diggummup
Gold Member
- Jul 15, 2004
- 17,824
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- Detector(s) used
- Whites M6
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
London-There are few things more romanticized and glorified throughout human history than the discovery of a forgotten and buried treasure,and a recent auction conducted by the London auction house Spink has shown just how valuable a long forgotten relic can be to one who finds it.In their June 29 sale,Spink offered an Edward III double florin coin that had been found by a man prospecting on private land in South London with a metal detector.It garnered an astonishing $841,800 (inclusive of 15% buyer's premium and 17.5% value added tax)-a record price for a British coin.
"We knew there would be huge interest,but this surpassed all of our expectations",Jeremy Cheek,head of Spink Coin Auctions,told BBC News in London.When minted in 1343-44,the coin-known as a "double leopard"because of leopard images embossed on both its obverse and reverse sides-had a face value of 6 shillings.It was the first large gold coin to be minted in England after centuries of silver coins.
Purchased by dealer Ian Goldbart,who is managing director of a global coin fund,the Medieval coin depicting a full-length portrait of Edward III,seated on a throne and holding a sword and scepter,is one of only three known examples.The other 2 were found by school children in 1857,in the river Tyne in northern England.Both are on display in the British Museum in London."The last 2 coins were found 150 years ago,so I doubt I will live long enough to buy the next one,"Goldbart said of his purchase.
The double leopard easily beat the former record for a British coin sold at auction:$425,000.That price was paid for an example of England's first gold penny,minted for the Anglo-Saxon king Coenwulf of Mercia (AD 796-821).
This article came from the July 26 issue of Antique Trader.It was written by Eric Krszjzaniek,Catherine Saunders-Watson contributed. Below is a b/w photo from the article-sorry it's a pic.of a pic.not too detailed probably.
"We knew there would be huge interest,but this surpassed all of our expectations",Jeremy Cheek,head of Spink Coin Auctions,told BBC News in London.When minted in 1343-44,the coin-known as a "double leopard"because of leopard images embossed on both its obverse and reverse sides-had a face value of 6 shillings.It was the first large gold coin to be minted in England after centuries of silver coins.
Purchased by dealer Ian Goldbart,who is managing director of a global coin fund,the Medieval coin depicting a full-length portrait of Edward III,seated on a throne and holding a sword and scepter,is one of only three known examples.The other 2 were found by school children in 1857,in the river Tyne in northern England.Both are on display in the British Museum in London."The last 2 coins were found 150 years ago,so I doubt I will live long enough to buy the next one,"Goldbart said of his purchase.
The double leopard easily beat the former record for a British coin sold at auction:$425,000.That price was paid for an example of England's first gold penny,minted for the Anglo-Saxon king Coenwulf of Mercia (AD 796-821).
This article came from the July 26 issue of Antique Trader.It was written by Eric Krszjzaniek,Catherine Saunders-Watson contributed. Below is a b/w photo from the article-sorry it's a pic.of a pic.not too detailed probably.
