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A couple of surprise results emerged in a sale held in Armadale, Victoria, by Australian Book Auctions (19.8% buyer’s premium).

When teenagers Mark and Simon Fletcher came across a Victorian ginger beer bottle sticking out of the ground in the garden of their new home at Old Clee, near Grimsby, 40 years ago little did they know that a collecting bug was about to bite.

Bought in 1952 by a semi-pro Skegness musician who played with East Coast seaside entertainers, this steel string guitar got a big show of hands at Louth auction house John Taylors (18% buyer’s premium).

The Milestone (20% buyer’s premium) auction held in Cleveland, Ohio, featured just over 700 lots of toys – the majority from one collection.

The opening 320-plus lots of Thomaston Place Auction Galleries’ next sale, Autumn Majestic, from November 12-14 in Maine, comprise the works from the estate of New York advertising photographer Frank Cowan (1934-2003).

To mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of the Scottish Colourist Samuel John Peploe (1871-1935), Lyon & Turnbull’s sale of Scottish Paintings & Sculpture auction on December 9 will have a special focus on the artist.

An “extremely rare” gold Thrymsa, or shilling, dating from 640-660 and minted in Northumbria or York, was the highlight of a pensioner’s collection of Anglo-Saxon coins sold at Canterbury Auction Galleries (27% buyer’s premium inc VAT) on October 3.

The last 18 months has produced something of a resurgence in the market for Paul Henry (1876-1958).

Among the Scottish pictures catching the eye at Lyon & Turnbull’s (25% buyer’s premium) sale of contents from Lowood House near Melrose was a half-length portrait by Sir Henry Raeburn (1756-1823).

As an inventor and an entrepreneur, Dr John C Taylor feels a special affinity with the pioneering clockmakers of the English Golden Age. And it is this connection that has guided his collecting across several decades.

Naturally inspired creations underline the renowned designer’s range of talents

Letter from cryptology expert describes his analysis of a Monte Carlo betting system

Antarctic maps take highest prices in collection relating to key Terra Nova crew member

Eye-catching and ear-pleasing, this early example of a monkey chamber orchestra musical automaton picture was one of the star performers at Tennants’ (20% buyer premium) Scientific and Musical Instruments sale.

A group of early 19th century microscope slides mounted with specimens of fossilised wood sold for £11,500 (estimate £1000-1500) to a Canadian private collector at Special Auction Services (25% buyer’s premium) in Newbury.