Features

All of the first half-a-dozen issues of Viz comic are rarities – each penned by teenager Chris Donald from his bedroom in his parents’ Jesmond, Newcastle, home with help from his brother Simon and friend Jim Brownlow.

What is being promoted as “perhaps the most significant private collection of British comics ever assembled” is coming to market with two separate auction houses involved.

Fifty years ago a now little-known comic launched that spawned a much more successful title still going strong

Records continue to tumble in the vibrant US market. Hardly a week goes by without another new marker being established as comics thrive in a remarkably buoyant collectables collecting scene, or sought-after high-grade copies attract rocketing prices.

Of all the many subjects painted by Harry Davis (1885-1970) during his long and celebrated tenure at the Royal Worcester factory, among the rarest and most desirable are polar bears in an Arctic landscape.

From the 1770s Portobello was one of the main centres of industrial ceramic production in Scotland.

Collector’s diligence and resolve pay off as he tracks down the crucial evidence

Spotlight on awards that brought rewards for vendors in three separate sales

Dealer from a Cotswolds family business acquired English tin glazed earthenware as a personal interest

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 .

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

While fears in these uncertain times such as tariff disputes and the London market potentially moving overseas made 2025 a daunting prospect, specialists can instead look back on an encouraging period full of resilience and high prices

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.

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.

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.