Among the books acquired by Sovereign Rarities is Coins of England & The United Kingdon (Pre-Decimal).
Coins of England & The United Kingdom has been published regularly for close to a century and by Spink since 1996. The new owners plan to move it into the digital age.
Coins of England & The United Kingdom was first published by coin dealership BA Seaby. What began in 1929 as a brochure of coins held in stock and a series of ‘prices offered’ for sought-after items evolved after the Second World War to become a comprehensive biennial listing of British coins and their values.
Primarily intended for the collector, it also serves as a guide for the archaeologist, museum curator, detectorist and any person who has a coin to identify and who wishes to know its current market value.
Spink acquired the entire publications arm of BA Seaby in 1996 and published its first edition, the 33rd, in 1997. The current 59th edition covers all coins which have circulated in the British Isles from the Iron Age up to Elizabeth II.
Among the books acquired by Sovereign Rarities is Coins of England & The United Kingdon (Decimal).
The large number of new and commemorative issues struck by the Royal Mint since the move to decimal coinage in 1971 means that the separate volume on decimal coins now numbers 425 pages on its own.
In a deal agreed in principle earlier in the year but finalised on April 16, Sovereign Rarities has acquired the publishing rights to both volumes and the additional Coins of Scotland,Ireland & the Islands published every five years. Ian Goldbart, managing director at Sovereign Rarities described it to ATG as “the standard handbook for British coins and a publication I have grown up with. It has been part of my numismatic diet for 40-something years.”
Published every year in December, Coins of England is currently produced by a small team under editor Emma Howard with the price data agreed with the input of independent experts.
Coins of Scotland, Ireland & the Islands has also been acquired by Sovereign Rarities.
The publication still sells over 5000 paper copies per year at £35 each. While Goldbart has no plans to change the core product or personnel - or “fall into the trap of making this a publication that reflects only the values of coins owned or sold by Sovereign Rarities” - his focus will be to provide readers with a mobile phone-friendly digital option in the future.
Spink chose to sell the titles as it seeks to focus on its core business as coin dealers and auctioneers. Chairman Olivier Stocker, commented: “After a strategic review, Spink has begun the process of phasing out its publication division as running global auctions and publishing books are two totally different businesses.”
