Spink & Son

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 items, wine and spirits, and other collectible items.

Spink and Son Ltd
TypePrivate
IndustryAuction
Founded1666 (1666)
FounderJohn Spink
HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
Key people
Olivier Stocker
(Chairman & CEO) [1]
DivisionsSpink China
Spink Singapore
Spink Switzerland
Spink UK
Spink USA
Websitewww.spink.com
Spink staff at autumn Stampex 2015
Spink offices in Southampton Row

History

John Spink founded a goldsmith's and pawnbroker's business near Lombard Street, London, in 1666.[2] The Great Fire of London caused a temporary relocation before Spink returned to the rebuilt Lombard Street. In 1770 the firm moved to 2 Gracechurch Street 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.[2]

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".[2] In 1996, Spink took over the entire publishing division of B.A. Seaby Ltd.,[3] publishers of the Seaby Coin & Medal Bulletin.

Spink is particularly well known for its annual Standard Catalogue of British Coins price guide and handbook, also part of the Seaby acquisition and founded in 1929. Already in 1962 it had been split in two parts, I. England and United Kingdom and II. Coins of Scotland, Ireland and the Islands, in annual editions and with black and white photos of the coins, and in 2007 it was converted to colour printing with newly-taken coin photographs.[3] Later on, Volume I. was split further into Coins of England & the United Kingdom, Pre-Decimal Issues (2023: 58th edition), and Coins of England & the United Kingdom, Decimal Issues, both edited by Emma Howard.

Controversies

In 2021, prosecuters and investigative journalists probed Spink & Son's relationship with antiquities trafficker Douglas Latchford, and in particular the creation of false documentation for Khmer antiquities.[4][5] Latchford was indicted but Spink & Son was not charged.[6]

References
  1. Olivier D. Stocker, Chairman & CEO. Spink & Son. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  2. Our History. Spink & Son. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  3. "Coins of England & the United Kingdom". Spink & Son. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  4. Whoriskey, Peter; Politzer, Malia; Reuter, Delphine; Woodman, Spencer. "Global hunt for looted treasures leads to offshore trusts". Washington Post. Retrieved 3 February 2023. Museums holding antiquities linked to Latchford. The reporting team tracked relics that museums received directly through Douglas Latchford, and the Doris and Nancy Wiener gallery or the London auction house Spink & Son, which prosecutors say helped him sell looted antiquities
  5. Conn, David; Politzer, Malia (5 October 2021). "Offshore loot: how notorious dealer used trusts to hoard Khmer treasures". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 February 2023. Latchford was alleged in the legal action to have bought the Duryodhana in 1972 knowing it was looted, consigned it to a London auction house, Spink & Son, then conspired with Spink's representatives to "fraudulently obtain export licences".
  6. "How we tracked Cambodian antiquities to leading museums and private galleries - ICIJ". 5 October 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2023.

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