Spink has announced details of its forthcoming Ancient, British, Foreign Coins and Commemorative Medals auction in London later this month.
The sale will offer rare and important examples spanning thousands of years, many consigned from important private collections and appearing at auction for the first time in generations.
Amongst the most notable British coins on offer will be a 1705 Queen Anne pre-Union draped bust Guinea, estimated at £15,000-£20,000; a 1714 George I, Prince Elector type Guinea valued at £12,000-£15,000; a 1726 George I decimo tertio, laureate bust Five-Guineas estimated at £9,000-£11,000; an 1831 William IV bare head proof Crown priced at £10,000-£12,000; and a 1656 Oliver Cromwell laureate head Broad valued at £15,000-£20,000.
The sale will also include the third offering from what’s been described as "one of the finest collections of Polish coins to come on the market in recent years". Assembled by a Polish doctor living in England after the war, the collection features coins acquired from important auctions in Europe and America during the 1950s and 1960s, which then remained hidden for decades.
Highlights from the collection include a gold Sigismund III Vasa crowned, draped and cuirassed bust 5-Ducats estimated at £20,000-£30,000; a gold Sigismund III Vasa crowned and armoured bust Ducat from Lithuania, valued at £20,000-£30,000; and a gold John II Casimir draped and cuirassed bust 3-Ducats Donative, estimated at £10,000-£15,000.
Amongst the standout lots in the Ancient coins section are a collection of early Roman bronze coins from the fourth and third centuries B.C., the likes of which have not crossed the auction block in London in many decades. Remarkably rare and in good condition, the coins are led by a Roman Republic (c.235 BC), Æ cast As, showing the head of Roma wearing a Phrygian helmet right, estimated: £2,800-£3,500.
Spink’s Ancient, British, Foreign Coins and Commemorative Medals sale takes place in London on March 22-23.
