Auctioneers are all heart

AUCTIONEERS in Gloucestershire proved they were all heart when they sold a collection of commemorative coins during the closest sale to Valentine’s Day in aid of the British Heart Foundation.

The collection of 28 cased £1, £2 and £5 commemorative coins, mostly by the Royal Mint, were sold commission-free by Moore Allen & Innocent on Friday, February 20 on behalf of the BHF charity shop in their home town of Cirencester, and caused one of the biggest gasps of the day when the hammer fell at £720 against an estimate of £40 to £60.

Continuing the heart theme, another surprise was triggered by the sale of an early 19th century flintlock pistol with walnut stock and brass butt, and a heart-shaped motif engraved into the metalwork, which sold for £440 against an estimate of £50 to £80.

And causing almost as much of a stir was a pocket watch, bought in Bombay in around 1900. Perhaps a premonition of the success of Slumdog Millionaire at the Oscars that weekend, the watch – inscribed Favre Leuba & Co Bombay – achieved £620 against an estimate of £100 to £150.

The best performing lot of the day was a modern reproduction mahogany extending dining table in the Victorian manner, a matching set of eight kidney back dining chairs and sideboard with two drawers over three arch panelled doors, which achieved £740.

And among the more unusual items, a collection of Pelham Puppets, including squeaky-voiced children’s entertainers Pinky and Perky, sold for £75; a 1980s Ski Jump pinball machine made £130 against an estimate of £50 to £80; and an early 20th century boxwood and brass rolled map holder inscribed ‘Aston & Mander Makers, Soho’ with compass set to the main frame achieved £70, against an estimate of £30 to £50.

The next sale at Moore Allen & Innocent is the Selected Antiques Sale on Friday, March 6 from 10am. For more information log on to www.mooreallen.co.uk or call 01285 646050 for a catalogue.

Pinky and Perky Pelham Puppets	An early 20th century boxwood and brass rolled map holder