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 October 13th and December 8th.

Our next general public auction of Coins & Banknotes will be held at the Court House, Warwick, on Wednesday the 13th October, starting at 12 noon. 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 8th October, 09.00 – 17.00
• Monday 11th October, 09.00 – 17.00
• Tuesday 12th October, 09.00 - 17.00
• Wednesday 13th October, 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.

Commonwealth 1653 crown, extremely fine, realises £3,220

The August 11th auction included a Commonwealth 1653 crown, graded extremely fine. Estimated £2,700. it realised £3,220.

Other English coins producing results well in excess of their pre-sale estimates included the following:
Mary groat, mintnark pomegranate, extremely fine (S 2492), estimated £350, realised £460.

Elizabeth I seventh issue half crown, mintmark 1, fine (S 2583), estimated £500, realised £1,380.
James I third coinage shilling, , plume over shield, mintmark thistle, nearly extremely fine (S 2669), estimated £750, realised £862.
Charles I Truro mint crown, mintmark rose, nearly very fine, part of legend flat (S 3045), estimated £850, realised £977.
George II 1739 roses crown, nearly extremely fine, estimated £700, realised £805.
Victoria 1847 Gothic crown, uncirculated, estimated £1,200, realised £2,875.

George V 1934 crown, extremely fine, estimated £2,500, realised £2,530.
Elizabeth II 2002 £5 – Maundy “Golden Jubilee” gold proof cased set, FDC, estimated £3,000, realised ££4,025.

Good Market for Rare Charles I Coins

An excellent range of quality Charles I coins were on offer in the Warwick and Warwick June 16th auction and they achieved dramatic results:

• Group B gold crown, 3rd bust, mintmark plume, very fine (S 2712), estimated £300, realised £552;
• Oxford Mint half crown, horseman with ground line and plumes behind, reverse 3 Oxford plumes, declaration in 2 lines, mintmark plume, fine (S 2952), estimated £160, realised £471;
• Chester mint half crown, crowned square topped shield, CR at sides, stuck lightly off centre, with part of legend flat, good fine / nearly very fine, estimated £1,500, realised £2,415;

• 1646 Newark half crown, very fine, estimated £800, realised £2,530;
• 1645 Newark shilling, flat crown, nearly very fine, estimated £700, realised £1,840;

• 1645 Newark ninepence, very fine, estimated £800, realised £2,070;
• 1646 Newark sixpence, good very fine, estimated £1,500, realised £1,897.

The Commonwealth period was represented by a 1651 unite, mintmark sun, extremely fine, which was estimated at £2,300 and which realised £5,290. A Cromwell 1656 half crown, nearly very fine, estimated £1,800, made £3,105 and a 1658 shilling, good extremely fine, estimated £2,000, made £2,127.

Early coins also proved popular and the following prices were realised:

• Edward the Elder portrait penny, blundered moneyer’s name in 2 lines, IEBEIE IIEEIEI, divided by 3 crosses, with a cross and 6 pellets above and below, nearly very fine ( S 1084), estimated £1,200, realised £1,840;
• Aethelred II long cross penny, bare headed, PVLFSIGEMOEAXE wrinckled otherwise extremely fine (S 1151), estimated £160, realised £276;
• Edward the Confessor hammer cross penny, PULFRIC ON HEORT (Hertford), about extremely fine (S 1182), estimated £400, realised £506;
• Edward III 1361-69 treaty period quarter noble, London mint, very fine (S 1510), estimated £270, realised £414;
• Richard II quarter noble, IB lis in centre of reverse, mintmark cross pattee, fair, estimated £120, realised £287;
• Henry V quarter noble, quatrefoil to left of shield, quatrefoil and mullet to right of shield, nearly very fine (S 1755), estimated £450, realised £517;

• Henry VII angel, mintmark cross crosslets, extremely fine, estimated £1,800, realised £2,127.

Early English Coins in Demand

Quality early English coins achieved excellent results in the April 14th 2010 auction. The following results were realised:

Offa penny, OFFA in the angles of cross cutlet, reverse BABBA in the angles of lozenge cross cutlet, with a centre rosette of pellets, fine, estimated £500, realised £747;

Cnut short cross penny, with sceptre BRUNSTAN ON DE (Thetford), extremely fine, estimated £200, realised £253;

William I PAXS penny, AESTAN ON PINCE (Winchester), part of legend flat, otherwise good very fine, estimated £350, realised £483;

Richard II quarter noble, pellet in centre of reverse, fine, estimated £250, realised £299;

Henry VIII third coinage half crown, HR beside shield and rose, mintmark pellet in annulet, nearly very fine, estimated £500, realised £891;

Edward VI 1551 Fine Silver issue half crown, walking horse, mintmark y, nearly fine / good fine, estimated £400, realised £805;

Elizabeth I seventh issue half crown, mintmark 1, nearly very fine, estimated £1,200,m realised £1,725.

Amongst the later issues, a George II 1748 2 guineas, good extremely fine, estimated at £3,000, made £3,450, a George III 1763 “Nothumberland” shilling, extremely fine, estimated £450, made £690 and a William IV 1831 proof half crown, about FDC, estimated £700, surprised our valuation team by realising £1,840.

There was an extensive range of Victoria issues on offer.

An 1839 half crown, plain fillets, ww incuse, fine / good fine, estimated £550, achieved a superb £2,012. £1,207 was paid for the rare date 1841 half crown, fair / fine, which was estimated at a modest £100. The best result for a Victorian sovereign was the £2,530 paid for an 1839 issue, in very fine grade, which bore a pre sale estimate of £1,000.

Biggest surprise of the day however came when the foreign coins were offered. A South Africa 1894 pond, extremely fine, was bought by a room bidder for the remarkable figure of £4,715, or more than 20 times its estimate!

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.

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.