Sale 107 Preview
Wednesday, 01 October 2014
The depth and importance of the Kevin Foster and J. and J. Edwards collections of war medals is being recognised in a separate catalogue, 107B for Noble Numismatics 18-20th November sale.
The highlights are the World War I Victoria Cross, Distinguished Conduct Medal group to Sgt J.W. Whittle, a Tasmanian hero who later lived in Sydney and the George Cross group awarded posthumously to private H.W. Madden during the Korean War, the only George Cross awarded to an Australian for this war. They carry estimates of $550,000 and $250,000 respectively and until now they have been on loan and display at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra for some years. Another highly important group is the DSO group to Lieutenant Bond who was awarded the first decoration of World War I to an Australian for AN & Mextremely fine campaign in German New Guinea at Rabaul on 14th September 1914 only recently in the news on its centenary.
The Kevin Foster Collection features numerous bravery awards both military and civil including many medals and badges for Australian, State and Territory Police, Prisons, Fire Brigade and Ambulance Services. One of his medals is a unique gold presentation piece to a NSW Policeman, the Chiextremely fine Constable of Penrith, Mr. William McCook, made to recognize his contribution in raising and organizing the Penrith Volunteer Rifles in 1861. He even has one International Rotary Medal presented to former New Zealand Prime Minister Robert Muldoon.
Both of these collections, of course feature a very large number of campaign medals from the Peninsular Wars through to the Gulf War, and the Foster Collection is very strong in British and World Orders. Both of these collections also have some interesting Australian historical medals, and Kevin Foster has amassed a sizeable number of Masonic jewels, an area of particular interest to him because of his association with the Masonic Lodge. In separate consignments we have other selected outstanding campaign medals and combat groups, such as a Military Cross group for Tobruk.
This catalogue is dedicated to Kevin Foster who is still active at eighty seven and has collected for over sixty years and was the leading engraver of trophies and awards in Sydney for forty nine years. He was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for services to the community through the Scouting and Masonic movements. His aim was to collect an example of every type of medal awarded to an Australian and his collection includes civilian awards, life saving awards and historical medals. Other owners’ consignments include Victoria Local Forces medals and a Waterloo pair.
In the Military section there are two extraordinary items relating to Gallipoli, one being the brass bugle used at the landing on April 25, 1915 saved by McCarthy. The other is a unique map of the Gallipoli peninsular signed by many of the diggers who were present.
The general catalogue, 107A features outstanding Australian coins, including two NSW holey dollars, several fifteen pence dumps, and extremely fine cracked die Adelaide pound, three second type Adelaide pounds, Sydney Mint sovereigns and half sovereigns including good extremely fine 1856 sovereign and half sovereign, W.J. Taylor Kangaroo Office pattern shilling and sixpence in silver, proof pattern Melbourne Mint half sovereign 1898 M one of three known, an equally rare proof 1931M sovereign, pattern square pennies 1919 (type 3) and 1921 (type 12), proof florin 1927 Canberra, proof halfpenny 1924 and proof penny 1926, proof bronze pair 1935 and a proof set florin to halfpenny 1938. Australian Commonwealth coins include some interesting mis-strikes several from the late Brian Holt Collection, seven 1930 pennies good fine to good very fine, and a few better grade 1923 halfpennies and two 1922/1 overdate threepences.
Australian and New Zealand tradesmen’s tokens include two old collections, one formed by a Sydney collector who was a regular buyer of tokens and gold coins from Sydney dealers’ shops, the late B. (Brian) W. Holt. Highlights include a William Allen Jamberoo penny 1855, a Macintosh and Degraves Tasmania shilling 1823 and a James Campbell threepence. In historical medals there is a choice collection of US Fleet Visit 1908 and 1925 items.
A Lachlan Macquarie signed Commissariat order heads up the Australian banknotes. There are two collections of decimal notes, one formed by a deceased Sydney collector has an extraordinary series of solid number notes, another a good series of star notes. A previously unseen Collins/ Allen (1914) ten pounds and a very fine Cerutty / Collins (1924) one hundred pounds lead the pre-decimal series.
British coins include a good series of hammered formed in the 1960s by the late J.M Day, a chemist in Cape Province, South Africa. Silver pennies of William the Conqueror will attract attention as will the Viking issue of Cnut of York and the threepence and sixpence of Edward VI and sixpence of Philip and Mary. International attention should be received for the collection of fourteen Scottish Countermarked dollars in the K (Keith) A. Hicks Collection.
Ancient coins include an extensive collection of Roman coins formed originally in Hungary in the 1930s by a meticulous collector who produced an excellent descriptive catalogue of his collection supported by touched-up pencil rubbings. With over two thousand coins this has extended the ancients into three sessions.
In British gold coins the highlight is a good extremely fine Queen Anne five guineas, 1706. World gold coins include many one ounce issues.
A Sydney collector retiring from the pursuit has supplied a good range of proclamation coins in gold, silver and bronze as well as Greek, Roman and Australian coins.
The auction is spread over 3 days and two nights with the military to be spread over at least three sessions of one day, such is the number of items on offer. As usual viewing will be held in the week preceding the auction and our friendly staff are available to help and answer any enquires.
The auction can be attended in person at the Mitchell Library which is directly opposite our Sydney Office in Macquarie Street, and everybody is welcome, even if you only wish to be an observer.