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August 2012
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London Coins - General Sale - June 2 & 3 2012
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Coin News
August 2012 p30
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During the first weekend in June, there may have been plenty of fireworks in London as HM Queen E1izabeth II celebrated her Diamond Jubilee, but there were also plenty of fireworks at this sale. There were gasps from the audience before bidding on one lot got underway. As is the custom in our digital age, an image of the lot to be offered appears on a large screen in the saleroom. If a particular lot catches his eye, Steve Lockett (the auctioneer) looks round from the rostrum to see what it is. Lot 1730 had a starting bid of more than double its low estimate because of clashing postal bids. There were gasps from the room, Steve turned to look at the coin and saw a "bun head penny so worn that just a faint image of Victoria's portrait could be seen with no more than four letters of the lengthy obverse legend discernible". The screen indicated that bidding would start at £2,200! Needless to say, the coin is a very rare variety - Freeman 90 which has the H die reverse (Britannia's head is smaller in relation to her body). The Standard Catalogue only lists the variety in fine. The coin was catalogued as "fair with some misty areas". It sold for £3,861.
I remarked some while ago that 1902 long proof sets were rising. Way back in August 2008 the auction house sold one for £2,223. In September last year another sold for £3,744 and in December another for £4,446. At this sale a set was offered in near FDC/FDC. It was noted in the catalogue that the shilling "has some marks and hairlines, most coins choice and largely free of defects". So, there is no doubting that it is a good set. It was contested to £5,616 This surely is a new auction record for this set. A 1911 "long" set was offered in about FDC condition, it realised £6,435.
The highest price in the sale was for Charles II five guineas of 1675. Described as being "EF or near so", apart from some surface marks and flan flaws, there is a depression and discolouration around the O of CAROLVS, which the cataloguer admits is a "distraction". However, to compensate for this, the portrait is outstanding. The piece sold at its lower estimate, £10,530 against £13,000 for an EF example in Coin Yearbook 2012, which given the distraction" is a good result.
Choice coins, of course, are always in demand. A really choice 1726 George I crown was offered. The piece has a pleasing even tone. Although graded "choice EF", the cataloguer opines that the reverse is probably better as the "design [is] very sharp". There are some light adjustment lines on the king's hair, but it is not considered detrimental. This coin is valued in the Coin Year Book 2012 at £5,250 in EF and at £3,750 in EF in the Standard Catalogue. The auction house estimated is at £3,000 - 4,000 and it sold for £5,616. London Coins Auction always features English certified coins by UK grading houses in its sales as the Coin Grading Service (CGS) is a sister company. Stephen Lockett commented, "There are a number of collectors now with the CGS league tables showing over 150 active 'players' who only buy CGS graded coins and this is beginning to impact on the demand for highly graded types, especially the 'finest known'." In this sale there was a decimal twenty-pence undated mule from the "new series" of designs by Matthew Dent. It was graded UNC 88 and is the finest known of the 66 examples so far recorded in the CGS Population Report. The Coin Year Book 2012 lists an UNC example at £100. The auction house estimated its example with an estimate of £150 - 250 because it was best in the Population League. The premium was justified. It sold for £491.
Auctions seem full of surprises these days. Bulk lots have been a feature of sales for some time now, but I have never seen one weighing 557 kilos and comprising 90,000 - 100,000 coins. It was consigned by a dealer in his 70s and is "made up of items put to one side as superfluous to his retail operation", over a 25-year period. It sold for £5,382—it could only be viewed by appointment, presumably at the dealer's offices. The lot did not state the fact, but I doubt whether it was subject to return.
Then of course there are the coins that realise far more than their estimate. For example, the US 5 dollars dated 1859S in "VF or better with some contact marks in the reverse field". The estimate for this rare piece was £200 - 400 - it sold for £1,755. Among the banknotes from Northern Ireland there was the Ulster Bank Company £1 issued at Belfast on July 1, 1852, printed by Skipper and East. The cataloguer did state that it was possibly unique for the date. The £400-800 estimate reflected that it had been glued to a card, so only the obverse was visible. It sold for £2,808. From Australia there was a 1925 penny described as "Unc or near so with much subdued lustre, excessively rare in this high grade". The estimate was a very wide £750 - 1,500 - it sold for £3,744. Good news for the vendors!
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May 2015
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Coin News
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This 3,000 - lot sale set a new record for the company as it was their first March sale to break through the £ 1 million total. With such a huge sale there was literally "something for everyone", with prices ranging from under £ 20 to over £ 20,000.
The sale... Continue reading
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February 2015
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Coin News
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Top lot at this event was an 1839 plain edge proof crown. Its reverse contains much brilliance while the obverse has a choice blue and gold tone. Slabbed and graded by CGS at 82 (choice uncirculated), documents with the piece
shows that it was graded at MS65 by ICCS, the Canadian... Continue reading
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May 2014
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Coin News
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The highlight of this event was a 1953 UK proof set comprising the 10 coins from the crown to the farthing. I expect that after that opening statement, readers will think that this sale went downhill from there. However, it was not one of the 40,000 sets issued by the... Continue reading
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August 2013
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Coin News
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The highlight of this sale was a 1643 Oxford Mint Charles I triple unite in very fine state. It had an excellent provenance from Sir K. Vaughan-Morgan (Sotheby's 1935), through R. C. Lockett (Glendining's 1961), Spink (1990) to more recently Bonham's (2006). The estimate of £40,000 - 50,000 brought mutterings... Continue reading
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May 2013
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Coin News May 2013
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This sale not only attracted bidders from all over the UK, but others travelled from further afield, including the Far East, Portugal, Russia, Spain and the USA.
The highest price at this sale was the £15,795 paid for an 1826 proof five pounds. Apart from some hairlines on the portrait and... Continue reading
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February 2013
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Coin News
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As the proverb goes, "Two swallows don't make a summer", but it was nevertheless good to hear that after a long absence two buyers from financially distressed Greece made a reappearance at Bracknell. Other overseas buyers included Russians and Spaniards. Bidders had to contend with a commotion outside the rooms... Continue reading
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November 2012
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Coin News
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What was fascinating for me with this sale is that it included a good collection formed in the 1980s. It was an eclectic cabinet embracing Roman, English hammered and milled. It was not sold as a named collection, but was offered in the relevant sections of the sale.
Now I have... Continue reading
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August 2012
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Coin News
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During the first weekend in June, there may have been plenty of fireworks in London as HM Queen E1izabeth II celebrated her Diamond Jubilee, but there were also plenty of fireworks at this sale. There were gasps from the audience before bidding on one lot got underway. As is the... Continue reading
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29th May 2012
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Money Market UK
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While for many such coins may really be a sentimental purchase, just how do they shape up as investments?
The Royal Mint has issued a range of coins, including special sets, to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee this year. The latest issue is a range of silver, gold and platinum versions... Continue reading
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February 2012
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Coin News
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Top price at this weekend auction was for a stunning 1732 proof crown. Examples are extremely rare. Graded as about FDC, the cataloguer added, "This piece is virtually free of contact marks, has an even grey tone and shows just a hint of friction on the points of the obverse,... Continue reading
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23rd February 2012
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Rare Coin Auction Market in Great Britain
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Coin Week
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Auction continues to be a popular method to sell coins in Great Britain. Stephen Lockett shares what items have been selling and how prices are faring. He talks about what sales his company has coming up in the future. Continue reading
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November 2011
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Coin News
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Prior to the event, the team of London Coins Auction (LCA) thought that this was a routine sale. However, with the buoyant market, when they analysed the results they realised the sale total was the company's second highest to date. To say that some prices were astounding is no exaggeration.... Continue reading
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19th November 2011
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Coin Auctions & Third Party Grading in Great Britain
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Coin Week
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Mr. Lockett operates London Coins Ltd, a coin business that trades in numismatics and includes an auction service. He is also founder of Coin Grading Service UK, Britains first encapsulating grading service. He shares his perspective on the collector market, how auction functions in the sale of coins, and the... Continue reading
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August 2011
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Coin News
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This was a landmark event for auctioneer Stephen Lockett. Potential bidders could not have failed to notice that his regular auction has now been extended from two to three days and that paper money now has it's own catalogue, This auction house has been chipping away at the market and... Continue reading
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May 2011
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Coin News
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The best place to see what is going on at an auction is from the auctioneer’s podium. The results of this sale reflect the strength of the market, but the thing that struck Stephen Lockett in his role as auctioneer is that a year or two ago the then relatively... Continue reading
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February 2011
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Coin News
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Just prior to this sale, the snow fell in Kent for 72 hours. The sale was held in Berkshire and Stephen Lockett not unnaturally was concerned as he was snowbound in Kent. The van hire company could not promise to supply a vehicle, but remarkably they did - after digging... Continue reading
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November 2010
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Coin News
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London Coins auctioneer Stephen Lockett commented after this sale: “The sale was notable in my view for its all round strength with an overall hammer total of £580,000 with the vast majority of items selling. It seemed that dealers, collectors and new faces are all in the scramble for new... Continue reading
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August 2010
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Coin News
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This sale was held on a Monday and Tuesday as opposed to a weekend, which means that the coins were available for viewing at the London Coin Fair on the Saturday. At one of its regular clinics, the auction house was approached by a member of the public with a... Continue reading
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May 2010
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Coin News
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I have never seen so many certified coins in a UK auction before. Some had been slabbed in the US, but the Coin Grading Service UK (CGS) encapsulated most. Top of the slabbed pieces was a 1601 "Elephant and Castle" five-guineas certified by CGS UK as EF 60. Estimated at... Continue reading
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February 2010
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Coin News
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This £500,000 plus sale took London Coins' turnover for 2009 to a record £2m for this auction house—an increase of 30 per cent over 2008. Because this was a bumper sale of 2,500 lots over two days, the usual convention of having papermoney and bonds exclusively on the Saturday, meant... Continue reading
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November 2009
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Coin News
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"We kicked off the season in a very robust and exciting way", said Stephen Lockett after this sale. It was certainly an extraordinary event setting a new record for a Victorian bronze penny. The piece is dated 1863, but needless to say this was not the standard coin but an... Continue reading
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August 2009
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Coin News
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The first weekend in June is clearly popular for coin sales. Stephen Lockett commented after the event, “The market is still good and we are pleased with a £373,000 total". Top price was for an 1841 London sovereign, which is the key date rarity (as opposed to variety) in the... Continue reading
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May 2009
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Coin News
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Prices for copper and bronze material was very strong. For example, an 1843 penny with no colon after REG was offered in uncirculated state with around 70 per cent lustre. Estimated at £750—1,500, the piece was contested to £4,212. Interestingly, the same coin but with the colon was also offered... Continue reading
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February 2009
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Coin News
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As I browsed through this catalogue, I was drawn to a rather splendid example of a Charles I shilling struck at besieged Newark in 1645. By the very nature of these specimens I being an emergency coinage, surviving examples are not always the best creations to emanate from a mint.... Continue reading
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November 2008
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Coin News
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“There is no sign of the credit crunch here", remarks Stephen Lockett from his base south of London. He continued, “I asked a Russian buyer, who had journeyed from Siberia to our sale, how the credit crunch was affecting the Russian market. He looked at me seemingly astonished by the... Continue reading
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August 2008
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Coin News
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This sale broke with tradition and was held on a Friday and Saturday as opposed t0 a Saturday and Sunday. The top price was for an impressive Charles 1 1643 Oxford mint triple unite. This is an example of the large bust without a scarf. The piece has some minor... Continue reading
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May 2008
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Coin News
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This has to be a first – the successful bidder’s car broke down while removing his newly acquired “bulk lot” from the sale’s venue. To be fair, it was perhaps one of the mightiest coin bulk lots offered at a coin auction. Consisting of 22 boxes of British and world... Continue reading
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November 2007
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Coin News
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This was London Coins’ best ever sale, both in the number of lots offered and the realisation. The 2,640 lots resulted in a total of 580,000. There was another record for the auction house too – the highest realisation for an individual coin. So congratulations all round to Steve Lockett... Continue reading
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August 2007
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Coin News
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As usual, the sale started with an offering of banknotes. However, just over 100 of these lots had very unusual provenance. Known as the “Organ Pipe Hoard”, they were found when a church organ at an undisclosed location was being restored. When three of its wooden pipes were thrown into... Continue reading
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May 2007
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Coin News
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This was the first sale held at The Grange Hotel at Bracknell in Berkshire as opposed to The Dartford Hilton in Kent. The auction house’s former venue was unable to provide the required accommodation. Stephen Lockett of London Coins said after the event, “I am convinced more business can be... Continue reading
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February 2007
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Just over 500 lots of banknotes were featured on the first day of the sale. English notes were strong with a Bradbury first issue type 1 Treasury £1 with the serial number letter A selling for 50 per cent above the estimate at £1,650 in almost extremely fine state. A... Continue reading
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November 2006
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Coin News
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There were many new faces at this event. Banknotes were in great demand with dealers commenting that the prices for English notes were “sky high”. As usual, there was a strong demand for Scottish material. The highlight of the coins was a 1706 five-guineas in very fine/nearly extremely fine state.... Continue reading
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May 2006
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Coin News
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There was a good offering of UK bronze and copper at this sale. The highlight was a potentially unique 1922 penny variety. Unrecorded in any of the standard references, the coin is dated 1922, but the Britannia featured on the reverse is the one used for pennies struck from 1927... Continue reading
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February 2006
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Coin News
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This event was held on the weekend that parts of the UK suffered very early snowfall. Road travel was very difficult in some parts of the country. However, this did stop one bidder battling his way from Cornwall, the county worst affected, to attend the event – en route he... Continue reading
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May 2005
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Coin News
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This is not a central London sale as it is held at the Hilton Hotel at Dartford Crossing. The venue is just off the M25, London’s Orbital motorway, in Kent. The organisers must have been somewhat concerned in the week leading up to the sale as the county of Kent... Continue reading
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