Record auction price for ‘very rare’ Carrickfergus penny

Rare coin sold at online auction by Dix Noonan Webb.

The “very fine” penny from the Co Antrim town was expected to realise £240-300 but went for more than 20 times its pre-sale estimate.

It was bought by a collector in the United States at the online auction on Tuesday by international coins, medals, bank notes and jewellery specialists Dix Noonan Webb.

The auctioneers said it was a worldwide auction record for a 17th century British trade token.

Dix Noonan Webb added that the highest price of the sale was for a 19th century copper halfcrown, dating from 1812, which had been struck in Sheffield and sold for £8,680 to a private collector - 17 times its pre-sale estimate of £400-500.

The sale also included a collection of 18th and 19th century horseracing tickets and passes.

Peter Preston-Morley, specialist and associate director, Dix Noonan Webb, commented: “The market for quality was very strong in this sale and all the horseracing material was keenly bid on, mostly acquired by private individuals in the UK.”

The auctioneers are donating 5% of their buyer’s premium to NHS Charities Together.

A total of £24,879 has been donated to the charity since the Covid-19 lockdown began.

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