If you want a gold coin to have rarity value, then an example from a monarch whose reign lasted only a couple of years is a good start.

Love or hate Manchester United, it’s fair to say they do enjoy a bit of success. Although the past few seasons have been a relatively lean time, they can still boast 20 league titles, 17 FA and League Cups, three European Cups/Champions Leagues plus a Cup-Winners Cup and Europa League thrown in.

If you are into interior design and are looking for a theatrical flourish then a sale coming up at a Glasgow auction house this Friday (November 17) could be worth a moment of reflection.

“They think it’s all over… it is now!” were the perfectly timed words uttered by TV commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme as England won the 1966 World Cup. Much less well known is that Wolstenholme (1920-2002) had a highly distinguished RAF service record in the Second World War.

Footballer Neil Ruddock’s nickname was Razor Ruddock. Brian Kilcline became Killer Kilcline. Going back a bit further, Ron Harris roved on the pitch as Chopper Harris. Going back a lot further, Billy Wedlock’s nickname was Fatty. Or the India Rubber Man.

Art Deco was a style that epitomised speed and power, wrapped in a sleekness that dominated design from furniture, ceramics and glass to architecture and sculpture.

As noted often recently in Antiques Trade Gazette, successive waves of original American D-Day flags have stormed into salerooms despite their fragile nature, with consignors tempted by the high prices they fetch at auction.

Have you heard of the famous actor Béla Ferenc Dezsö Blaskó? Probably not in that form, but you may know him better as Bela Lugosi. If you collect film posters, you will certainly know his most famous role.

In September 1966, John Graham ‘Mitch’ Mitchell was invited to ‘come and have a play’ with a newly arrived American guitarist in London named Jimi Hendrix.

Football trivia time: who was the last player to score five goals for England in a game – but never played for the national team at Wembley ever again?

Another specialist who used to be at the former Christie’s South Kensington saleroom has found a new role in the auctions world.

“A disgusting object” that may be of “some whimsical interest to an obsessive collector” is how Auberon Waugh described a telescopic ear trumpet as used by his father in his later years. Disgusting he may have regarded it, but far more palatable to auctioneers and dealers are the prices of such objects that collectors are prepared to pay.