Its interesting because since the mid-fifties the European and American art markets are really the same market. This is not true in coins. I bet almost no one form the US on this board had ever heard of this set.
I can't believe it, rare gold coins often sell for more than their melt value. When did this trend start?
Well that's kind of hard to say considering they don't bother to tell us what the set is. But my guess is it is an 1839 proof set containing the 5 pound Una and the Lion pattern. Well known set and pattern often seen in various custom cases. I don't believe there was an "official" case. I wonder if they would have done better selling the set through a major numismatic auction house instead. Last year Heritage sold an Una and the lion piece by itself for $92,000 (roughly 60,000 pounds) And it is hard to tell from the article if the 74,400 pounds was for just this one set, or if it was for a consignment that included this set.
