FOUR rare coins made in Berwick more than five hundred years ago are expected to fetch a total of £3150 when they are auctioned at Spink in London on March 29.
The most valuable of these coins, tipped to sell for up to £1200, is a silver groat made in Berwick during the reign of King James III of Scotland in or around 1467 — just 36 years after the burning of Joan of Arc and 25 years before Christopher Col
umbus discovered the West Indies.
Auctioneers Spink describe this coin as 'very rare' and say that it is in 'very fine' condition.
May Sinclair, Scottish coins expert at Spink, said: "In 1467, a groat would certainly have been enough to keep an entire Berwick family for a week or more.
"At one time there were 18 Scottish mints and Berwick and Roxburgh, to our knowledge, were the earliest Scottish mints."
The three other Berwick coins in the Spink sale are a James III halfgroat from 1475, which is expected to fetch up to £1000; a James III groat from the same year which is valued at up to £800; and an Alexander III penny, featuring the name of the moneyer Walter, who was in charge of the Berwick mint at that time, which could sell for up to £150.
The coins are among 289 Scottish coins — described by Spink as one of the finest privately-owned Scottish collections — which are expected to fetch between £332,000 and £407,000 at the auction.
The collection belongs to and has been put up for sale by an American collector named Lucien LaRiviere.
