Collector Archives

COINEX UNEARTHED: EXCEPTIONAL FINDS FROM A THOUSAND YEARS OF HISTORY

London , 30th September – 1st October 2025 This September, Spink’s much-anticipated Coinex sale promises not only several high-calibre collections but also a showcase of exceptional artefacts and other detecting finds spanning a millennium of history. These are relics not only of monetary value, but also of profound cultural significance. From the age of Viking […]

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THE MUISCA RAFT AND THE LEGEND OF EL DORADO

Banknotes, Misc

“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

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ALL THE WAY FROM AMERICA

Coins, Misc

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

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THE COINS THAT NEVER WERE: SURVIVORS OF THE 2019 BREXIT “MELTDOWN”

Coins, Misc

“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”

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THE FIRST RESERVE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND BANKNOTE ISSUED

Banknotes, Misc

“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

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MILITARY TELEGRAPHS IN BRITISH BECHUANALAND

Misc, Stamps

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

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IN THE SPRING-TIME, THE ONLY PRETTY RING-TIME

Misc

‘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

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Daikokuten: THE JAPANESE GOD OF WEALTH

Misc

‘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,

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THE HISTORY OF SCOTTISH MONEY

Coins

PART 3 FROM JAMES I TO JAMES V “He also issued gold coins which he named the demy and the half-demy, based on the English half- and quarter-noble and approximately equal in size, though of slightly reduced fineness” Introduction This article continues the story of Scottish money with a survey of the intriguing coin is-

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FORTHCOMING SALE

Stamps

STAMPS FORTHCOMING SALES Spink looks forward to a busy auction schedule from April through May, following the Europhilex International Stamp Exhibition held in Birmingham from 7th to 11th May. Having already offered the British Solomon Islands from the Greenwood collection, Lionheart Part XXI and Michael Medlicott’s Trinidad and Tobago, the Stamp Department launch into their

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