A single owner collection of coins and medallions amassed over a lifetime of dedicated collecting caused a huge stir at Trevanion Auctioneers’ May 22nd auction.
The collection was considered so special that it was given its own exclusive auction despite comprising only 178 lots. “A collection like this seldom comes to the auction market and as such, it was a pleasure and a privilege to have been given the opportunity to offer it for sale”, said Managing Partner Christina Trevanion. “As soon as we saw the quality and scale of the collection, we knew that the only way to do it justice was to treat it as a complete auction in its own right.”
Using an external consultant and its own specialists, the auction house spent a month carefully examining every coin in the collection, the majority of which were solid gold, and were delighted to discover that many of them were of ‘proof’ quality. “Proof coins are the highest quality examples a mint can produce”, explains Associate Director Ashley Jones. “They’re struck using hand finished dies to ensure that the images produced on the metal are flawless, and are produced in very small quantities as a result. Once struck, proof coins are usually encapsulated in a protective case to eliminate the risk of accidental damage – as a result they attract premium prices well in excess of their metal value”.
The auction caught the interest of collectors as soon as the catalogue was released, and absentee bids began coming in immediately. “Having spent over a month working on the collection, it was thrilling to see bids coming in from all over the world so quickly” said Jewellery specialist Amelia Tomkinson, who assisted in cataloguing the collection. “By the time auction day arrived, we’d received bids on almost every lot within the auction, which is quite extraordinary”.
The top selling lot of the day was a George V Official Specimen Set dated 1911, which comprised a Quintuple Sovereign, a Double Sovereign, a Full Sovereign, a Half Sovereign, a Half Crown, a Florin, a Shilling, a Sixpence, a Fourpence, a Threepence, a Two Pence and a One Penny, all within a beautiful red Moroccan leather gilt tooled fitted case. Sought after by collectors online and on the phone, the set finally sold for £14,000 plus fees. This was closely followed by a George VI Official Specimen Set dated 1937, which sold for £12,000 plus fees. Other highlights included an Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Gold Proof Coin Set dated 2002, which made £7000 plus fees, and a George V – Elizabeth II Gold Sovereign Milestones of Her Majesty’s Reign set, which sold for £5500 plus fees.
In addition to coins, medallions also proved to be very popular on the day, as a Victorian Diamond Jubilee 1897 official gold medal sold for £5,000 plus fees. Beautifully depicting portraits of Queen Victoria by G W de Saulles after the portraits by T Brock and W Wyon the medallion was presented within it’s original leather case and was hotly contested by online bidders before being sold to a North of England Collector.
All but five of the lots found new homes, giving the auction an unsold rate of less than 3%. “We were delighted with the auction results”, said Christina. “A 3% unsold rate is fantastic, as is the £1200 average lot value we achieved for our vendor. It goes to show that new to the market single owner collections can attract huge interest and maximise potential value when sold at auction”.
We are now accepting entries into our next Fine Art & Antique Auction. To book a valuation appointment, please call 01948 800202.
