REVIEW: COINS & HISTORICAL MEDALS 4 & 5 APRIL

Highlights from this auction included pieces from A Collection of Medals relating to the Duke of Wellington, the Property of a Gentleman.

Pre-eminent was a gold medal by T. Wyon Jr of the Duke of Wellington struck as a tribute from the duke to the Marquis of Salisbury.

Carrying the date 1815 – the year of Waterloo – under the duke’s bust on the obverse, the reverse (apparently unpublished) is inscribed to the Most Noble The Marquis of Salisbury, an offering of respect to liberality and benevolence july 27 1814. The date is less than three months after Wellington was awarded his dukedom following Britain’s victory in the Peninsular War.

The recipient would have been James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury, who had been Lord Chamberlain until 1804, and served as Joint Postmaster General from 1816 to 1823.

The medal went above estimate to sell for £7,000.