The 1901 Pan-American Exposition
Apr 02 2012

Significant in History and Collecting By Matthew Orsini During the 19th century, across Europe and the Americas, a peculiar and often popular multi-form event emerged that significantly advanced many advertising and entertainment channels that remain popular to this day. That event, often labeled an "exposition", came to prominence as a way to promote a cause, or oftentimes many causes, in a manner that regularly resulted in widespread public attendance. The spectacular nature of these events...

The Gentleman's Magnifying Glass
Mar 31 2012

     

Historic British Coins Part 3
Mar 22 2012

By William MacKay This series of short articles takes as its subject a British coin which neatly enscapulates an important moment in the history of the British Isles.     No.3.' EDWARD DEI GRA REX ANGL Z FRANC D HYB' - EDWARD III CLAIMING THE THRONE OF FRANCE, 1340.  A Noble from the fourth coinage of Edward III, pre treaty period, 1351-61, series G, struck at London, 1356-61, Obverse, king standing crowned facing in ship holding sword and shield with arms of England an...

The Lure of the Penny Black
Mar 12 2012

Practically every stamp collector in the world would like to own a Great Britain 1840 Penny Black. It doesn't matter if you collect stamps from countries from Abu Dhabi to Zululand or anything in-between. The Penny Black is the Mother (therefore perhaps the Two Pence blue is the Father!) of Postage Stamps. However there is much more to the Lure of the Penny Black than the fact that it was the first Postage Stamp in the world, beating off other contenders for the title, such as the...

Top 10 Medals
Mar 10 2012

Since joining the Medal Department at Spink in May 2005 I have researched and catalogued several thousand medal lots- choosing just ten has been a far harder task than I imagined, as each medal group has its own story to tell. I wish I could have included many more. Of course there are also a number of medals that we have sold at Spink over this period that would definitely have made my top ten, apart for the fact that they were catalogued by my colleague Mark- sadly I cannot claim the credit f...

Historic British Coins Part 2
Feb 12 2012

By William MacKay This series of short articles takes as its subject a British coin which neatly enscapulates an important moment in the history of the British Isles.   No. 2.  HAROLD REX INTERFECTUS EST - 1066 and the Norman Conquest of England.  A silver Penny, 1.28g, of Harold II, King of England, January 6th - October 14th 1066, struck at Lewes, Sussex, by the moneyer Oswold. Obverse, crowned, bearded head left, sceptre before, +HALOLD REX ANG, Reverse, +OZPOLD ON LE...

Santa Claus Wasn’t Always Seen as a Symbol of Charity and Generosity...
Dec 04 2011

By Stephen Goldsmith   Santa Claus once appeared on bank notes as a universally accepted symbol of charity and generosity, but did you know that once upon a time there was a five shilling fine for celebrating Christmas? During the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress authorized the printing of the first paper money to be issued by a centralized American government. When the first notes were issued, they were worth their equivalent in Spanish Milled Dollars. By the time the Revolu...

‘Her Majesty for this quarrell is to sustayn a greater warr than ever in any memory of man it hath done’
Nov 18 2011

'Her Majesty for this quarrell is to sustayn a greater warr than ever in any memory of man it hath done'   By Richard Bishop Three extremely fine silver medals, recently acquired by Spink, illustrate with great force and originality the decade or more of constant warfare that was the dominant feature of the closing years of the long reigns of both Elizabeth of England and Philip of Spain. They also provide an opportunity to consider other aspects of life in the rebellious Dutch Provinces...

HC SVNT DRACONES
Nov 18 2011

By Dr. K.A. Rodgers Anyone who thumbed through the catalogue of Spink's recent Hong Kong sale would have observed that pre-republic Chinese paper money is replete with dragons, particularly issues of the Imperial dynasties. There is an excellent reason for this. Dragons were fully paid-up members of the Chinese animal pantheon from the beginning. Their ancestor toed the starting line of the Great Race conducted by the August Personage of Jade to determine the order of animals in the Lu...

Portraits of Greek Coinage - 'Metapontum'
Nov 18 2011

By Robin Eaglen The remains of Metapontum lie on the instep of the tall boot that is Italy. It was founded in the seventh century BC by colonists from Achaea in the north-eastern Peloponnese, as were a number of other settlements in Southern Italy, beginning with Sybaris in 720 and Croton in 708 BC. The fertile soil of the countryside beyond the city was ideal for growing grain and rearing livestock, and resulted in the ear of barley being chosen as the badge of Metapontum. The Augustan geogra...

Top 10 Bonds
Nov 17 2011

Many of our specialists here at Spink have been in this business for decades. They've seen collectables many of us only dream of holding or one day carrying in our own collections. Over time they build a catalogue of knowledge and a book of memories from the smallest to the largest collections with items of little value to items that are more valuable than the GDP of small countries. In this new segment of the Spink magazine we'll be asking our specialists what some of their top pieces have bee...

Portraits of Greek Coinage - 'Perseus'
Nov 03 2011

By Robin Eaglen   Perseus was the last king of Macedon. His father, Philip V named his son after the popular Greek hero, who also figured on the obverse of some of his coins.2 In the course of his long reign (221-179 BC) Philip tried to extend the dominion of Macedon, bringing him into opposition with Rome especially through his alliance with Hannibal in 216 and his attempt to supplant its influence along the eastern shores of the Adriatic.3 The Roman Senate e...

Portraits of Greek Coinage - 'Larissa & Facing Heads'
Jul 12 2011

By Robin Eaglen   Fig A. Fig B.   AR drachm, c. 365-356 BC. Obv. Head of the fountain nymph, Larissa, three-quarters facing l., with freely flowing tresses of hair bound with a fillet above her forehead, wearing earring. Rev. Grazing horse r., with a long tail; left foreleg raised, possibly as a prelude to rolling over. ..A...... above horse and AION below line representing the ground. 6.10g ( 17/19 mm). Die axis 315. Author's collection. Ex Spink, NCirc, F...

Historic British Coins Part 1
Jun 22 2011

By WIlliam MacKay This series of short articles takes as its subject a British coin which neatly enscapulates an important moment in history of the British Isles.      No. 1. 'Whilst I Live, I Hope'- 1648 Pontefract Siege piece and the last days of the Royalist cause.  An octagonal Shilling from the coinages of the English Civil War struck at Pontefract, Yorkshire, whilst  besieged February-March 24th 1649, after the execution of Charles I, in the name of Ch...

The Victoria Cross at Auction Part 3: 2000-2011
Jun 11 2011

The Victoria Cross at Auction Part 3: 2000-2011 By the year 2000 over 260 Victoria Crosses had been offered for sale at auction (many of them on more than one occasion, and in a few cases having previously appeared on a dealer's list). Prices had risen considerably over the years, from the £26 paid by Mr. Holland for the V.C. awarded to Seaman Thomas Reeves at Sotheby's on the 5th May 1884, to the £120,000 (£138,000 including premium) paid by Lord Ashcroft for the V.C. awarded to Flying Office...

Sylloge of Coins of the British Isles
Jun 08 2011

The Norweb Collection - Tokens of the British Isles 1575-1750. Part VIII, Middlesex and Uncertain Pieces. by R.H. Thompson and M.J. Dickinson This volume, covering the county of Middlesex, is the concluding part of the monumental eight-volume catalogue of The Norweb Collection of 17th Century Tokens of the British Isles. The first volume was published in 1984 and subsequent volumes appeared at intervals of roughly four years. It is the largest private collection that has ever been formed, ad...

Banknotes For The Raj
Jun 08 2011

By Dr. K. A. Rodgers  Victoria, Empress of India. Image by Bassano, ex Wikimedia Commons. Paper money tells something of a nation's story. Successive issues provide commentary on a country's evolution. The tale told is by no means restricted to economics. Different note issues reflect changing political circumstances and societal attitudes. They may echo triumphs or disasters, conquests or defeats, strife or stability. It is this way with the issues of India and of British In...

The Herbert Schneider Collection Volume Three Anglo-Gallic, Flemish and Brabantine Gold Coins 1330 1794
Jun 08 2011

By Peter Woodhead The Herbert Schneider collection of gold coins was formed over a period of 50 years by one of the leading experts in the field. The first volume covering English gold coins from 1257 - 1603 was published in 1996, followed by the second volume covering English gold coins from 1603 - 20th century, published in 2002. It is the finest collection in private hands and is outranked only by that of the British Museum. This third volume cataloguing the Herbert Schneider collection is...

Staff Profile - Stephen Goldsmith
Jun 01 2011

Spink is pleased to introduce a new member of the Spink international team, Mr Stephen Goldsmith. Stephen has an incredible history with the world of numismatics and we are honoured to have him join our Spink USA operations in New York. In order to properly introduce Stephen we sat down and asked him a few questions we thought you might want to know the answers to. Without further ado, here's a record of our chat with Stephen Goldsmith from the Spink New York office…   Stephen...

Roman Coins & Their Values Volume IV
Apr 07 2011

By David R. Sear The Tetrarchies & The Rise of the House of Constantine. The Collapse of Paganism & The Triumph of Christianity, Diocletian to Constantine I, AD 284-337. 528 pages, fully illustrated throughout with valuations in £ and US$. This volume contains a comprehensive listing of the Roman coinage of the period AD 284-337 together with background information on the history of each reign and the principal characteristics of its coinage. The catalogue is organized primarily by ru...