A rare Arctic rescue button was sold at auction on Tuesday for £6,000, which was 10 times its pre-sale estimate. Auctioneer Brian Goodison-Blanks, of Bearnes, Hampton and Littlewood in Exeter, said only three other examples of this type of button were known to exist in the Smithsonian Institute and private collections. The Arctic rescue button...
Jude Winter BBC News, Derby Science Photo Library The collection included Alan Turing’s PhD dissertation from the 1930s Papers written by World War Two codebreaker Alan Turing have sold for a “record-breaking” price of £465,400 after they were found in a loft and almost shredded. The 1930s collection, which included a copy of Turing’s PhD...
Caroline Robinson BBC News, Devon Courtesy of Dreweatts Lord Charlie Courtenay says he hopes some of what was found in the castle’s attic will be exhibited Unusual “treasures” from a Devon castle’s attic have been sold at auction for more than half a million pounds. The Earl of Devon detailed some of the items discovered at Powderham...
A Cartier turquoise and diamond tiara owned by the first woman to take a seat in the House of Commons has been sold for £700,000. American-born Nancy Astor was elected in 1919 to represent Plymouth Sutton in Parliament and held the seat until she stood down in 1945. London Auctioneers Bonhams said it was the...
Jake Wallace BBC News, South West Bonhams The tiara could sell for more than £250,000 A Cartier turquoise and diamond tiara owned by the first woman to take a seat in the House of Commons is expected to fetch more than £250,000 at auction. American-born Nancy Astor was elected in 1919 to represent Plymouth Sutton...
Erin Black BBC News, Devon BBC Fish merchant Rob Goodacre said it was probably the end of the fish market “as we know it” The remaining assets of Plymouth’s fish market have gone up for auction as fish merchants say hopes of reviving it appear to be over. Plymouth Trawler Agents (PTA), which ran the...
The auction house Sotheby’s has postponed its sale in Hong Kong of hundreds of sacred jewels linked to the Buddha’s remains, after a threat of legal action by the Indian government. The sale of the collection – described as one of the most astonishing archaeological finds of the modern era – had drawn criticism from...
Courtesy: Sotheby’s The jewels comprise nearly 1,800 pearls, rubies, sapphires, and patterned gold sheets On Wednesday, a cache of dazzling jewels linked to the Buddha’s mortal remains, which have been hailed as one of the most astonishing archaeological finds of the modern era, will go under the hammer at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong. For over...
A letter written by a Titanic passenger days before the ship sank has sold for a record-breaking £300,000 ($400,000) at auction in the UK. Colonel Archibald Gracie’s letter was purchased by an anonymous buyer at Henry Aldridge and Son auction house in Wiltshire on Sunday, at a price five times higher than the £60,000 it...
The jersey worn by Kobe Bryant on his Los Angeles Lakers debut in 1996 has sold for $7m (£5.26m) at auction. The jersey, worn by Bryant during his 1996-1997 rookie season, becomes the fourth-most expensive game-worn sports jersey of all time. The American spent his entire career with the Lakers, winning the NBA Championship five...
A historic house which has cost a Devon council nearly £500,000 to maintain in recent years has been put up for sale. Plymouth City Council listed the Grade II listed Pounds House in Central Park had been put on the market as it could not identify a use for the mansion, which dates back to...
A round egg which has been described as “one-in-a-billion” has sold at auction. Alison Greene, an egg handler on Fenton Farm, near the Somerset border, identified the unusual shape before Christmas. The egg sold at Bearnes Hampton Littlewood Auctioneers in Exeter for £420, with proceeds going to the Devon Rape Crisis charity. A similar discovery...