The Magnay Collection of Fractional Farthings and Victorian Pattern Pennies

Foreword

Mr Magnay's interest in these series stems from his passion for collecting 19th century toy coins and model money, which goes back to the 1960s. His half-, third-and quarter-farthing collection, offered here in 55 lots, is probably the most complete ever formed. Largely brought together between 1972 and 1980, only a few judicial acqusitions have been made in the last 18 years. His 40 Moore pattern pennies were mostly acquired in two tranches, firstly the mid-1970s and then in the mid-1980s, both at, and in the aftermath of, the dispersal of the Freeman collection.

As can be seen from the sources given, several of Mr Magnay's coins have illustrious pedigrees -C. Wilson Peck, Michael Freeman, Jim Noble, Frederic Brooks and Norman Stark are just five names that stand out. Notable among the specialist trade sources is John Minshull, the Bury dealer who traded as Farthing Specialist from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s.

With a resurgence of interest and demand for copper and bronze approaching the heyday of the late 1960s, the dispersal of the Magnay collection presents an all too rare opportunity for a new generation of collectors to acquire pieces that have given pleasure to many others in the past.