Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Honouring Antinous
14 February 2022A three-quarters-length bust of a bare-chested Antinous, the favourite of Hadrian, appears on this medallic coin minted in Mantinea, Arcadia, c.134AD.
Trinidad & Tobago in colour
14 February 2022The Trinidad & Tobago $1000 note, c.1914, is itself a rare beast but this example is a colour proof printed on two sheets by Thomas De La Rue.
‘A tiger in a fight’
14 February 2022Dix Noonan Webb set a record for a British army Victoria Cross on June 23.
Golf medal converted to a brooch more than triples estimate at Mullock’s
14 February 2022This 18ct gold and enamel medal was awarded to Reginald Arthur Whitcombe (1898-1957) for winning the 1936 Open Golf Championship of Ireland.
Welcoming Nelson's protégé Hoste at Morton & Eden
14 February 2022Nelson held his protégé Captain Sir William Hoste KCB (1780-1828) in high esteem.
Hird’s Elizabethan treasures set house record for Spink's coin department
14 February 2022Spink offered 52 coins from one of the ‘lost’ parcels of Alderman Horace Hird (1899-1973), former president of the Yorkshire Numismatic Society.
Una and the Lion coin turns head at St James’s Auctions
14 February 2022The most cherished coin from the reign of Victoria is the 1839 gold £5 piece by William Wyon.
Briot’s pattern unite
14 February 2022The sale at Sovereign Rarities on September 21 included this Charles I (1625-49), silver pattern unite (20 shillings) dated 1630.
Poster fast forwards London to 2026
14 February 2022A 1926 London Transport poster with artwork by Montague Birrell Black (1889-1964) imagining what the capital may look 100 years into the future was offered at Ewbank’s (25% buyer’s premium) in Woking on January 21.
A £5 cameo from George IV
14 February 2022Stamps specialist Harmers is a newcomer to London numismatic sales.
Victorian ‘composting’ toilet invented by rural vicar stars in our pick of five auction highlights sold this week
11 February 2022ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a rare mahogany and cast iron ‘earth closet’ from 1873 designed to ‘return waste to the soil’.
Just what the doctors ordered: a healthy infusion of $10,000
07 February 2022An 18th century teapot was among the stand out items in the sale of the collection of doctors-turned-dealers Wynn A Sayman Antiques.
Reduced returns for Duleep marble
07 February 2022One of the highlights of the April 2007 London Islamic sale series had been this 2ft 4in (74cm) high white marble bust of Maharajah Duleep Singh by neoclassical sculptor John Gibson.
Pick of the week: Designed to make your move a bit quicker
07 February 2022With the advent of modern tournament chess in the Victorian era came the issue of game time.
A steering wheel from a B-50 bomber and 19th century table-top celestial globes are among five lots to watch
07 February 2022With estimates from £250-2500, here are five previews of upcoming items this week.
If we’re not burning coal any more, what about furniture use?
07 February 2022Among the more unusual recent lots at Woolley & Wallis (25% buyer’s premium) was an early Victorian table carved from parrot coal.
Previews: issue 2529
07 February 2022A selection of 11 upcoming lots from auctions taking place around the UK.
Father and son's Cotswolds School furniture collection makes for white-glove auction
07 February 2022A new auction record for Edward Barnsley was among the many highlights of the Minoprio collection of Cotswold School furniture sold by Lyon & Turnbull (25% buyer’s premium).
Futuristic London Transport from 1926 poster stars in our pick of six auction highlights sold this week
04 February 2022ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a rare transport poster from 1926 imagining what London may look like 100 years into the future.
Henry III gold penny is ‘best ever’ coin find
31 January 2022A newly discovered Henry III ‘gold penny’, one of the most fabled coins in all of British numismatics, has sold for £540,000 (plus 20% buyer’s premium).