Preview: Coins, Tokens & Banknotes 22 November

The forthcoming Coins, Tokens & Banknotes Sale at Tennants Auctioneers, to be held on 22^nd November, will have a range of lots to appeal to all buyers with a strong focus on gold and silver bullion coinage. There are several excellent Royal Mint gold sets, sovereigns, silver proof coins and foreign gold and silver coins. Highlights include a 1966 Churchill-Menzies Gold Medallion Set, struck by Matthey Garrett and sold with case of issue and certificate of authenticity (estimate: £2,800-3,200 plus buyer’s premium), and a 2002 Gold Proof 4-Coin Sovereign Collection issued to mark the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II (estimate: £2,500-3,000).

Collectors of more modern and proof coinage will not be disappointed with numerous commemorative sets, proof sets and collectable decimal coinage including more than a few chances to bid on the sought-after ‘Kew Gardens’ 50p and a large selection of collectable silver proof crowns. Notable lots include a 2017 UK Silver Proof Kilo Coin featuring the Lion of England from the Queen’s Beasts Collection, one of 600 coins issued by The Royal Mint (estimate: £400-600).

There are some nice older and ancient examples, such as a good Celtic Gold Stater, circa 8-41AD of Cunobelin, ruler of the Trinovantes and Catuvellauni tribes and likely minted in Colchester (estimate: £700-800).

This auction also features a robust banknote section, with examples of Bradbury and Fisher issue treasury notes, a large album of Scottish Banknotes, and a very interesting lot featuring an assortment of rare Hudson’s Bay Company Promissory Notes. Comprising two five-shilling notes from 1832, a one shilling note from 1845, and a one-pound note from 1857 (£200-300). Hudson Bay Company series notes were signed and dated twice, first by the company secretary in London, then in Canada at York Factory, Manitoba, where they were countersigned and dated by local officials. These notes were the principal medium of exchange in the Red River Colony (roughly around present-day Manitoba) up until 1870, when the Canadian dollar superseded them. The present notes were believed to have been found circa 1910 in a consignment of fur skins delivered to the company’s head office at Beaver Hill in the City of London.

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