Signature Sales

These are sales or sections within sales comprising entirely of one person’s collection. Many collectors are keen to collect items with a provenance and the items shown in these signature sale listings can now be said to include the provenance of these collections.

If you have a collection you are considering selling we will be happy to discuss a signature sale with you. As well as having the potential to attract more bidders your collection will be recorded for posterity.

To see the details of all coins within this signature sale listing please click on the name of the signature sale.

From an Old Collection

LOTS (932-972 )

This collector’s theme was high quality Queen Victoria and was formed between 2006 and 2017 with the majority of he pieces being acquired before 2010, so it is fresh to the market. This collector had a keen eye for quality and was an early adherent to third party grading using the UK based CGS third party grading system and the collection contains some of the finest graded Victorian coins recorded by CGS.

LOTS (1717-1858 )

Chris started collecting in the late 90’s. He became more and more passionate about coin collecting and gained a great amount of knowledge over the years as he was never afraid to talk to dealers and graders and learn from their experience. Initially he saw it as an investment but as time went on he became more and more interested in the history and the mintages of the coins. Chris mostly focused on Victorian sovereigns with the intention of getting one of each of the sovereigns minted in each year, he later extended his interest to later sovereigns and also other gold such as the 1oz Australian Kangaroo nuggets, where again he tried to collect one from each year (he had 2007 to 2022 before he died).

Chris used to buy from eBay and dealers, but had a particular affection for London Coins and their grading company CGS and had many of the more valuable and rare coins graded with the Coin Grading Service. He became very good at being able to grade coins himself and constantly was upgrading the quality of each of his coins trying to get as close to extremely fine as possible, he also knew the mintages of each of his coins. Chris was a regular at the Midland Coin Fair at the motorcycle museum near Birmingham and became very familiar with many of the dealers and became quite well known there, it was at the MSCF he met Stephen and Semra of London Coins. Chris would also buy remotely though places such as eBay, but also various dealers he had built relationships with here and overseas.

His remote buying was not free from frustration, sometimes when a coin arrived it was not of the quality the seller had indicated, Chris like most advanced collectors was very fussy about the quality of the coins he bought. He was also frustrated by the fact that he was being charged VAT and Duties on coins he bought and had many battles when he bought coins remotely. Chris was keen to get his estimation if the grading confirmed by experts and travelled to London Coins where he met Paul Redford who attributed and graded all CGS coins (50,000) as well as London Coins auction consignments. During the era where CGS published league tables (Set Registry) Chris’s collection was one of the finest recorded Sovereign collections by CGS.

The Collection of a Discerning Gentleman many decades in the making

LOTS (1835-2071 )

A Superb Collection of English High Grade Milled Coins The property of a gentleman and 25 years in the making

English Coins Single Coins and Small Lots ( lots 1487-1835 )

A Fine Collection of Shillings 40 Years in the Making

English Coins Single Coins and Small Lots ( lots 1836-2000 )

The Soho Collection was one of the finest collections of copper and bronze that featured in the CGS (Coin Grading Service) league tables, and at various times held finest recorded accolades for many categories. It is offered here in its entirety.

Mr Paul Ellaway who formed the collection gives an insight below into his hobby below. Paul makes the comment that he tried to find the best examples he could and it immediately becomes apparent when perusing his collection he succeeded. Many of these choice coins have been in his collection for decades and once snapped up by collectors in this sale are unlikely to be offered again for at least a generation.

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I will do a brief history of my collecting. It started when I first left school and started working we was renovating a coaching inn and I found a cartwheel twopence and a Bank of England dollar. I had a interest in coins but my collecting started 30 years ago and I found my passion was for copper and bronze when I saw a 1841 penny uncirculated with lustre. I tried to find the best condition coins I could and really enjoyed collecting the best coins I could afford.

Ken was an eclectic collector so we have the pleasure of offering a very wide variety of material from ancients to modern with an interesting overseas offering. Most pieces were purchased in the 1970s so have been “sleeping” for over 40 years. Ken clearly focused on obtaining items that were good value for money when purchased rather than paying whatever price was being asked for high grade and choice material. However the collection does contain many items in solid and better grades and some instances the eye appeal is superior to the technical grade so viewing is recommended. The collection also contains rare issues we have not offered before especially in the Guinea section. Ken Humphris is now 98 and his son Clive has kindly provided us with some reflections on his father’s coin collecting.

Dad’s interest in coins was first ignited through another interest of his, namely, antique furniture. In 1975 a second-hand antique dealer, who occasionally contacted Dad when he had something of interest for Dad, said he had something different for him to look at. This time it was not a piece of furniture but rather an unusual thin English silver penny. (Dad couldn’t remember the name of the coin). This sparked a fascination in coins for Dad which came from the fact that old coins represented great history and its value came from its age. Dad learnt so much from his English collection including being able to recite the Kings and Queens of England from way back much to the delight of his children. (I remember this! He corrected Mum and I many times for getting the royal succession wrong!)As a chartered surveyor and successful real estate proprietor, he attended and liked going to property auctions. Now he attended coin auctions in and around London and became a regular bidder, sometimes price was no object as the thrill of the chase and the passion to add to his collection drove him on. Hours upon hours in his home office he would pour over his coins in the evenings after work with magnifying glass and coins books at the ready.

The same second-hand dealer that procured the English penny also provided Dad with the start of his Abyssinian collection which were all hammered. Dad became interested in how they were produced and so his collection was broadened. Dad’s Roman collection needs special mention as each was purchased purely driven by a love of history and wonder of the age of the items. Dad’s passion for coins did not start in his childhood but when he was 55 years old. His only childhood memory of coins was putting a coin on the tram line where it got thoroughly flattened. Now at the age of 98 years and now an antique himself he confesses, his family thinks “with great age comes great value.”

Frank was raised in a County Durham pub owned by his parents and it was here that his fascination with coins started. As a small boy, and then a young man, he would examine the contents of the till and remove any coins he liked the look of (sometimes with his parents knowledge) for his collection. Bun head Pennies were still in circulation and he craved those as well as nice condition coins. One of those coins is offered for sale in this collection and that is the 1935 halfcrown that he took from the Royal Oak till in the 60s. A young family and busy life as a coal miner and colliery undermanager meant his hobby was largely forgotten until his retirement.

From 2002 until his death he built an outstanding collection of both Halfcrowns and Pennies with the aid of his son John, who is a coin and medal dealer in the North of England. There is a secondary collection of bronze Farthings and Halfpennies which is largely complete for currency issues, but those denominations were an aside to him.

Franks knowledge and passion for Pennies and Halfcrowns was boundless and his aim was to complete the Halfcrown collection by English Silver Coins reference numbers and the Penny collection with references to both Freeman and Gouby. Quality was always the first choice but rarity often demanded settling for what was available at the time. His great regret was in letting the Colin Adams 1726 halfcrown slip through his hands in the Spink sale that he acquired some of the Charles II halfcrowns from. That date eluded him and should probably be a lesson for all of us that the time to buy 'that coin' is when you see it!

Frank was raised in a County Durham pub owned by his parents and it was here that his fascination with coins started. As a small boy, and then a young man, he would examine the contents of the till and remove any coins he liked the look of (sometimes with his parents knowledge) for his collection. Bun head Pennies were still in circulation and he craved those as well as nice condition coins. One of those coins is offered for sale in this collection and that is the 1935 halfcrown that he took from the Royal Oak till in the 60s. A young family and busy life as a coal miner and colliery undermanager meant his hobby was largely forgotten until his retirement.

From 2002 until his death he built an outstanding collection of both Halfcrowns and Pennies with the aid of his son John, who is a coin and medal dealer in the North of England. There is a secondary collection of bronze Farthings and Halfpennies which is largely complete for currency issues, but those denominations were an aside to him.

Franks knowledge and passion for Pennies and Halfcrowns was boundless and his aim was to complete the Halfcrown collection by English Silver Coins reference numbers and the Penny collection with references to both Freeman and Gouby. Quality was always the first choice but rarity often demanded settling for what was available at the time. His great regret was in letting the Colin Adams 1726 halfcrown slip through his hands in the Spink sale that he acquired some of the Charles II halfcrowns from. That date eluded him and should probably be a lesson for all of us that the time to buy 'that coin' is when you see it!

Signature Sale of VIP and Proof Issues From a Range of Countries.

Included in this sale under the relevant country in this catalogue is a collection of VIP proof issues. However, for posterities sake we show the lots here as a signature sale listing. It is in fact only half of the collection, and the vendor is intending to offer the second half later this year.

In some cases we have stated the mintage figures as quoted by standard reference catalogues, however the vendor has tracked the market for these VIP proof issues extensively for ten years and his findings make a compelling argument that these mintage figures are overstated, and where for example Krause Mischler states a mintage of 100 the frequency of such pieces offered in all major sales and on-line auctions over the last ten years is so few as to be on a par with issues where only 10 to 20 are known to have been struck.

The following 64 lots comprise a complete date run of Victorian Maundy Sets in dated or contemporary boxes, believed to be the first time such a group has been offered Bids are invited on individual lots or on the whole collection, to be successful a bid on the whole should be no less than £20,000.

If a bid or bids have been received on the whole collection which is likely to surpass the total of bids on individual lots, the collection will be sold in the room as one lot.

Like many coin collectors Paul enjoyed collecting stamps and coins at a young age, eagerly looking through piles of change for pre 1920 silver, the H ,KN and of course the bun pennies.

Several careers later and after having indulged his passion for vintage motorcycles, he moved to Cornwall. It was here where he had the opportunity to take his hobby more seriously. The majority of his collection was assembled the old fashioned way working from lists. Business was conducted by letters and telephone calls with trusted dealers.

Paul had a love of history all his life. It was one of the few subjects that he really enjoyed at school. Passion for history and his love of coins and medals fused to become the driving force of a collection which was remarkable in its breadth and quality. His research along a branch of history created the interest in collecting something tangible from that era and exploring further the history around that coinage.

His collection ranged from the pre Roman civilisations of the Middle East, through the Roman era and then into our own history. Indeed Britain was his main focus, from early hammered medieval coinage, through to the high quality milled coins up until decimalisation. He also researched Britain's influence on coinage used throughout the Empire. The coins were complimented by a comprehensive collection of medallions and medals which more specifically evidenced an event or era. Small nuggets of information were scattered about the collection on scraps of paper, ready to explore another avenue or topic.

Paul appreciated the fine artistry of coin designers, dies and medals. He possessed great knowledge of how our coinage was developed, the materials used and the processes employed from design to mint. He was always pleased to talk about his collection with those fortunate enough to visit, be it the coinage or the events in history which influenced it. There is no doubt the coins were a source of enormous pride and pleasure.

Coins Struck By East European Mints for VIPs before these countries entered the Euro-zone

The Florin Collection is the finest so far recorded by CGS, the Shillings and Sixpences both are 2nd finest (see CGS website Hall of Fame)

Roland spent his working life as a farmer. He had an innovative approach to farming and constantly looked for ways to improve his farm. Roland enjoyed challenges and apart from increasing the land he farmed through renting further acres he had lots of ideas for projects that combined well with farming. These included a seed cleaning plant and Animal feed mill, which produced feed without artificial additives. He was one of the first people in the country to have Charolais sheep and went on to become President of the UK Charolais Sheep Society as well as having success with the sheep at shows. Roland went to America to look at and import larger tractors to give greater productivity and from this helped set up Farols, an Agricultural Engineering business that now has four outlets. Roland also invented a new seed drill for planting crops which he developed and saw into production with Bamfords.

Twenty years ago Roland bought a derelict Manor House with a three acre garden. He thoroughly enjoyed the challenged of renovating and modernising the house and creating a wonderful garden. He was idle and always had another project in mind! Roland’s other hobbies which he approached with his usual enthusiasm and energy were fly fishing and bridge.

Roland starting coin collecting relatively late in life after a brief sojourn into stamps, and has formed this impressive collection in about 10 years. However his lateness as more than compensated by the vigour with which he pursued his new hobby. His initial interest was for the entire English Milled series excluding gold but in recent years he narrowed this down to cover 1838 to recent times, Crowns down to Fractional Farthings. He became particularly attracted to bronze and their varieties and became sufficiently learned from time to time, correct our Freeman or Peck attributions. The twentieth century section contains duplication sometimes several times of entire series and offers a rare opportunity to obtain runs and entire groups of twentieth century material in high grades. The Victorian section as the listings soon reveal contains one of the finest selections of Victorian Bronze and Copper offered in recent times, and surely one of the finest groups ever assembled.