Spink’s auction room saw a bidding frenzy today with the sale of Ancient, English & Foreign Coins & Commemorative Medals. The 448 lot sale brought £580,442 with two coins in particular drawing a great deal of attention.
Lot 228, the Russian, Peter the Great, gold medallic coin of 1702 was fought for by eight bidders, three in the room and five on the phone. In the end the coin sold for £92,400, to Dmitry Markov, of Dmitry Markov Coins and Medals, New York, nearly quadrupling its estimate. Struck from the dies for a Half-Rouble to the weight of 7-Ducats, this coin has a fantastic provenance; from the collections of Count Hutten-Czapski and Grand Duke Mikhailovich, one of Russia’s most famous collectors. It is one of seven specimens known.
Excitement mounted again with Lot 428, the celebrated Vigo Five Guineas of 1703, struck from the gold captured from Spanish ships in Vigo Bay. Several collectors both on the phone and in the room drove the price upwards in an attempt to acquire an important piece of history. The hammer finally fell with an anonymous buyer paying £92,400. Only five other examples of this coin have been offered at auction in Britain in the past 45 years.
Other highlights included:
Lot 230 Russia, Peter III, Gold 10-Roubles, 1762 £29,150
Lot 440 Victoria, Proof Set, 1839 gold 5 Pounds £29,150
Lot 345 Eire, Bronze Penny, 1938 £23,400
Lot 250 U.S.A., 10-Dollars, 1799 £9,600
Lot 343 Eire, Florin, 1943 £9,600
Lot 251 U.S.A. 2 ½ Dollars, 1799 £7,300
Lot 405 Charles I, Crown, Briot’s first milled issue £6,380
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