‘Prince of Wales’to be sold at auction
ONE of the largest nuggets of gold ever found in Wales is set to go under the hammer at a Cardiff auction house, along with a huge collection of Welsh history.
The piece of gold, known as the Prince of Wales, is forecast to fetch £20,000 to £25,000. It is the first time it has been put on the market, some 40 years after it was discovered in an ancient river bed by a gold prospector and his father.
The 30.57g nugget of Welsh natural gold was originally discovered in 1979 by New Zealand-born prospectors Kerry Thackwell and his father Ray during their appraisal, sampling and mining of the Dolgellau Gold Belt between 1979 and 1981.
The pair bought and opened the Clogau St David’s Gold Mine in 1979 and produced the first commercial handmade Welsh gold jewellery in the same year.
The find was unearthed while sampling an ancient river bed near the Prince of Wales Gold Mine. It is believed to be one of or even the largest natural waterworn Welsh nuggets to be discovered and recorded.
Back in 2017 rare gold nuggets and flakes believed to be mined by the same prospectors fetched £44,000 at auction, selling for more than 20 times the normal value in a “totally unique” situation.
The Prince of Wales is one of more than 400 lots to be auctioned and sold in The Welsh Sale auction by Cardiffbased Rogers Jones Co, being held on April 17.
Other highlights include the last portrait of Dylan Thomas at his Laugharne home before his death in 1953.
The portrait, by Canadian artist
Gordon Stuart, is expected to fetch up to £15,000.
In total, the artist created three portraits of the Welsh poet. One is now at the National Portrait Gallery and the other at the University of Texas.
A piece of art by Welsh landscape painter Sir Kyffin Williams – of Bonchurch, Isle of Wight – is also expected to reach one of the highest prices in the auction, with the estimate ranging between £15,000 and £20,000.
Meanwhile, a collection of Nantgarw porcelain includes one Thomas Pardoe cup and saucer expected to reach up to £600, while one oval dish has an estimate of £900.
The Welsh Sale, held three times a year, is a collection of items with a historic or cultural connection to Wales.
Ben Rogers Jones, auctioneer and partner, said: “It could be anything but [the lots] have to have a link to Wales. This is a big one, entries have now closed and it’s over 400 lots.
“That’s quite a big sale for us, the Welsh Sale is usually between 300 and 350 but 400 is quite a lot, we had three or four big collections come in at the last minute.
“There are probably three or four major highlights, we have the largest nugget of Welsh gold ever found in a Welsh river. That was found in a river in Dolgellau.
“There’s a portrait of Dylan Thomas. It’s not necessarily a highestimate artist but the artist painted Dylan Thomas just a few months before he died in New York so it’s the last portrait before he drank himself to death. That’s quite an important piece, I think that will go to a museum somewhere.
“Then there’s painting by Kyffin Williams who is a high-selling artist. We have three of his oils which are ranging between £10,000 and £20,000 for those.”
Mr Rogers Jones added: “The main body of purchases are Welsh people or at the least British with an interest in Welsh things.
“There’s sure to be some oversees bidding and some of the lots may well go overseas to expats or they may be certain items that are collected by people worldwide. But because it’s a Welsh-themed sale the nucleus of bidders will be Welsh people all over the UK.
“I think the gold is the one that should make the most but the Dylan Thomas portrait is a difficult one to value. I’m sure it will sell over £10,000
but because it’s not really a high value artist, because it’s his last portrait it’s a difficult one to value so that one could end up being the highest price, we’ll have to wait and see.
“You can never predict it, there’s always something that will surprise you. You can never predict who’s going to buy something either.”
As well as the Welsh Sale another auction will be held on April 12 selling a collection of British antiques and collectables.
Due to lockdown both auctions will comprise of online and telephone bids.
One of the star items for sale is a family collection of Victorian and Edwardian rugby artefacts including a handwritten journal by football and rugby player Reg Birkett, who scored the first ever try in an international rugby match as well as winning the FA Cup.
His son, John Birkett, went on to play rugby for England and became the first try scorer at Twickenham stadium.
■ You can find out more about the sales by visiting www.rogersjones. co.uk