Famous shipwreck coins sold for more than £6,400

A specialist auction was held by Gildings Auctioneers, based in Market Harborough

A collection of 51 rare coins from famous shipwrecks have been auctioned.

The coins were found on shipwrecks discovered in waters off the Isles of Scilly, Guernsey, Shetland and Sicily.

The four lots sold for a total of £6,440 at a specialist auction held in Leicestershire. All four lots sold for above their original estimates.

The coins, some of which date back to 1686, have had a single owner since they were auctioned as a "Sale of Sunken Treasure" in Penzance in 1975.

The coins were in "remarkable condition" auctioneers said

The collections

• Twenty-two coins were sold for £2,300, and were expected to sell for £1,000 to £1,500. The coins originated from the 90-gun ship HMS Association which served at the capture of Gibraltar in August 1704. Association was wrecked on the Isles of Scilly's notorious Western Rocks during her return voyage in October, 1707. She sunk with a loss of more than 800 men.

• Seventeen coins, dating from between 1736 and 1742 and with estimates of between £850 and £1,250, were sold for £2,700. They were recovered from Hollandia, a Dutch East India Company ship which was wrecked on Scilly's Gunner Rock in 1743. As well as the 276 on board, a vast load of silver, coins and personal artefacts were lost with her.

• A further eight coins, dated from 1779 to 1802, sold for £850. They had estimates of between £400 and £600. The coins came from the 66-gun ship HMS Athenienne, which was lost on Esquerques Rocks off the Italian island of Sicily on 20 October 1806.

• The final lot sold for £380 and had an estimate of between £80 and £120. The lot contained four coins from three different shipwrecks; The Princess Maria, wrecked off Scilly in 1686, the De Liefde, wrecked off the Shetland Isles in 1711, and HMS Sprightly, lost on Hanois Bank off Guernsey in 1777.

Some bidders were from as far afield as California and Florida and there were others from the UK, Isles of Scilly and the Shetlands.

Three of the lots were purchased by one of the original dive teams involved in the shipwreck recoveries.

Will Gilding, director at Gildings Auctioneers in Market Harborough, said: "There has been a good deal of pre-sale interest in the coins which is probably unsurprising given the almost romantic appeal.

"The draw of owning shipwreck coins, I think, is really still quite a pull for buyers and collectors."

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