Auction Series. #3; Glendining & Co, in conjunction with Spink & Son Ltd, London and Bank Leu A,G, Zürich, 22 May 1974 This was the first collection put together by Mr. Emmanuel Azzopardi, an impressive assembly in its own right, however if one considers it in conjunction with the second collection sold as Spink No.63 in 1988, then surely it would be a contender for one of the greatest collections of KOM coins ever assembled. Emmanuel has kindly accepted to present the highlights of this auction himself. Colin Formosa Secretary General
Malta Numismatic Society
Jean -Paul Divo was responsible for the catalogue of the auction and as he rightly wrote a number of coins were bought from previous auctions at Glendining in 1957, 1960 and 1967, and put together by a very ardent collector. When building up my first collection it took me over a period of 20 years, during which I bought the Gustav Pisani silver coin collection which included very rare important coins and from A.H. Baldwin, London. Peter Mitchell was my buyer at Baldwin. The collection included the gold zecchini, having various varieties, of all the Grand Masters except for the De Paule and Carafa zecchini, which were sold to Spink before the auction. The silver four tari coins are very well represented, coins of de Vallette, del Monte, Cassiere, Verdalle, Alof Wignacourt, De Paule, Lascaris, Gessan, Nicholas Cotoner, Carafa, Perellos, and Zondadari (two types). I think that the following coins deserve a special mention: Lot 14 L’Isle Adam gold zecchino, extremely rare, bought Baldwin £2,200 Lot 15 L’Isle Adam silver one tari having the bust of L’isle Adam on the obverse; exceedingly rare, bought by Baldwin for E. Azzopardi £2,700. This coin was later at the Spink 63, 1988 lot 761 £2700 bought by Spink Zurich and at the LHS99, 2006, lot 52 Sfr12,000. Lot 16: Homedes zecchino, exceedingly rare, bought by Spink for Restelli £2,200; sold Restelli Collection lot 42 Sfr 28,000 Lot 75: Verdalle silver four tari with cardinal’s head sold £1250 bought by Spink for E. Azzopardi later Spink 63, 1988 lot 812 sold £1,000 bought by Goddard Lot 90: Alof Wignacourt silver three tari undated pre 1609, very rare, ex Gustav Pisani collection, £680 bought by Spink, LHS99, lot 112 Sfr 2200, PCM Lot 97: Vasconcellos zecchino, exceedingly rare, sold £3,200 bought by Spink’s Zurich. This was the first time a zecchino of Vasconcellos appeared at auction. Lot 98: Vasconcellos four tari dated 1722, extremely rare, sold for £1450 bought by Vancloy Lot 134: Rafael Cotoner three tari, 1661, extremely rare, £520, ex Gustav Pisani collection, bought by Vancloy Lot 143: Carafa four tari 1680, extremely rare, £540, bought by Vancloy Lot 147: Adrian de Wignacourt zecchino, 1696, unlisted date, £900, bought by Spink for Restelli, Restelli collection 238 Sfr5500. Lot 149: Perellos four zecchini 1717, £1550, bought by Vancloy Lot 150: Perellos zecchinio 1717, £950, bought by Vancloy Lot 151: Perellos silver four tari, 1697, £700, bought by Vancloy Lot 195: Despuig silver 12 tari 1737, £500 bought by Spink for Restelli, Restelli collection 307 Sfr 5000 Lot 261: Pinto two scudi 1764, £300 bought by Baldwin for E. Azzopardi, Spink 63, 1988 lot 911 £700.
Emmanuel Azzopardi