Spink & Son (established 1666) are an auction and collectibles company known principally for their sales of coins, banknotes, stock and bond certificates and medals. They also deal in

philatelic Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is possi ...

items, wine and spirits, and other collectible items.

History

John Spink founded a

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), pl ...

's and

pawnbroker A pawnbroker is an individual or business (pawnshop or pawn shop) that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral. The items having been ''pawned'' to the broker are themselves called ''pledges'' or ...

's business near Lombard Street, London, in 1666.Our History.
Spink & Son. Retrieved 10 July 2020. The

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Thursday 6 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall, while also extending past the ...

caused a temporary relocation before Spink returned to the rebuilt Lombard Street. In 1770 the firm moved to 2

Gracechurch Street Gracechurch Street is a main road in the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London, which is designated the A1213. It is home to a number of shops, restaurants, and offices and has an entrance to Leadenhall Market, a covered ...

where they traded in jewellery and coins. In the 1850s, Spink started to deal in oriental art and in the 1880s they bought the Soho Mint and began to design and manufacture medals.

Publishing

The company published the ''Numismatic Circular'' from 1892 until 2014 when it was discontinued in favour of a quarterly coin auction format for selling coins. It was "the oldest continually published coin and medal catalogue". In 1996, Spink acquired the Seaby imprint, publishers of the ''Seaby Coin & Medal Bulletin''. Spink is particularly well known for its annual ''Coins of England'' price guide and handbook, the 50th edition of which was published in 2015. From 2015 onwards the decimal section (coins struck from 1971 onwards) was removed and included into a separate publication whilst the ''Coins of England'' book remains and references coins up until 1968.

References

External links

Numismatics London auction houses Companies based in the London Borough of Camden Retail companies established in 1666 Stamp dealers Philatelic auctioneers British Royal Warrant holders 1666 establishments in England {{UK-company-stub