A recent discovery by one of our experienced valuers, Alastair Meiklejon during a Walk-Through Valuation,  led to an exceptional financial opportunity for our client, highlighting the crucial importance of the need for everyone to have a valuation and greater understanding of their assets.

The item, part of an inherited collection, had never been insured and was presented to Alastair alongside several other pieces during the assessment. The owner, unaware of its true value, had initially dismissed it as insignificant.

However, due to Alastair’s sharp attention to detail, this valuable asset was uncovered, turning what could have been an overlooked piece into an exciting opportunity, weeks of discovery and a big decision for our client.

Read on to discover Alastair’s account of this remarkable find.

“If there is a specific thing that fills me with an equal mix of terror and expectation it’s an unchecked or unloved box/bag of coins….

While the market for coin collecting seems to have become less popular over the last few years, it is clear that amongst the higher echelons of the hobby – it has boomed – with the rarest of coins hitting the highest prices ever known.

This brings me to one of my favourite encounters with coins, or in fact for any items I have dealt with – and it happened earlier this year.

It happened during a Walk Through Valuation – a brilliant product that presents a great option for clients to get a good overview of the items they have in their property, without needing to have a full valuation. While it doesn’t offer such an in-depth report, it does cover a lot within the three or so hours needed to complete it, and this was one such valuation that was worth its weight in gold.

And, as I was to discover, this was worth far more than that…

The client presented me with a box containing a few gold coins, and whilst this isn’t unusual, there was a good collection of American Double Eagles. These are usually considered to be a pretty good find in most valuations, however there was more at the bottom of the box.

There in an unassuming taped-up box, with ‘Polish Money’ scribbled on the tape, was what could well be one of the biggest numismatic discoveries of the last decade.

King Sigismund III of Poland and Lithuania ruled from 1587-1632, and like all good leaders, autocrats and despots – he loved a gold coin with his face on it, usually to commemorate a battle or something along those lines.

One of these such coins was a 10 ducat piece, one of the most valuable pieces of its time and usually given as an award to dignitaries or important people to the crown. This specific coin has been described as commemorating ‘The Siege of Moscow’ and ‘Treaty of Dywilino’ and was minted in 1618.

So, if you can picture the racing heart and brain overload when before me, in a small brown box was one of these coins. The client was from a Polish family who had to come to Britain in the 1930s following Nazi persecution, and sat me down to tell me the history of the coin, and the family.

Whilst I cannot give too much away, the heart-wrenching story of something that was all too common less than a hundred years ago is still fresh in my mind to this very day, and in my mind adds to the historical value, if not the financial value.

So, what happened next?

After discussion with the client and authentication from one of the most knowledgeable coin academics in the world, it was decided that for them to keep the coin would be too much of a risk and the part it could play in changing the lives of the owners was too much to ignore.

The coin was featured as the final lot in Spink’s Coinex auction in London on September 26th. With nearly 700 items up for sale, it was a lengthy auction, but this coin stole the spotlight. Bidding opened robustly at £85,000 online, even before the live auction kicked off. However, what followed exceeded all expectations. Not only did the final bid shatter the top estimate, but it also set a new world record; it was the most valuable Polish coin to sell at auction! The coin ultimately sold for an astounding £130,000, delivering an unforgettable result for the client.”

 

You can watch the moment the gavel went down here: