Treasure trove of rare coins

GOTHIC CROWN INCLUDED

If you haven’t gone hunting for old coins in your family’s homes, now is the time to get cracking! Last weekend a collection of gold coins fetched a sparkly combined value of just over R2.6 million at the monthly Old Johannesburg Warehouse Auction in Selby, Johannesburg.

The coins were acquired by the Joburgbased family 30 years ago to help out a family friend with money troubles. They were kept in a safe and had not been looked at in all this time and were only rediscovered as the owners were packing up to move house. The collection included numerous oneounce Kruger rands, a wonderful collection of hammered English coins and some top silver coins.

All the coins, dated 1450-1750, carried conservative pre-auction estimates. According to a local coin dealer they are rare worldwide. The coins, spread throughout the auction (interspersed with collectable cars, vintage toys, antiques, top SA art and more), piqued furious bidding from the floor and phones. Among the silver coins, lot 219 fetched a remarkable price.

The 1874 Gothic Crown is one of the most famous coins ever struck and is considered to be one of the most elegant and beautiful coins minted. The design was a daring departure from previous issues, with Queen Victoria reported to have been delighted with it. The two gold coins that garnered the most interest was lot 382-Anne 1711 fiveguinea gold coin and lot 387-William and Mary 1692 five-guinea gold coin.

The Vigo five-guinea piece of 1703 was struck from gold captured from Spanish galleons.

Owner of Old Johannesburg Warehouse Auctioneers Christiaan Scholtz was ecstatic. “Knowing this was a once-ina-lifetime coin collection that we got to handle, market and ultimately auction off and that it exceeded everyone’s wildest expectations, is something we will treasure forever,” he said.

You can find out more about consigning or buying at Old Johannesburg Warehouse Auctioneers at