THE HETHERSETT COLLECTION OF CROWNS AND HISTORICAL MEDALS EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS AND FETCHES £184,000 AT NOONANS

A Single Owner collection of crowns and historical medals was sold at Noonans Mayfair on Thursday, June 27, 2024. Titled The Hethersett Collection, it fetched £184,000 and was 100% sold with every lot finding a buyer. It had had a pre-sale estimate of £145,000.

The Collection was being sold by a descendant of the Collector and comprised 166 lots. The highest price of the sale was paid for a rare and very attractive proof crown from the reign of William IV (1830-1837), dating from 1831 which sold for a hammer price of £30,000 against an estimate of £15,000-£20,000. It was sold to a continental buyer [lot 128].

Following the sale, Coin Specialist Bradley Hopper said: “The 1831 proof was a fantastic coin, and beautifully preserved.”

Other notable lots included an Eight Testerns or Dollar struck during the reign of Elizabeth I which achieved a hammer price of £8,000 from an estimate of £5,000-£6,000 [lot 6].

As Mr Hopper added: “Coined in 1600/1 for the first voyage of East India Company, these large coins proved remarkably unpopular with local traders in the East Indies. The subsequent fate for most of these coins would appear to have been the melting pot – perhaps via the factory at Bantam – although a few worn specimens have survived to the present day. Examples are rare and represent an evocative reminder of the spirt of that age. As such they are very popular with collectors, with this example being purchased by a specialist collector in America.”