Auctioneers

The auction process is a key part of the secondary art and antiques market.

Firms of auctioneers usually specialise in a number of fields such as jewellery, ceramics, paintings, Asian art or coins but many also hold general sales where the goods available are not defined by a particular genre and are usually lower in value.

Auctioneers often provide other services such as probate and insurance valuations.

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Antique props once seen on screen, now starring in the saleroom

13 February 2026

Latest sale of props from renowned company features several surprises such as Spanish revivalist chairs

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Indian service in the spotlight

13 February 2026

Several lots linked to a George Henry Robertson who served in Victorian campaigns in India impressed at Toovey’s (25% buyer’s premium) of West Sussex .

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Derbyshire Shrovetide football scores £4200 many miles away in Cornwall

13 February 2026

The ancient game of Royal Shrovetide Football has been played in the Derbyshire town of Ashbourne on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday since the 17th century.

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‘Death penny’ medal group makes nine times estimate

13 February 2026

While a First World War memorial plaque (‘death penny’ or ‘dead man’s penny’) is not usually worth that much on its own, when presented with an associated medal group the price can rise considerably.

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Bradbury Wilkinson saved for posterity

13 February 2026

Two collections of banknote designs and specimens from engraving and printing firm Bradbury Wilkinson & Company were offered at either end of 2025.

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Show of ‘magnificent courage’

13 February 2026

A First World War Distinguished Conduct Medal casualty group of four sold for £2800 at Tennants (24% buyer’s premium) in Leyburn on December 10.

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Here comes the Heavy Brigade

13 February 2026

The disaster of the Charge of the Light Brigade inevitably dominates the tale of the Battle of Balaclava on October 25, 1854, but far more successful actions also took place that day: the Charge of The Heavy Brigade and The Thin Red Line.

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Door opens to Dorothy Garland at the Dominion Theatre

13 February 2026

Incomparable! Delightful! The one and only! Miss Show Business Judy Garland’s All Star Variety Show – as billed at the time – opened at the Dominion Theatre in London’s Tottenham Court Road in October 17, 1957, for a four-and-a-half week run.

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Order awarded by a doomed Afghan king

13 February 2026

The Order of the Durrani Empire (Nishan-i-Daulat-i-Durrani) was established in 1839 and awarded to British field officers and above during the First Afghan War by Shah Durrani of Afghanistan (1785-1842) in gratitude for his restoration to the throne as Shah Shuja-ool-Moqlk, King of Afghanistan.

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Masterpiece of numismatic neoclassical design on offer

13 February 2026

The reverse to the 1817 George III crown is considered a masterpiece of numismatic neoclassical design.

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Trafalgar and Spartan add up to £9100 result

13 February 2026

The clasps (metal bars across the ribbons) signifying participation in particular actions are a key factor driving value when it comes to the Naval General Service medal 1793-1840 awarded retrospectively for Royal navy service.

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Modern era gold coins: The battle of the giants

13 February 2026

A Ferdinand III (1608-57) 100-ducat gold piece briefly became the most expensive ‘modern era’ European gold coin ever sold at auction when it hammered for SFr1.95m (£1.83m) in Geneva.

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‘Car boot’ badge find makes major windfall for owners – twice

13 February 2026

Established in 1687 by James II (also James VII of Scotland), membership of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is in the personal gift of the sovereign, just as it is with the Order of the Garter and the Order of Merit.

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Medal marks arrival of a princess escaping as civil war looms

13 February 2026

This 1642 silver medal by the German medallist Sebastian Dadler (1586-1657) celebrates the arrival in the Netherlands of Princess Mary (1631-60), eldest daughter of Charles I and sister of the future Charles II.

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Sitting comfortably as online bidding boosts number of new year auctions

13 February 2026

Along with August, January is traditionally the quietest month in terms of regional auctions.

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An unlikely but warm friendship revealed in a fascinating archive

13 February 2026

Group lot shows how a shared interest in communication linked Louis Mountbatten and a telegraphist

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Bidder demonstrates a burning desire to own a mining model pithead

13 February 2026

‘Coal’ is a dirty word in today’s world of increasingly clean energy but in terms of a model offered at auction it can still generate a strong price.

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Killed over Germany

13 February 2026

The citation for a Distinguished Flying Medal awarded to Act F/Sgt BG Tucker RAF stated he had “completed many outstanding sorties against such heavily defended localities as Berlin, Essen and Hanover.

Auctioneer Adrian Biddell holding up a pair of white gloves

White gloves as all lots sell at auction of John Russell Taylor collection

11 February 2026

"Oh goodness me, look at that..." said auctioneer Adrian Biddell as his colleagues presented him with the traditional handwear.

FA Cup trophy design

Original design for FA Cup trophy makes £32,000 at Budds

11 February 2026

A drawing giving a first glimpse of the now instantly recognisable trophy from the oldest national football competition in the world, the FA Cup, sold above estimate at Budds on February 11.

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