Gold coins valued at £17,000 up for auction

A selection of the commemorative coins in "mint condition" dating from 1893 to 1993

A collection of 40 commemorative gold coins valued at £17,000 is to be auctioned in Shrewsbury next month.

The coins, which range from £5 pieces to half sovereigns, were bought by a Shropshire resident about 30 years ago.

Said to be in "mint condition", some items for sale date back to 1893.

Derek Ainsworth, a coins specialist with Halls Fine Art auctioneers, said the vendor "had no idea how valuable" his late father's collection was.

A James I gold laurel valued up to £700 will be among items set to be auctioned on 20 March

"These are special coins. Most of them were proof," he said, referring to a striking of a coin using hand-finished dye.

"They’ve not been touched by human hand," he added.

Each coin is in a protective capsule and case, with the collection split into a total of 26 lots.

The collector bought the coins from a colleague who was short of money while working in Canada in the 1990s, Mr Ainsworth explained.

“[The vendor] has had the collection for around 30 years but had no idea how valuable it was until he brought it in to our Shrewsbury office to sell,” he added.

A collection valued at £4,000 of about 100 Greek, Roman and hammered UK coins dating to Henry VIII's reign has also been consigned to next month's auction.

The items will go under the hammer at Halls Fine Art in Shrewsbury on 20 March.