56 Prisoners Released From Tibet
Feb 04 2015

Spink London are pleased to be offering a rare MAHARAJA SURENDRA VIKRAM SHAH silver medal in the 25-26 March 2015 auction.   It was issued by the Maharaja Surendra Vikram Shah (1847-81) to soldiers who fought in a campaign between Nepal and Tibet in 1841.  Campaign medals are not difficult to find, but one only has to look at this particular medal to see that it is unusual with its magnificent, if naïve, depiction of the Hindu prince dressed in full regalia. The story behind it...

Rare Silver Dollar Kept as a Talisman from D-Day to Berlin Makes $437,100
Jan 30 2015

Only one pair of dies was used in the production of the 1794 issue. The young nation's first mint had just been established in Philadelphia two years earlier, and its premises spread over two lots on 7th Street between Market and Arch, with the renowned scientist and inventor David Rittenhouse as its director.   Thomas Jefferson's repeated efforts to secure the services of Swiss inventor Jean-Pierre Droz had never born fruit. (Droz had created a new coining process that notably str...

Remote Outpost Sets a World Record
Jan 19 2015

SPINK CHINA, HONG KONG - On 16 January 2015 Spink China kicked off the marathon of fifteen sales held in January only across all Spink offices. The star lot out of the many hundreds of lots in five auction catalogues was the label used in 1917 from the Russian Post Office in Ulankon (Lot 2879). Sent by registered post to St. Petersburg, it is believed that this post office was only opened in 1917 and would have closed shortly after the October Revolution in Russia. This is the only recorded it...

Kings, Empresses, Noblemen . . .
Jan 12 2015

Our 30th January 2015 auction of "Bonds and Share Certificates of the World", to be held in Lugano by SPINK SWITZERLAND, contains a diverse selection of 348 rare and historically important items mainly from Europe and the United States. Amongst the early pieces you will find one of the earliest bonds available to collectors, issued in 1549 in Antwerp (Lot 105) under the Habsburg / Spanish rule of Charles V (1500-1558). During the first Golden Age of Antwerp, the city was the richest town...

Flying Into the Sun . . . From Early Flight to Solar Power
Jan 12 2015

For our 30th January 2015 auction of "Bonds and Share Certificates of the World", to be held in Lugano by SPINK SWITZERLAND, it was worth creating a special section for aviation. We are proud to offer the share of the first airplane company, the 1908 share of the Compagnie Générale de Navigation (Lot 95). This French company was the first to use the new invention from the famous American Wright brothers, the world's first successful fixed-wing aircraft. In 1906 Orville and Wilbur Wright s...

Last Post from Remote Russian Outpost
Dec 19 2014

On 18 January 2015 Spink China will be offering for sale "Fine Stamps and Covers of China and Hong Kong".   Amongst the highlights is a highly important cover of Mongolian Postal History (Lot 2879). This address label used in 1917 is from the Russian Post Office in Ulankom. It was sent by registered post to St. Petersburg. It is believed that this post office was only opened in 1917 and would have closed shortly after the October Revolution in Russia. This is the only recorded item of ma...

New World Record Price for a Tudor Coin Achieved at Spink
Dec 19 2014

On 18th December 2014, Spink London sold two superb gold Tudor Sovereigns of Henry VII and Henry VIII for a combined price of £732,000 (incl. premium). As a result Spink now hold the new world record for the highest price realised for a Tudor coin at auction.   Victor of the Battle of Bosworth, Henry VII, 1485-1509, issued the auction highlight (Lot 540). This type III sovereign, a masterpiece of renaissance art, is vaunted as one of the finest of the issue. It sold for £372,000 agains...

The First of America's Silver Dollars on Sale at Spink USA
Dec 17 2014

The first of America's iconic Silver Dollars will be on sale at Spink USA on 27 January 2015. It will also be available for viewing at the FUN Show in Florida from Thursday January 8 to Sunday January 11 2015. Late in 1794, the first U.S. silver dollar was introduced. These lovely dollars - dame Liberty, her hair flowing, on one side; a rustic eagle in a charming display on the other - would find their way into few pockets and purses; a mere 1,758 pieces were minted. Obverse Si...

The Fantastic Journey of a Family Letter During a Time of War Across Continents
Dec 11 2014

The 7th December 1941 is etched in the minds of millions of people across the world in terms of Pearl Harbour. Within the next year Japanese forces had conquered a vast tract of territory in the region; Hong Kong, Singapore,  Malaya, Burma, Thailand, Borneo, Java, Sumatra, the other islands making up the Dutch East Indies (DEI), Wake Island, Guam and the Philippines had all fallen.   The Philippines was the last major country to fall to the Japanese. When they landed on Luzon, the...

Father and Son The Tudors to Star as Sovereigns in Spink London Coin Sale
Dec 10 2014

On 17th and 18th December 2014, Spink and Son will be holding their second December coin sale. It is  held over two days with ancient Greek, Roman, Islamic and modern world coins on the first day, and Anglo-Saxon, Medieval, Tudor and Stuart English coins as well as a few Scottish and Irish coins, and modern British coins and medals on the second day.   But the stars of the show are the two superb gold Tudor Sovereigns of Henry VII and Henry VIII.   The gold Sovereign still...

Exceptional Survivors Surface at Spink Banknote Auction
Nov 27 2014

Lot 1179 - Bank of England, J.G.Nairne, £5, 1914. This note is a remarkable survivor with an equally amazing story.  This 1914 £5 note, just over 100 years old at the time of writing, was in the pocket of Lord Montagu of Beaulieu when the passenger liner SS Persia was sunk by a German submarine on 30th December 1915.  Lord Beaulieu was picked up from the water along with many other survivors, although famously, his mistress did not survive.  The papers ran with the story for man...

Rare Scottish FORCED Loan Document Raised To Defeat The Royalist English During The Civil War
Nov 25 2014

On 28th November 2014 Spink London will offer for sale one of only two known existing documents issued to raise money for a Scottish invasion of England, estimated at £4,000 - 5,000.  Lot 383 This certificate for 600 merks (£400) was issued to pay for the troops, drawn from Scottish Covenanters, who joined with Cromwell's forces to help defeat Charles I. Printed with hand date insertion of 22nd August, 1644. "Forced" loans were a common way of raising money for both sides during...

Medals Soar at Spink Auction
Nov 21 2014

On 20th November, Spink London held an auction of historically important Orders, Decorations, Campaign Medals and Militaria. The auction, comprised of 500 Lots, generated significant interest in a number of important medals and medal groups which resulted in remarkable prices. At the forefront of this successful auction were the decorations and medals awarded to Lieutenant P.P. 'Clem' Clements of the Parachute Regiment and X Troop 11 SAS, one of the most highly decorated members of the airb...

Spink to Auction the Medals to One of Britain’s Most Decorated Airborne Soldiers
Nov 11 2014

On 20th November 2014, Spink London will hold its third auction of Orders, Decorations, Campaign Medals & Militaria in 2014. At the forefront of a diverse 500 lots of British and Foreign Orders, Decorations and Medals, are the medals awarded to Lieutenant P.P. 'Clem' Clements of the Parachute Regiment and X Troop 11 SAS, one of the most highly decorated members of the airborne forces, of which he had been a founding member. Lot 9 Estimate £30,000 - £40,000   On the outbreak of W...

Exceptional Collection of Islamic & Indian Coin Offered By Spink
Oct 24 2014

An exceptional collection of over 1200 Islamic coins will be offered in auction by Spink London on 2nd December 2014. Carefully chosen for their rarity, historical importance and aesthetic quality, the collection encompasses the entire Islamic world and chart back to earliest period of Byzantine influence through to the early years of the 20th Century. Commenting upon the rare coinage of the Umayyad, Nasrid, Fatimid, Ottoma and Qajar dynasties, Spink Specialist, Barbara Mears, said; "The auct...

Spink London Breaks the World Record for a Single Australian Item in Auction
Oct 16 2014

Today, 16th October 2014, Spink London broke the world record for a single Australian philatelic item in an auction of Australian Commonwealth from the Vestey Collection; a corner block of the prepared but never issued, Edward VIII 2d. stamps.  Quoted by Spink Specialist, Nick Startup, as "one of the most prized rarities in all Australian Philately", the famed sheet realised a fantastic £240,000. The legacy of these stamps began in Australia, 1936. The Governor of Victoria, Lord Huntingf...

Spink Breaks Six World Records in One Auction
Oct 15 2014

Spink has yet again reinstated itself as the world's premier auction house by breaking six world records for Middle Eastern postal history within a single auction. Many incredible results from the auction of "Indian Postal Agencies in the Persian Gulf Area, The Alan Parsons Collection", 10th October 2014, achieved hugely impressive prices that surpassed estimates by the thousands. One of the items to do so was one of the finest of the few covers known from Muscat (Lot 2183) with the "23" Dupl...

Spink China Auctions Historical Philately
Oct 11 2014

Following the outstanding auction of Indian Postal Agencies in the Persian Gulf Area from Alan Parsons, Spink China held an auction of diverse selection of stamps, surcharges and postal history dating back to Imperial China. From the huge catalogue on offer, one of the many historically important items was the 1980 Year of the Monkey from the People's Republic of China in a complete sheet of eighty (Lot 869). This fine sheet is surpassed its estimate and achieved HK$1,200,000. Lot 869 Pr...

Spink China Breaks New Records for Middle East Material
Oct 10 2014

On 10th October 2014, Spink China held an eventful evening sale offering the remarkable collection of Indian Postal Agencies in the Persian Gulf Area assembled over many years by the well-known collector and student of this area; the late Alan Parsons FRPSL. The majority of lots achieved incredible prices that surpassed estimates by the thousands. Setting new records for Middle East material, Spink raised the bar to a new level within this genre of stamp collecting. Amongst the many highlight...

Iconic Banknotes Gain Equally Impressive Prices at Spink
Oct 02 2014

From the 30th September until the 2nd October 2014, Spink London held its flagship auction of World Banknotes for this year. Over the three days, an astonishing catalogue of over 2200 lots was auctioned to achieve numerous impressive results, many well above their pre-sale estimate. The first two days were devoted to material from a multitude of sources. Highlights included a 50 piastres note from the National Bank of Egypt (Lot 482).  This early note from 1899 includes the exceptionally...