Ancient Coins from the Collection of the Late Robert Erskine

Hon. Robert William Hervey Erskine

The Hon. Robert William Hervey Erskine was born on the 13th October 1930, to Lord John Francis Ashley Erskine and Lady Marjorie Erskine (née Hervey). His early years were spent between London, Madras - where his father served as governor between 1934 and 1940 - and Ickworth House, his mother’s family seat. An education at Eton ensured a good grounding in the arts, aesthetics and history. Coins however, came first. Even as a boy at Summerfields, Robert had begun to collect. From the start this was no mere process of habitual accumulation, but rather a serious academic pursuit. His scholarship at Cambridge - to read archaeology at King’s - was won through a demonstration of his prodigious knowledge of Anglo-Saxon coinage. If only such a thing were still possible today!

Following his studies Robert went on to explore other fields. He founded the influential St George’s Gallery Prints, helping to inspire a revival of the British printmaking scene. Alongside this he pursued an ad-hoc career as a collector-cum-dealer in antiquities. This pursuit culminated in the discovery and reconstruction of the famed Sophilos vase, a signed masterpiece of sixth century Attic black-figure wear. Robert’s eventual sale of the vase to the British Museum (at a price far below market value) reflected his fundamental belief that the beautiful and interesting should be made available to all. It was this same principle that led him to printmaking, which he saw as a ‘democratic media of art’ and, of course, to his career as a television presenter.

To many of a certain generation Robert Erskine will be most familiar as one of Kenneth Clark’s contemporaries; a worldly ‘talking-head’ whose programmes on BBC and ITV sought not only to educate and entertain - aims which were easily achieved through his relaxed, jovial screen presence - but also to espouse the virtues of art and civilisation to all.

The catalogue below represents a selection of the finest ancient coins from the Erskine cabinets, with the remainder set to follow in later sales through these same rooms. In making this selection we have been most fortunate to benefit from the assistance of Robert’s widow, Lindy Erskine. Not only has Lindy lent us her own expertise as an Art Historian, but she has also provided considerable insight into Robert’s view on numismatics, and indeed collecting generally. To Robert, coins were both works of art in miniature and windows into a lost world. They are artefacts that provide a tactile link to the past. Pick up a bronze Drachm of Hadrian [lot 1612] and marvel at its heft, the finery of the portrait and the charming scene on the reverse. One can quite easily image a citizen of Roman Alexandria doing just the same as he passed through a bustling market or sat in a taverna having a quiet cup of wine; a person thousands of years and thousands of miles removed, but made to feel present and relatable by these wonderful objects.

The resulting assemblage as presented here is neither comprehensive nor representative, but we feel it fairly reflects Robert ‘almost infallible’ eye for quality and his spirit for learning and sharing. We hope that our bidders derive as much pleasure from viewing, studying and acquiring the coins that follow as Robert himself did.