Features

Dix Noonan Webb’s highest-priced lot of 2020 was this Crimean War Naval Brigade Victoria Cross group of four sold for £240,000 on October 15. The estimate was £120,000-160,000.

A record for a British token was set at Dix Noonan Webb on May 26 when this copper coin – the only specimen known in commerce – took £7000 (estimate £400-500).

Weapons proved a highlight of the Lockdales (18% buyer’s premium) Coins, Medals & Militaria auction on January 23-24 held during the third lockdown.

Two iconic Colt pistols were the big money-earners from both sides of the Atlantic in the pre-Christmas arms and armour sales.

Nicolas-Noel Boutet and Anton Vincent Lebeda pistols star at two London auctions.

Provenance can count for a lot when it comes to gun collecting and two names with quite different connotations came up at Holts (25/20% buyer’s premium).

The name Boutet appears on many fine presentation guns.

At Bonhams in London this single-barrelled 28-bore made in 1877 for one of the sons of Prince Duleep Singh reached £20,000.

Baker rifle stands out in Kent saleroom.

The random selection of a place in the line is one of the long-established rituals of English driven game shooting and novel methods continue to emerge.

Boss over-and-under guns from the golden age of London gunmaking have long ranked among the most sought by game shots.

This Victorian dirk – with ensuite knife and fork – sold for 10 times the top estimate, £2000, at McTear’s (24% buyer’s premium) in Glasgow on January 21.

Such was the demand for suits of armour from late 19th and early 20th century collectors that European master armourers were kept hard at work long after the practical need for such protective wear had passed.

Krupp mountain guns made in Nanjing as China modernised come up at Thomas Del Mar auction.

Even the composite parts of weapons now long lost have a value at auction.

How did toy manufacturers get boys in the rather less PC 1960s to play with dolls?

Models, props, scenery and scripts linked to Gerry Anderson emerged for sale at Ewbank’s (25% buyer’s premium) in Send, Surrey at the end of last year.

It was not uncommon in the 18th century for a doll to be presented within its own miniature doll-scaled world.

As with so many other collecting areas recently, the conditions of lockdown – meaning spare money and time for the fortunate – have led to buoyant demand for toys, models and collectables.

The British Toy Auctions (18% buyer’s premium) sale on January 8 in Runcorn included several Pelham Puppets rarities.