“The raft not only represents a suppressed culture and a forgotten ceremony, it also marks the beginning of a story rivalling the legend of Atlantis: El Dorado, the fabled lost city of gold.” The reverse of the Colombian 2 Pesos Oro banknote proudly depicts the Balsa Muisca, a votive artefact sometimes referred to as the […]
THE MUISCA RAFT AND THE LEGEND OF EL DORADO Read Article »
A HENRY VIII CUT COIN “The metal detecting bug bit me hard after I found my very first Civil War minnie ball. I remember clearly when I pulled it out of the dirt, seeing this small but powerful instrument of death.” I will begin by sharing my interest in metal detecting and how it came
ALL THE WAY FROM AMERICA Read Article »
“THE UNTOLD STORY OF A REAL LIFE NUMISMATIC “GOLDEN TICKET” “Few however could have predicted the rapidity by which general currency usage would decline domestically, and with it the once-dependable staple of their entire business.” The second decade of the 21st Century is a chapter that few in Britain will forget. From the “Pasty Tax”
THE COINS THAT NEVER WERE: SURVIVORS OF THE 2019 BREXIT “MELTDOWN” Read Article »
“The Number One” For much of the 19th and early 20th centuries, New Zealand’s monetary system was shaped by the now-unfamiliar practice of private trading banks issuing banknotes for public circulation. The Union Bank of Australia, established in 1840 in Petone (then known as Britannia), was the first trading bank in New Zealand. Over a
THE FIRST RESERVE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND BANKNOTE ISSUED Read Article »
THE UNAPPROPRIATED DIE ERA: 1884-1885 Figure 1 -Unappropriated Dies – Die Proofs, 1872While proofs of 19 duties were prepared for use for varying Great Britain revenues, the eight duties shown above were those appropriated for the Military Telegraphs issue in 1884 “In essence De La Rue prepared a set of dies for each value desired
MILITARY TELEGRAPHS IN BRITISH BECHUANALAND Read Article »
‘IN THE SPRING-TIME, THE ONLY PRETTY RING-TIME’ (AS YOU LIKE IT, ACT V, SCENE III) HISTORIC FINGER RINGS AT SPINK, LONDON – APRIL 2025 There’s something a little bit different amongst the lots of the latest Spink Coin sale, in the form of two historic finger-rings. Both are astonishing, recent metal detecting finds which, after
IN THE SPRING-TIME, THE ONLY PRETTY RING-TIME Read Article »
‘Daikokuten embodies Japan’s cultural evolution through his unique and multifarious blend of culture, religion, and philosophy.’ As the excitement of the New Year gives way to the inevitable January blues, many of us find ourselves in an all too familiar slump. Following a season of indulgence, we have full stomachs and empty wallets by spring,
Daikokuten: THE JAPANESE GOD OF WEALTH Read Article »
It was soon clear that with the demands of the ‘day job’, the work on RIC would be frustratingly slow, especially as I was asked to curate a Roman exhibition which was to tour four Continents of the World. It seems a very long time ago, around Christmas 2009, when I was asked to write
Fifteen Years in the Making: RIC V.5 – Carausius and Allectus Read Article »
Numismatic discoveries are a not infrequent occurrence at Spink. Only a cursory flick through decades of our global auction catalogues and printed periodicals testifies to the breadth and depth of Spink’s unparalleled contribution to this most passionate pastime. As we embrace the second quarter of the 21st Century, and evolve as a business and indeed
A Hole New World Read Article »
VERONA: THE LITTLE ROME “There is no world without Verona Walls,but Purgatory, torture, Hell itself ” quote written on plaque beneath bust of Shakespeare near Piazza Bra Verona – perhaps over-shadowed a little by its near neighbour Venice – is an interesting place to visit for a weekend, or longer if you use it as
VERONA: THE LITTLE ROME Read Article »
