Michael Gietzelt's collection of milled coins expected to fetch up to £575,000

The collection of British and Irish milled coins formed by the Berlin-based dealer and collector Michael Gietzelt comes to auction at Dix Noonan Webb in London on 14 November 2018. The collection, which includes coins from the reign of Charles II through to the 20th century, forms almost 400 lots and is expected to fetch up to £575,000.

Michael’s Gietzelt’s fascination with British numismatics began when his mother presented him with some worn Victorian pennies and his great-grandfather gave him his first serious coin, an 1887 Five Pounds piece. Since then his collection has expanded to cover coins from Edward III to the present day as well as orders, decorations, medals and paper money from the British Isles.

With the dispersal of his milled coins he will now focus on the hammered series, including Scottish and Irish issues, while maintaining his collections of coins and tokens of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

Among the highlights of the Gietzelt Collection to be auctioned at DNW are a Five Guineas dated 1705 from the reign of Anne (1702-1714), which is expected to fetch £24,000-30,000, a George IV (1820-1830) Proof Five Pounds from 1826, estimated at £20,000-26,000, and a 1691 William and Mary (1688-1694) Five Guineas, which should sell for £15,000-20,000.

The collection also includes a number of Proof Sets, including a George V one from 1911, estimated at £10,000-12,000, and a George VI set dated 1937, expected to sell for £8,000-10,000. A 30-lot section of Irish coins includes a Wood’s coinage Proof Farthing dated 1723, estimated at £4,000-6,000, and a George IV Proof Farthing from 1822 which carries an estimate of £1,500-2,000.

Michael Gietzelt was born in Berlin in 1954, the son of a doctor. Educated at Berlin Secondary School, he performed his military service in the Medical Corps, attaining the rank of sergeant, before entering Berlin University to study medicine in 1975. Within two years he had decided that medicine was not the career choice for him and he opened his antique shop on the Frankfurter-Alle in Berlin in 1977. Together with his wife Gisela, Michael also collects German porcelain, particularly Meissen, while their busy home life revolves around their five children and ten grandchildren.