Spink & Son, UK-London

[bsa_pro_ad_space id=4]

27-06-2016 – 01-01-1970

Auction 16020

The Academic Collection of Lord Stewartby Part 2

On June 28, 2016, the second part of Lord Stewartby’s collection will be offered for sale. This auction, with more than 500 lots, features pennies and their fractions as well as Irish coins and Continental imitations.

Earlier in the year Spink sold Part 1 of Lord Stewartby’s vast collection, and the time has come to sell the second part. The collection, being offered across five sales, is one of the most extensive and important collections of English coins to come on the market in recent times and the catalogues alone will become works of reference in their own right. On the 28th June 2016, Spink’s London auction room will see the second part formed of over 500 lots. The sale is predominately formed of pennies and their fractions together with Irish coins and Continental imitations. Many of the coins were also acquired from some of the great collections of the past so they come with impressive provenances.

Emphasis has been greatly placed on the fact that this is an ‘academic’ collection; indeed this sale includes one of the most comprehensive gatherings of early medieval English pennies to go to auction this year. For the penny collector, this is not an auction to be missed. Pennies in all types of conditions and variations from all of the kings of England from Henry II to Edward II are included.

Lot 714: Edward I (1279-1307), new coinage, penny, London. N. 1011; S. 1381; Stewartby p.171, Ib. Creased and straightened, extremely rare. Estimate: £600-800.

But to just pick one example, lot 714 is one of the finest in the collection, an Edward I (1279-1307) Penny minted in London, an extremely rare coin.

Lot 454: Henry II (1154-1189), ‘short cross’ coinage, 1180-89, penny, Wilton. N. 962; S. 1343; Stewartby Ia2. Darkly toned with slightly pitted surfaces, almost very fine, very rare. Estimate: £350-450.

It should be mentioned that for mint collectors, this will be a very important auction, and a once in a lifetime opportunity. A vast amount of mints are present amidst the ranks of pennies, halfpennies, farthings, groats etc. In this respect, lot 454 is of particular interest. It is a Henry II (1154-1189), ‘Short Cross’ penny ca. 1180-89, minted in Wilton, a very rare mint. This important coin is actually struck from dies from the Winchester mint and the reverse has had the last letter of the mint signature changed from N to L. This was a result of the major fire at the Winchester mint in July 1180 following which the mint temporarily moved to Wilton, thus providing dating evidence for the various early short cross issues.

The range of material on offer means that there is truly something for every collector and, in his own words, Lord Stewartby said: “The only sad thing about a collection such as this is that it would be impossible for an interested amateur, I was, to put together today”.

Please find the entire online auction catalogue here.

Further details of the forthcoming auctions can be found on the firms website, and for more information about the pennies themselves, Lord Stewartby’s own book, “English Coins 1180-1551”, is published and sold by Spink.