BALDWIN'S FIXED PRICE LIST WINTER 2015-16

Item NB001: Brockett's Essay on Counterfeit Coins and Medals
Brockett, John Trotter. An Essay on the Means of Distinguishing Antique, From Counterfeit, Coins and Medals. Translated from the French of M. Beauvais; with Notes and Illustrations. Newcastle, 1819. Octavo, pp. engraved vignette on title page, 94, errata slip bound in at end. Neatly bound in half green calf and matching cloth boards. Raised bands, red morocco title label, lettered in gilt, top edge gilt. Some spotting to boards, contents clean, bright and in a high state of preservation. Limited to 205 copies. Fine overall. An attractive and charming volume, seldom offered. £180

Item NB004: Evans, Coins of the Ancient Britons
Evans, J. The Coins of the Ancient Britons. London, 1864. Two volumes complete. Quarto, pp. xi, (1), 424, 8+17 fine plates engraved by F. W. Fairholt. Beautifully bound by J. B. Hawes of Cambridge in full tan calf, double gilt fillets with gilt floral decoration in each corner. Raised bands, black morocco title label lettered in gilt in one compartment, intricate gilt decoration in remaining. Edges gilt, inner dentelles blind embossed, page edges marbled. With; Supplement. London, 1890. Quarto, pp. viii, folding map printed in red and black, (417)-599, (1), 10 finely engraved plates. In the original green cloth, ruled and lettered in gilt. Gilt embossed image of a Gallo-Belgic stater on the front board. Minimal wear to extremities, otherwise both volumes in fine condition, each with a neat, engraved bookplate and Spink & Son book label on front pastedown. A most attractive set, the foundation work to Celtic coins, rarely seen in such fine condition as here and with the rarely seen supplement. Extremely fine. £750

Item NB015: Lowndes Report on Silver Coins

Lowndes, W. A Report Containing an Essay for the Amendment of the Silver Coins. London, Printed by Charles Bill, and the Executrix of Thomas Newcomb, deceas’d; Printers to the Kings most Excellent Majesty. 1695. Quarto, pp. 159, (1), woodcut decorative initials throughout. Elegantly bound in contemporary full black calf, ruled and decorated in gilt, gilt flourishes. Raised bands, red morocco label to spine, gilt decoration in compartments. Marbled endpapers. A very fine copy of Lowndes best known and key work in a beautiful contemporary binding. £1,650

William Lowndes (1652–1724) was Secretary to the Treasury of Great Britain under King William III and Queen Anne, and a Member of Parliament under William, Anne and George I. Known as ‘Ways and Means Lowndes’ he served on the Committee of Ways and Means and wrote this title the year he become Treasurer. In it he called upon the help of Isaac Newton (then Master of the Royal Mint) to help solve the many problems then prevalent with the English currency. Subsequent to Lowndes’ treatise, the Great Recoinage of 1696 was commenced which resulted in the establishment of the provincial mints; Bristol. Chester, Exeter, Norwich and York. See also Manville Vol. III, p 15, “Mr Lowndes has written in so peculiar & instructive a manner, that our Historians may learn better, by his little

Item NB039: Wheeler Catalogue of Saxon and English Coins

[Sotheby & Co.] Catalogue of the Important Collection of Saxon and English Coins, the Property of G. H. Wheeler, Esq. London, 12th March, 1930. Quarto, pp. 94, 599 lots; 16 extremely fine plates. With a printed list of prices and buyers names bound in at end. The lots acquired by Lockett neatly underlined in red as was his custom and with further pencil annotations to some of the plates. With; Manuscript notebook detailing the contents of much of Wheeler’s collection dated between 1916 and 1925 and giving information on provenance, date and place of purchase, price paid and additional notes. Also enclosed is a running receipt of his purchases (totalling £8608-7-9) which tallies with a manuscript list at the back of the notebook which includes place of purchase and date, a note giving his cost code and a smaller booklet of manuscript notes. An alphabetical list of auction catalogues from 1873 is also present. Both booklets in later, custom made slipcase of quarter tan calf and marbled board, raised bands, gilt lettering to spine. The catalogue rebound in the same. A fascinating compilation of notes revealing much valuable information and certainly worthy of further research. £3,950

M&R Vol. I, p. 252; Manville Vol. IV, p. 309. Ernest Henry Wheeler (1876-1933) was a successful businessman who ran his own highly successful Newsagents, Stationers and Printers based on the Caledonian Road. The notebooks above have been compiled on his own products and are complete with his business address label on the inside cover. He was an aggressive buyer at many of the high profile auctions of the time including Montagu and Murdoch, Ready, Walters, Marsham, Roth and Carlyon-Britton to name but a few. He would bid directly rather than through an agent and as such was well known for paying far more than the market value of the time, a fact which infuriated much of the trade, in particular Cyril Lockett who as a result, and along with many other collectors and dealers, refused to participate in this sale, despite there being many pieces which Lockett would have wanted for his collection. Consequently the sale was not as successful as it perhaps should have been, fetching only £4283-10-0, almost half that Wheeler had paid. Lockett did however acquire some pieces through Baldwin’s after the sale and it is these lots which have been underlined in the above auction catalogue. Lockett’s dislike of Wheeler was well known and it is interesting that his bookplate, usually found in all of his catalogues, is absent from the one here. After the disappointing result of this auction Wheeler chose to sell the second half of his collection directly to Seaby’s who sold it over a number of lists throughout 1930 and 1931. A final selection of coins, discovered after Wheeler’s death in 1933, were sold by Glendining’s in a single lot in December 1938.

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