Collectables

The term ‘collectables’ (or collectibles) encompasses a vast range of items in fields as diverse as arms, armour and militaria, bank notes, cameras, coins, entertainment and sporting memorabilia, stamps, taxidermy, wines and writing equipment.

Some collectables are antiques, others are classed as retro, vintage or curios but all are of value to the collector. In any of these fields, buyers seek out rarities and items with specific associations.

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Great Scots regalia on offer at auction

13 March 2026

Georgian regalia from two famous Scottish regiments was sold by Railtons (20% buyer’s premium) in Wooler, Northumberland, on February 20.

Books and works on paper auction calendar, March 17 to April 8, 2026

13 March 2026

Our regular listing of books and works on paper sales

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Medal man Mark Smith interview: how keeping it real is key to understanding this market

13 March 2026

Medals expert familiar to millions through the Antiques Roadshow chats about his latest book telling a very personal story.

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Peninsular War medal with clasps for nine actions underlines a soldier's dangerous service

13 March 2026

A medal with nine clasps from a soldier who was wounded in the head and twice in the thigh during the Peninsular War stood out in a recent sale held by Stanley Gibbons Baldwin’s (23% buyer’s premium).

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Not on the front line – but first rate gallantry medals are still highly collectable

13 March 2026

Latest result for a ‘not in the face of the enemy’ award underlines how such honours have become a popular collecting field

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‘Ammunition Smith’ Rorke’s Drift medals coming up for sale in London

13 March 2026

If you look closely at both Lady Butler and Alphonse de Neuville’s paintings of what is probably the most famous British colonial action of the 19th century – Rorke’s Drift – you can pick out a man with a long, thick red beard wearing a blue tunic.

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Under siege in the First Boer War and proud of an improvised flag

13 March 2026

Despite the brief cataloguing of lot 129 in the Ellis Willis & Beckett (21.5% buyer’s premium) sale, the £4200 hammer price on February 17 indicated that bidders had fought it out for something special.

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City of London salutes Arctic explorer Ross with a freedom box

13 March 2026

A piece of British naval history and polar exploration history appeared at Millea Bros (25% buyer’s premium) in Boonton, New Jersey.

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Late recognition for those who served in the dangerous and freezing Arctic convoys

13 March 2026

Following Operation Barbarossa, Germany’s invasion of Russia, Winston Churchill proposed the Arctic Convoys to deliver supplies to the Soviet Union via Iceland.

Detmold illustrations for The Jungle Book

Rediscovered Jungle Book watercolours make £100,000 at Roseberys

11 March 2026

Two ‘lost’ illustrations from a celebrated edition of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book sold for a combined £100,000 at south London saleroom Roseberys on March 10.

Marbles In Box

How Sir Barnes Wallis found his marbles and created the Bouncing Bomb for the Dambusters

06 March 2026

Set of marbles used in experiments by the renowned inventor ahead of Operation Chastise stars in a remarkable collection coming up for auction in West Sussex

Flower by James Bateman

Forum Auctions to sell last stock from Dutch dealership

06 March 2026

With the recent retirement of Allard Schierenberg and Jeanne van Bruggen, the remaining stock of Dutch dealership Antiquariaat Junk will be sold at auction.

John Russell Taylor sale online

John Russell Taylor books sale starts online

06 March 2026

The Private Library Book Company is offering for sale online the library of John Russell Taylor (1935-2025), a collection of over 20,000 books, many by the renowned author and critic himself.

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On a single passage to India: a successful debut sale dedicated to the subcontinent

06 March 2026

Inaugural Forum standalone auction achieves impressive results in south London

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Mouseman furniture finds fans in two auctions

06 March 2026

A Mouseman single wardrobe with panelled adzed decoration sold for £7400 against a guide of £4000-6000 at Summersgills (18% buyer’s premium) in Easingwold, North Yorkshire.

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Going, going, gone with a bang: early Christmas crackers at auction

06 March 2026

A decade ago V&A curators used an X-ray to discover what was inside a vintage Christmas cracker made in the 1920s by the Tom Smith company without having to actually pull it. This revealed a small chocolate.

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Vintage cameras that turn bidders’ heads in salerooms

06 March 2026

Contrasting contraptions both sell for strong five-figure sums in salerooms north and south

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Praise be to Codd: Bulb neck bottle sells in Warwick

06 March 2026

It has been estimated there are between 500 and 1000 different types of marble-in-neck mineral water bottles based on the famous 1872 patent by Hiram Codd.

Märklin carousel

Märklin carousels are money-spinners at German auction

06 March 2026

While two early Märklin carousels went round and round, the bids at Hohenstaufen (24.5% buyer’s premium) in Göppingen went up and up.

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Interested in collecting jukeboxes? Give it a Wurlitzer

06 March 2026

The Wurlitzer Company was founded in the US in 1856 and the Centennial 2000 jukebox model was created to commemorate the centenary anniversary.

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