15 October 2021
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Two gold halfpennies dating from the late 18th century from the important Soho Mint, which was created by Matthew Boulton in 1788 in his Manufactory in Handsworth, West Midlands sold for £27,280 and £23,560 at a recent Dix Noonan Webb auction.
Part of the Ian Sawden Collection of British Coins, the Collection, which was 97.6% sold, fetched £353,853 against a pre-sale estimate of more than £200,000.
Comprising 208 coins spanning eight monarchs from George I to George VI (1727-1952), the majority of the coins were from the reigns of George III and Queen Victoria.
The highest price of the sale was for a gold Restrike Pattern Halfpenny dating from 1788 and the reign of George III (1760-1820), which sold for £27,280 to a dealer in the UK [lot 38]; while another example from 1799 sold for £23,560 to a collector in Japan [lot 64].
A 1797 Cartwheel proof gold Penny from the reign of George III that was decorated with a laureate bust wearing a wreath with 10 leaves sold for £24,800 to a UK dealer. The coin was once in the Collection of King Farouk and is believed that only one other is known to exist [lot 19].
The Collection also included a variety of Victorian proof florins with an example from 1848 - one of 12 examples in the sale - selling for £16,120 to collector in the USA against an estimate of £5,000-7,000 [lot 117], while an extremely rare Proof Florin dating from 1862 realised £11,780. This was one of two in the sale and was also estimated at £5,000-7,000. It was bought by a dealer in the UK [lot 132].
Following the sale, Peter Preston-Morley, Head of Coin Department at Dix Noonan Webb, commented:
"Mr Sawden's coins were very well received, especially the George III and Victorian patterns and proofs, and have now found new homes as far apart as Macau in the East and the US in the west. Pleasingly, the majority were acquired by buyers based in the UK.”
