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.

Courts hand down sentences to auction house raiders

16 September 2013

The organiser of a string of burglaries that targeted various auction houses claimed a Klotz violin taken from a saleroom and then discovered at his home had actually been found in a skip.

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Rare views of the world champion’s defeat in Cuba turn up for sale in Plymouth

16 September 2013

One of the most interesting things about auctions is how unusual objects from one side of the world come to be sold on the other, often with no apparent link.

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Toy collection slides in to West Midlands saleroom

09 September 2013

More than 2000 objects from a Dorset toy museum will come under the hammer in November.

Bard folio sale stop

09 September 2013

The University of London is reported to have cancelled plans to auction off a rare set of four early Shakespeare folios to raise funds for further acquisitions.

Brontë letter doubles estimate in Edinburgh

09 September 2013

An autographed letter signed from Charlotte Brontë doubled its estimate to make £24,000 at Lyon & Turnbull’s September 4 rare books, maps and manuscripts sale in Edinburgh.

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Photo album reveals a bloody expedition into Tibet

19 August 2013

The battleground is Tibet. Invading troops massacre poorly armed peasant soldiers standing bravely in their way, doomed to defeat against a much more powerful, modern opponent.

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Hearts football medals taken

19 August 2013

Four historic football medals and a gold watch belonging to Heart of Midlothian FC were stolen by a thief who appears to have strolled in through an open door.

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Monster total for original Frankenstein poster

06 August 2013

Heritage Auctions of Dallas, Texas, are claiming a new auction record for an insert movie poster.

Coin dealer killed

05 August 2013

The British Numismatic Trade Association is in mourning after member Giuseppe Miceli was killed at his home in Northampton.

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The ‘finest fighting’ medal takes £115,000 at Spink

05 August 2013

A medal given to a remarkable sailor who was given the honour of conveying Napoleon to exile in Elba in 1813 as a reward for his daring exploits in the Royal Navy has made a record price.

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A second saleroom appearance for the original GI Joe

02 August 2013

For the second time in a decade, on August 10, Heritage in Dallas will offer for sale the prototype of the original GI Joe figure.

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Dresser prototype takes £19,000 bid

29 July 2013

The series of electroplated teapots designed by Christopher Dresser and made by James Dixon & Sons in 1879 rank among the great moments of the Aesthetic movement – and 19th century art as a whole.

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Fangio's Mercedes roars to £17.5m record

29 July 2013

In 1987 the BBC interviewed Daimler-Benz’s former chief engineer, Rudi Uhlenhaut, and asked the 81-year-old about the firm’s post-War return to serious motor racing in the 1954-55 period.

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Why the reward for progress at maths in 1818 was £11,000

18 July 2013

We can be too quick to write the obituary of the passionate old-school collector. Thankfully, they are still with us.

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Cache of Victorian farthings at Salisbury auction

15 July 2013

An extraordinary cache of 2794 Victorian farthings, all dated 1890, of the same type, and generally all in glorious mint state, have been consigned as lot 680 to Woolley & Wallis’s upcoming Silver and Collectors’ sale in Salisbury.

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Fine result for Eton College

08 July 2013

Eton College is now the new home of the world’s most expensive football programme.

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The $175,000 comic used as wall insulation

08 July 2013

David Gonzalez, a builder and decorator in Hoffman, Minnesota, bought a small house on his own account for $10,100 and set to work on fixing it up for re-sale. Then he took down one of the walls and revealed a hidden treasure.

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Polar explorer awards underline high demand for ‘heroic age’ medals at auction

08 July 2013

Even in the collecting field of the ‘heroic age’ of Polar exploration where items reflecting incredible stories of human endurance seem to come thick and fast, there are still some that really take the breath away.

Sotheby’s defend stamp sale decision

01 July 2013

Sotheby’s have issued a robust defence of the British Postal Museum & Archive in the wake of strong criticism of the decision to sell off a tranche of its stamp collection valued at up to £5m.

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Fangio racer leads Goodwood sale

17 June 2013

What must be one of the most iconic racing cars ever to come up for sale will be offered by Bonhams at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on July 12.

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