London

The handwritten journal of Colonel Christopher Rigby, recording his success in securing freedom for thousands of slaves in east Africa, was the highlight of a collection of his papers sold in London.

A large group of works from the collection of Allen and Beryl Freer has been consigned to Chiswick Auctions.

Frieze is opening No 9 Cork Street, an initiative housed in two converted townhouses that will accommodate visiting galleries throughout the year with a focus on Modern and Contemporary art.

The world record for a George Cross has been broken by a medal awarded to a courageous British soldier who died in captivity during the Korean War.

When Paul Feeley (1910-66) returned home after serving as a US marine in Japan during the Second World War, it triggered a fundamental shift in his art.

Christopher Kingzett, a former vice chairman of SLAD and owner of the eponymous dealership in south London, specialises in 20th century British paintings, drawings and sculpture.

Just before England entered a third lockdown, the John Martin Gallery squeezed in a solo show of artist Andrew Gifford’s (b.1970) work at new art hub Cromwell Place in London.

Despite the near absence of face-to-face trading, 2020 was a record year for London’s coins and medals auction houses with combined total sales just shy of £53m.

Few auction houses have expanded their roster of full-time staff over the past 12 months but one of those bucking the trend is Forum Auctions.

This coin, from the period known as ‘The Anarchy’, was discovered by a metal detectorist in a Yorkshire field in March.

A record for a British token was set at Dix Noonan Webb on May 26 when this copper coin – the only specimen known in commerce – took £7000 (estimate £400-500).

Work produced in Brussels in the 1530s by a master of illumination soars way over estimate in Sotheby's London auction

Roma Numismatics set a new record for a classical coin when a Brutus Eid Mar-type gold aureus, struck shortly after the murder of Julius Caesar, took £2.7m in October.

Though incomplete and in a decorative 19th century binding, a very desirable early Bible impressed at Chiswick Auctions (25/12% buyer’s premium).

The 1826 £5 piece was the highest denomination in the coinage of the George IV and was not issued for general circulation. The epitome of Regency design, the reverse features the royal shield while the obverse designed by William Wyon features the bare head portrait.

With ski season on ice for so many, exhibitions offering snowy scenes could fill in

Dix Noonan Webb’s highest-priced lot of 2020 was this Crimean War Naval Brigade Victoria Cross group of four sold for £240,000 on October 15. The estimate was £120,000-160,000.

This William and Mary Five Guineas piece from 1693 features conjoined busts of joint monarchs.

Among the highlights of the year at Spink was a group of 17 medals awarded to Air Vice-Marshal Sir Matthew Brown ‘Bunty’ Frew (1895-1974).

After striking a few coins in both gold and silver which were still closely related to Byzantine and Sasanian prototypes, ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ibn al-Hakam, the fifth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 685-705AD (65-86H), made a clean break with the pre-Islamic past and introduced a completely new gold coinage in 77H.