 1913 2nd issue 10 shillings, overprinted half sovereign, signed Cerutty and Collins, good fine (Pick 3b), estimated £1,500, realised £1,610.
• Rare Straits Settlements 1926 one dollar Coin.
• A Straits Settlements 1926 one dollar coin, graded nearly extremely fine, was offered in the October 8th 2008 auction, with an estimate of £1,450. The final realisation for this rare coin was £2,645.

The Collection of the Late Mervyn Clapham yields Spectacular Results

The Clapham collection of British coins was offered in the Warwick and Warwick sale of February 14th 2007. Mervyn had an eye for quality and this resulted in some spectacularly high realisations.

Henry VIII first coinage Angel, mintmark castle, nearly extremely fine, est. £1,200, realisation £1,437.

Elizabeth I second issue half pound, beaded inner circle, mintmark cross crosslets, very fine, est. £1,200, realisation £1,782.

Elizabeth I fifth issue half pound, mintmark tun, nearly extremely fine, est. £2,500, realisation £3,795.

Charles II 1664 two guineas, elephant below, very fine, est. £1,000, realisation £1,955.

James II 1688/7 two guineas, fine, est. £700, realisation £1,322.

William IV 1837 sovereign, very fine, est. £200, realisation £529.

The remainder of the sale contained a very good selection of Anglo Saxon and Viking coins, which included the following:

• Kings of Murcia, burgred penny, CUNEHEL, lunettes broken in angles, good very fine, est. £320, realisation £483.
• Edward the Elder penny, small cross, WULFHEARD, good very fine, est. £350, realisation £506.
• Aethelred II penny, first hand type, about as struck, est. £300, realisation £402.
• Edward the Confessor penny, hammer cross type, Lewes mint, nearly extremely fine, est. £170, realisation £310.