Latest News Articles by Tom Derbyshire
Impressive RAF Bomber Command medals of Squadron Leader Sydney Clayton offered at Sheffield Auction Gallery
10 January 2017With the heroics of ‘the few’ in the Battle of Britain more or less guaranteeing auction interest, it is easy to overlook the incredible bravery of bomber crews.
Rare experimental American glass coin sells at Heritage Auctions
09 January 2017The plastic fiver has become a familiar sight in the UK since it was issued last September and this summer the tenner version will follow. It seems unlikely that glass coins will also appear – but that was not the case in the US in 1942.
Pick of the Week: Raise a glass to pair of rare Welsh whisky bottles
07 January 2017IN 1889, Welsh whisky threw the gauntlet down to Scotland in the hope of tasting long-running success.
Lotus car made famous by The Prisoner gears up for Dorset auction
03 January 2017“I am not a number, I am a free man,” was the cry of Patrick McGoohan in TV series The Prisoner. The important number at the Charterhouse auction house on February 12 is £20,000-25,000 - the estimate for a 1963 Lotus Super Seven S2, the model made famous by appearing in that 1960s cult favourite show.
Better plate than never as V&A buys fragile armour
31 December 2016IF you want to imagine what a bulletproof vest might look like if designed in the 16th century, a couple of fascinating pieces of very rare armour bought by the Victoria & Albert Museum give a clue.
Welsh whisky bottles sell for over £14,000 at Carmarthen auction
20 December 2016English wines are steadily gaining a reputation for decent quality, with sparkling styles in particular starting to challenge Champagne as an alternative patriotic option. Back in 1889, it was Welsh whisky throwing the gauntlet down to Scotland in the hope of supping long-running success.
One of the earliest model railway locomotives up at auction in Winchester
19 December 2016Pete Waterman, Neil Young, Roger Daltrey and Peter Snow all do it. Frank Sinatra and Peter Sellers did it. Rod Stewart apparently hires extra hotel rooms on tour to indulge in it. ‘It’ being the innocent and highly popular pastime of model railways.
Vesta match cases fire up auction interest at Lawrences in Somerset
14 December 2016Most collectors have a burning passion. For John and Patricia McKenzie, the items that fired their interest were vesta cases, the small portable boxes made to contain matches and keep them dry.
First European paper money up at auction in Spink in New York
13 December 2016Plastic money has been a bone of contention recently thanks to the strange revelation that the new UK £5 notes include animal fat. But one day the polymer notes will surely be as normal and accepted as the existing paper examples, assuming physical money has not all but disappeared anyway by then.
Very rare Elizabethan jack of plate armour bought by the V&A at Thomas Del Mar auction
13 December 2016If you want to imagine what a bulletproof vest might look like if designed in the 16th century, a couple of fascinating pieces of very rare armour bought by the Victoria & Albert Museum give a clue.
First commercially produced typewriter the Malling-Hansen Writing Ball sells at Cologne auction
12 December 2016As you peruse this story on your computer, smartphone or tablet, take a look at the keyboard on said devices and spare a thought for the Rev Rasmus Malling-Hansen (1835-90).
Zulu War Rorke's Drift 1879 medal sells for record sum at Dix Noonan Webb auction
12 December 2016“Zulus, Sir. Thousands of ‘em” - one of the classic lines from the 1964 film starring Stanley Baker and Michael Caine that brought the heroic defence of Rorke’s Drift to public attention.
RAF Battle of Britain Irvin flying jacket sells for £4600 at C&T auction
09 December 2016Uniforms can be a hard sell at militaria auctions. Medals for example are nice and easy to display, while guns can sit high on the wall or in a cabinet, but what do you do with a full set of battledress unless you happen to be a re-enactor or happen to live in a mansion with lots of room for mannequins?
Medal specialist David Erskine-Hill returns to Spink
09 December 2016Medals specialist David Erskine-Hill has left Dix Noonan Webb to rejoin former employer Spink.
England football goalscoring great Steve Bloomer international caps up for auction at Penzance saleroom
08 December 2016In September last year Wayne Rooney hit his 48th goal for England, overtaking at last Sir Bobby Charlton’s scoring record. But the achievements of a much earlier England star will be celebrated on December 15 thanks to an auction in Cornwall.
Lego HO scale plastic cars roar into Astons West Midlands auction
06 December 2016Star Wars, Action Man and plastic soldiers are just three of the toy collectable fields growing in demand as buyers get all nostalgic about their childhoods. Another biggie in this market is Lego.
Sword presented by grateful passengers saved from pirate attack peril on offer at London auction house Dix Noonan Webb
29 November 2016Besides the danger of a dog bite, delivering the mail is not generally seen as a perilous business. However, as a presentation sword up at auction in London shows, on occasion it can be a matter of life or death.
War of the Worlds film poster from 1953 on offer at Dudley auction
25 November 2016The War of the Worlds 1953 British quad film poster is regarded as a scarce must-have in that collecting market.
Medal Group at auction from “the greatest British aviator”
15 November 2016It is easy to understand the appeal of a Victoria Cross to medal collectors. Likewise, any honours connected with the name ‘Dambusters’ or those awarded to flying ‘aces’ have a high value.
Old London photographs impress at new saleroom
11 November 2016The first two-day auction held at The Cotswold Auction Company’s new Bankside saleroom in Love Lane, Cirencester, clicked with one buyer especially.