Spink

Biography

Over 350 years of History… The Oldest Collectables Auction House in the World

1666: John Spink founded Spink as a goldsmith and pawnbroker in Lombard Street, surviving the devastating Great Fire of London.

1770: Moved to 2 Gracechurch Street, London, trading in jewellery and coins. Spink & Son established in 1772.

1880: Purchased the Soho Mint, a small independent foundry and mint in central London and started to design and produce medals.

1893: Started to publish the Numismatic Circular. Until 2014, this was believed to be the oldest continually published coin and medal mail order catalogue.

1897: Produced the commemorative medal for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.

1900: First Royal Warrant awarded for medal services to Queen Victoria.

1927: Move to the corner of King St and Duke St, St James, London.

1962: Spink lists on London Stock Exchange, the Spink family retaining a controlling interest.

1978: Spink holds its first coin auction; 1986 saw the first Spink Taisei auction in Singapore, followed by Tokyo in 1988.

1993: Acquired by Christie’s which merged its existing coins, banknotes and medals departments into Spink.

1996: Spink acquires Seaby, publishers of the Coin & Medal Bulletin.

2000: Spink makes the move to dedicated premises in Bloomsbury under Christie’s ownership.

2001: Spink website is launched, followed in 2005 by Spink Live, the world’s first online auction bidding platform with live video feed.

2003: The current owner acquires Spink & Son from Christie’s. The Slaney Collection of English coins and medals sets eight World records. The La Fayette Collection, the largest collection of France to come onto the market, sells for over €5.6 million with every lot sold.

2004: Set new world record for medals, coins and stamps, including the sale of the Victoria Cross group of eight to Sergeant NC Jackson and the Coenwulf Penny for GBP 230,000.

2007: Spink purchases Shreves Philatelic Galleries, the leading philatelic auctioneer in the US; followed in 2008 by Smythe in New York, one of America’s leading auction houses for coins, banknotes, bonds and share certificates.

2009: Spink achieves a World record result for a set of rare Australian banknotes, selling for £350,000.

2011: Spink achieves over £25 million in worldwide sales of coins, stamps and banknotes, including the 1847 Post Office Mauritius stamp for a record-breaking £1,053,090.

2012: Expands in China with acquisition of Phila China and Oeno China auctions in Hong Kong. First auction of fine wines and spirits.

2014: Achieves 14 new world records including for philatelic items of Malta and Australia, an Egyptian banknote, a Reddite Coin and a Tudor sovereign.

2016: Spink celebrates its 350th Anniversary.

2017: Spink is appointed as one of the official auctioneers at the New York International Numismatic Convention (NYINC).

2018: Spink sells a rare Hermès Sterling Silver Mini Kelly handbag for a record US$61,000.

2019: World auction record for a China Dowager stamp at Spink Hong Kong: US$950,000