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A rare James II ‘gunmoney’ half-crown sold for €10,500 (£8850) at Whyte’s sale titled the Eclectic Collector in Dublin.

Three extra French auctioneers are to assist in the mammoth disposal of the Aristophil collections of historic manuscripts.

The Auctioneers and Valuers Association (AVAA), a trade body representing Australian auction houses, has called for client accounts to become a compulsory legal requirement in the country.

The epic white-glove sale of the David and Peggy Rockefeller collection at Christie’s New York has established a new high for a single-owner auction.

Bid to €60,000 (£53,100) in a March 16 sale held by Venator & Hanstein (23% buyer’s premium) was a group of letters sent by Charles Darwin in the 1860s and ‘70s to a German botanist, Friedrich Hildebrand.

Buildings constructed out of straw bales sound more like the world of Channel 4’s Grand Designs rather than the often solidly traditional realm of art and antiques auctioneers.

Suffolk auction house Bishop & Miller is holding its first-ever specialist Oriental Art and Antiques Sale on May 24.

A speciality for collectors of silver wine labels are the enamelled examples produced in Battersea in the 18th century.

Australian enthusiasts did much to buoy up the Royal Doulton market in its 1990s pomp. And one such fan certainly did his bit to bring some life to what can now be a weak market by consigning a choice collection of Lambeth, flambé, Burslem and prototype wares to Kingham & Orme (20% buyer’s premium).

The coming weeks will offer some special, if sometimes very costly, opportunities for bird lovers.