Collectables

A collection of items relating to Queen Victoria including a memento mori for her beloved dog are to be offered at a north London auction house.

A hard tack biscuit, purportedly taken from a lifeboat during the sinking of RMS Lusitania, sold for £4000 at Henry Aldridge & Son’s latest Titanic, White Star and Transport Memorabilia sale (20% buyer's premium).

An early Coca-Cola bottle, a 1915 prototype of the design still used today, has been sold at auction for a premium-inclusive $110,700 (a hammer price of $92,250).

Harold Wilson (1916-95) was Britain’s prime minister not once, but twice and was the man who offered Britain its first referendum on membership of the then European Community and the Common Market.

A recently-discovered early Coca-Cola bottle, a 1915 prototype of the design still used today, will be offered for sale next month with an auction estimate of $100,000-$150,000.

Beans manufacturer Heinz has paid a hammer price of £750 at auction for a special issue 18ct gold baked bean.

Letters from Princess Diana written in the late 1980s and early 90s to a leading fashion magazine editor are coming to auction in New York.

A fine copy of the very first issue of the Beano has sold at auction for £8700. Beano Comic No 1 from July 1938 debuted characters such as Big Eggo, Morgyn the Mighty, Contrary Mary and the long-running favourite Lord Snooty and his Pals.

The archive of Labour’s longest-serving MP Tony Benn (1925-2014) has been accepted by the British Library.

An unopened copy of the classic video game Super Mario Bros set a new auction record when it recently sold in Dallas, Texas for $80,000 (£62,000). The game is the only known sealed example from a test market release in 1985.

One of the world’s oldest surviving Valentine cards has sold today for £5800.

With many fans going under the hammer in the coming weeks it is an ideal time to get more familiar with this market where examples can range in price from a few pounds to the high five figures.