Welcome to
Sovereign Rarities

Sovereign Rarities was founded by Ian Goldbart, a lifelong collector of coins, and former Managing Director of established numismatists A.H. Baldwin & Sons Ltd. We pride ourselves on providing collectors with a bespoke and traditional service of the highest professional standard, while also retaining a keen and up-to-date market focus. With a dedicated team of specialists, we combine over 100 years of experience and can assist collectors with all areas of numismatics, encompassing classical coins from the ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine periods, British hammered and milled coins, World coins, Indian and Islamic coins, Commemorative medals, and numismatic books.

Based in Mayfair, London we are centrally located and welcome all enquiries. Clients who wish to pay us a visit and browse our extensive and high-quality stock are welcome to do so; we are open Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 5.30pm. If you are unable to make it to London you will also find us in attendance at many of the major numismatic conventions and exhibitions in the U.K., Europe, the USA and around the world.

We are always keen to buy either single numismatic items or whole collections, and are able to offer direct purchase, auction, or private treaty; we also deal in bullion coins. Our terms are very favourable and we would be pleased to discuss the options available to you. We hold several auctions each year and routinely achieve record-breaking prices.

Please see below for the details of our team and their publications. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Contact Us

Upcoming Auction
Victoria 1847 Gothic Crown Pure Silver
Upcoming Auction

Auction 12

21 February 2024

Our Team

Ian Goldbart
Managing Director

Ian started collecting English coins at the age of thirteen, learning from one of the great numismatic specialists, the late Dimitri Loulakakis. In late 2003 he listed Noble Investments (UK) PLC on the AIM stock exchange at a stock market v...

Ian started collecting English coins at the age of thirteen, learning from one of the great numismatic specialists, the late Dimitri Loulakakis. In late 2003 he listed Noble Investments (UK) PLC on the AIM stock exchange at a stock market valuation of £1.2m, with the remit of dealing in coins and collectibles. In 2005 Noble acquired coin dealers, A H Baldwin & Sons Ltd. Further acquisitions followed with Apex Philatelic in 2008 and The Fine Art Auction Group (Dreweatts & Bloomsbury) in 2012. Noble was acquired in late 2013 for just over £45m. Ian’s passion for coins remains strong and he and the team have built Sovereign Rarities in to an important numismatic dealer and auction house in ancient, English, European and world coins.

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Contact Details ian@sovr.co.uk
Madeleine Goldbart
Director
Head of modern coins

Madeleine studied Economics and Finance at the London School of Economics and then spent 13 years working at major international investment banks advising institutional clients on their investments. She has been working at Sovereign Raritie...

Madeleine studied Economics and Finance at the London School of Economics and then spent 13 years working at major international investment banks advising institutional clients on their investments. She has been working at Sovereign Rarities since its foundation, specialising in modern gold Proof coins and spearheading the company's wholesale business.

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Contact Details madeleine@sovr.co.uk
Steve Hill
NumismatistHead of British Coins

Steve has worked professionally in the numismatic trade for 33 years and counting as a specialist in British coins, starting at Spink in 1990, progressing to Baldwin in late 2005 and in 2016 to Sovereign Rarities Ltd. Steve started his care...

Steve has worked professionally in the numismatic trade for 33 years and counting as a specialist in British coins, starting at Spink in 1990, progressing to Baldwin in late 2005 and in 2016 to Sovereign Rarities Ltd. Steve started his career at a time of economic recession and prices were at a low point in all areas after the boom of the early eighties. The demand for rarity and quality over the decades since resulted in prices improving, making this one of the most exciting periods to be involved in British coins; some wonderful collections have come through the marketplace, many of which had his direct involvement for sale. Steve has earned his international reputation as one of the most well-respected professional numismatists in this area, whether via retail listing or auction cataloguing, coupled with much numismatic research, some now published. Steve has contributed to the Standard Catalogue for nearly two decades and worked on many of its famous named collections, as well as many of its record breaking coins. Names like Slaney (part 1), Samuel King, the Douro Cargo, Shuttlewood, Selig, Manville, Kaufman, Rees Jones, Mantegazza, Van Roekel, Karon, Marshall, Adams, Bentley and Hemisphere; and individual record breaking coins like the 1933 Penny, 1839 Una and the Lion finest known proof set, 1920 Sydney Sovereign, Edward VIII and 1953 proof Sovereigns, Three Graces and Incorrupta gold Crowns, Petition and Reddite Crowns, as well as many others.

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Contact Details steve@sovr.co.uk
Graham Byfield
Numismatist & Head
of World & Ancient Coins

Graham is a very experienced professional numismatist and auctioneer who worked at A H Baldwin & Sons for over 15 years before joining Sovereign Rarities Ltd in 2016. Drawing on a wide-ranging in-depth knowledge of numismatics, at Sover...

Graham is a very experienced professional numismatist and auctioneer who worked at A H Baldwin & Sons for over 15 years before joining Sovereign Rarities Ltd in 2016. Drawing on a wide-ranging in-depth knowledge of numismatics, at Sovereign Rarities Ltd he specializes in World Coins including the complex Indian and Islamic series, Ancient Coins, and rare Commemorative Medals. He was an executive committee member for the International Association of Professional Numismatists for six years, serving as Treasurer there, and sat on the Council of the Oriental Numismatic Society from 2015 to 2021.

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Contact Details graham@sovr.co.uk
Julie Lecoindre
Numismatist
Head of administration

Julie joined Sovereign Rarities in 2016. She studied Law at Panthéon-Assas University and History of Art at Panthéon-Sorbonne and subsequently qualified as a French auctioneer. She moved to London in 2003 to start a career in philatelic auc...

Julie joined Sovereign Rarities in 2016. She studied Law at Panthéon-Assas University and History of Art at Panthéon-Sorbonne and subsequently qualified as a French auctioneer. She moved to London in 2003 to start a career in philatelic auction then numismatics at Spink & Son. She joins Sovereign Rarities from Baldwin’s where her many responsibilities include running the bullion coin division and specialising in European coins.

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Contact Details julie@sovr.co.uk
Romina Swan
Web Sales &Auction administration

Romina grew up in a family of numismatists, where family holidays would mainly consist of travelling to coin fairs around Europe. She then went on to study Biological Anthropology and Archaeology at Durham University, before interning at Sp...

Romina grew up in a family of numismatists, where family holidays would mainly consist of travelling to coin fairs around Europe. She then went on to study Biological Anthropology and Archaeology at Durham University, before interning at Spink in the coin department, cataloguing for the auctions. In 2021 she joined Sovereign as part of the Auctions team, and also runs the web sales. Romina also helps to organise the annual Coinex convention every September.

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Contact Details romina@sovr.co.uk
Adele Root
Head of Auctions

Adele studied art history at university, going on to begin her numismatic career in 2009 at Louisiana Gold and Coins. In 2011, she moved to a purchasing and accounts position at the head office of Southern Coins and Precious Metals where sh...

Adele studied art history at university, going on to begin her numismatic career in 2009 at Louisiana Gold and Coins. In 2011, she moved to a purchasing and accounts position at the head office of Southern Coins and Precious Metals where she stayed until 2013. After gaining her GIA (Gemological Institute of America) qualification in 2014, Adele moved to the UK and spent the next few years as a diamond consultant and appraiser. Adele joined Sovereign Rarities in 2021, where she uses her appraisal skills for both UK and US numismatic material. Since 2022, Adele has focused on managing the auction department.

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Contact Details adele@sovr.co.uk
Joshua Puckey
Numismatist
British Coins

Joshua achieved a BA and then MA in History at Durham University, where he took on courses in Palaeography and Codicology alongside medieval history modules. Having studied Latin throughout school and university, he was a key member of the ...

Joshua achieved a BA and then MA in History at Durham University, where he took on courses in Palaeography and Codicology alongside medieval history modules. Having studied Latin throughout school and university, he was a key member of the Archiving society, transcribing some of Durham Cathedral’s choicest manuscripts. After graduating, Josh successfully ran his own gardening tools business with a strong social media presence, and since joining Sovereign Rarities in 2021 has worked towards a specialism in the English Hammered series.

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Contact Details joshua@sovr.co.uk
Oliver Hepburn
Numismatist
Auction department

Oliver grew up in the Saxon minting town of Steyning, West Sussex, and first began collecting coins in 2010 when the Royal Mint released their Olympic 50p series. Since then, he has collected mainly US and early European coinage, with a par...

Oliver grew up in the Saxon minting town of Steyning, West Sussex, and first began collecting coins in 2010 when the Royal Mint released their Olympic 50p series. Since then, he has collected mainly US and early European coinage, with a particular interest in the coins of the late Holy Roman Empire. Oliver recently completed a Bachelor’s in History at the University of Winchester and a Master’s in Modern History at King’s College London, specialising in 19th and 20th century European politics and economics, and joined Sovereign Rarities in 2022.

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Contact Details oliver@sovr.co.uk
Chris Tyrimos
Numismatist
British Coins

Chris is a graduate of Queen Mary University of London where he studied History with additional courses in Film studies. He joined Sovereign Rarities in 2023 having previously worked at A H Baldwin & Sons for almost a decade, where he c...

Chris is a graduate of Queen Mary University of London where he studied History with additional courses in Film studies. He joined Sovereign Rarities in 2023 having previously worked at A H Baldwin & Sons for almost a decade, where he covered British coins in their entirety; from the early Anglo-Saxon period through to hammered and milled. His main duties were cataloguing, guiding and advising clients in all aspects, buying and selling in a retail capacity and also regularly procuring individual items and securing broader collections for auction.

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Contact Details chris@sovr.co.uk
Emma Hulme
Numismatist
Auction Department

Emma studied at King's College London University where she obtained both a BA and MA in Ancient History. During her studies, she undertook an internship at an antiquities dealer. It was here that Emma first encountered numismatics. She wen...

Emma studied at King's College London University where she obtained both a BA and MA in Ancient History. During her studies, she undertook an internship at an antiquities dealer. It was here that Emma first encountered numismatics. She went on to work for Baldwin's of St. James's and St. James's Auctions and has over 7 years of experience in the industry. She has a broad knowledge of both British and World coins and maintains an interest in ancient coins from her previous studies. Emma has given talks at the British Association of Numismatic Societies Conferences and is keenly engaged in numismatics.

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Contact Details emma@sovr.co.uk
Jamie Steljes
Administrative Department

Jamie grew up in Berkshire near the charming village of Pangbourne. His childhood was spent on the family farm in an area of rich history. The farm borders the river Thames, is next to a Roman villa, has Grim's ditch running through it and ...

Jamie grew up in Berkshire near the charming village of Pangbourne. His childhood was spent on the family farm in an area of rich history. The farm borders the river Thames, is next to a Roman villa, has Grim's ditch running through it and is close to the site of the battle of Newbury. His interest in history was sparked by metal detecting in the fields and finding numerous Roman coins, a pristine Roman brooch, and countless musket balls. Although his professional background is in logistics, operations and events, his love for all things old, vintage, rare, and unique led has to pursue a career in dealing with rare and valuable items. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Business and Events Management from the University of the West of England.

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Contact Details jamie@sovr.co.uk