Coins, Tokens and Historical Medals

Theatre and Entertainment, HAYMARKET, King’s Theatre, 1793, engraved silver, crowned arms in Garter, kings theatre above, jany. 1793 below, back named (Mrs Sleigh with a Friend), 33mm, 10.19g (W 276, this piece; D & W –). Graze in obverse field, otherwise very fine and extremely rare £300-400

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Tickets and Passes of London from the David Young Collection.

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Provenance: Bloomsbury Auction, 26 September 2005, lot unspecified.

Originally built as the Queen’s Theatre by Sir John Vanbrugh in 1705, the theatre was renamed for the King in 1714 and became Her Majesty’s Theatre in 1837. Established as a regular opera house under Handel, it burnt down in 1789 but reopened in 1791. A further fire in 1867 led to a second shutdown and it was not reopened until 1877; the original was demolished in 1896