Medal

Despite the near absence of face-to-face trading, 2020 was a record year for London’s coins and medals auction houses with combined total sales just shy of £53m.

The FA Cup proved a happy hunting ground for Norman Whiteside in his playing days and at auction many years later the competition was still proving to be a big winner for him.

A gold winner’s medal awarded for the 1893 FA Cup – Wolverhampton Wanderers’ first major trophy – sold for £8000 at Mullock’s (20% buyer’s premium) on April 29-30.

A First World War medal fashioned from a Mexican eight reales coin was an unusual feature of a group sold at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood (23% buyer’s premium) on February 19.

The medal awarded to Celtic footballer Steve Chalmers who scored the winning goal as they became the first British club to win the European Cup in 1967 is coming to auction.

With tripartite appeal to football fans of England, Wales and – most importantly as it turned out – of Millwall FC, a historic shirt was a winner at Hansons’ ( 20% buyer’s premium) sporting sale.

A reminder of football’s early days, when huge crowds watched teams from the Scottish league playing counterparts from England, this 15ct gold medal with enamelled Scottish lion rampant was a hit when offered in its spiritual home of Glasgow by McTear’s (24% buyer’s premium).

A rare photographic postcard sold via thesaleroom.com at a surprise £850 (estimate £30-50) at Toovey’s (24.5% buyer’s premium) in Washington, West Sussex on October 30.

A Glasgow bidder in the room secured a Scottish Cup medal won in 1923 by a player from the green and white half of the Old Firm.

Harold Hardman’s journey from amateur footballer and solicitor to chairman of Manchester United in the era of the Busby Babes is a fascinating story in itself. But a medal coming up for auction in Oxford adds even more appeal.

The footballing power of mighty George Brown led to his nickname of ‘Bomber’ decades before the title went to Gerd Müller. Brown’s glory days were with Huddersfield Town FC, a power in the land 90 years ago.

Spink medals specialist David Erskine-Hill is leaving to take over as Lord Ashcroft’s medals curator on the retirement of Michael Naxton.

Originally due to be hosted by Rome, the 1906 eruption of Vesuvius meant that London was a late replacement to hold the fourth modern Olympiad in 1908.