News & Blog

Of interest? I RECEIVED an interesting letter just before Christmas, it was from a gentleman who told us that it was “depressing to read articles every month of people buying items for hundreds of thousands of pounds with limited or no coverage for other collectors like me”. Now, I have to...

Too high? I RECEIVED an interesting letter just before Christmas. It was from a gentleman who told us that it was, “Depressing to read articles every month of people buying items for hundreds of thousands of pounds with limited or no coverage for other collectors like me”. Now, I have to object...

Just for fun THESE days, it’s quite common to find media outlets talking about modern coins, usually in relation to how much somebody has listed a coin for online, with headlines such as “Rare 50p selling for £5,000— have you got one in your pocket?”. However, it is less usual to find ancient...

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON WELL we made it, we finally got to the end of a full year without any Covid-related lockdowns! Certainly, things aren’t “back to normal” completely, Covid is still around, and it sometimes feels as if we’re “waiting for the other shoe to drop” and living permanently under...

An odd year indeed AS we watch 2022 draw to a close, I can’t help but reflect on what a very odd year it has been. The first year since 2020 with no lockdowns has meant that coin shows are again open and auctions can have live bidders attend once more, but in reality things are not what they...

Looking forward THE passing of Her Majesty was a sad event, made no less so than it was, to a certain extent, expected given her age. The fact that she hadn’t seemed ill or infirm added, I think, to our sense of shock and loss but few of us were truly surprised. Indeed, after the initial news...

Old and new IT WAS with great sadness that we learned of the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, on Thursday, September 8. We had, of course, already gone to press with the October issue when we heard of Her Majesty’s passing and now, nearly a month later, we find ourselves already looking...

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II 1926–2022 BY the time you read this editorial, millions upon millions of words will have been written about Her Majesty, about her life and her legacy. Newspapers, magazines and websites will have column after column dedicated to her. Television and radio will...

On Display A RECENT trip to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard to research an article for our sister publication MEDAL NEWS saw me visiting not only Nelson’s Flagship HMS Victory (sadly not quite as splendid as she was when I last went to Portsmouth, she’s currently undergoing repairs and is under...

Very little we can say here. We'll publish full tributes to to Her Majesty in both magazines in due course. All we'll say now is RIP ma'am. And thank you. 

Heading north FOLLOWING the editorial in last month’s MEDAL NEWS about the Orders & Medals Research Society (OMRS) Convention and our decision not to attend (mainly because of an unfortunate clash with Coinex), a number of readers have come forward to comment on the event—some favourable, some...

Perfectly encapsulated? THANK you to all who have sent in your comments regarding this “Editorial”; so far we seem to have a 50/50 split on whether it’s to be two columns or remain as one, so we’ll keep checking the post bag for the deciding votes! As to topics that I haven’t yet covered, well...

The most recent MEDAL NEWS features the splendid 1891 Thobal VC group which we state is a "British Auction Record" but, of course, it isn't! It's a record for an army VC but not a record overall.  Apologies must go to Morton & Eden who actually hold the record having sold the "Q ship" VC DSO**...

It's here! The 11th edition of the Banknote Yearbook -is with us now.   To order your copy, just click here for details

Stolen during a burglary in Hertfordshire recently:   Worshipful Company of Tylers and Bricklayers’ Renter Warden’s Badge Inscribed on reverse ‘ ‘Worshipful Company of Tylers and Bricklayers’ and ‘Renter Warden’ on a shield Waterloo medal issued to John Hamilton of the First Regiment...