Morton and Eden


Nash House, St. George Street, London W1S 2FQ
+44 0-20-7493-5344

About Auction House

Founded in 2001 by James Morton and Tom Eden, we are specialist auctioneers of collectors’ coins of all periods and types, war medals, Orders and decorations, historical medals and paper money. Many of our staff are former members of the Coins & Medals Department at Sotheby’s, with whom we maintain a close association. Based in Central London, we hold live online auctions which are held in Sotheby’s Bond Street salerooms and are open to all.  We offer comprehensive valuation services and are pleased to give our verbal opinion on the market value of your property without obligation o...Read More
f any kind.  Private treaty sales can also be arranged.Read Less

Auction Previews & News

2 Results
  • Two Indian Mutiny Victoria Crosses sell for £360,000 at auction
    Auction Result
    Two Indian Mutiny Victoria Crosses sell for £360,000 at auction

    Both VCs were bought by the same anonymous bidder. LONDON.- Two important Victoria Cross medals, awarded during the Indian Mutiny of 1857-1858, were sold by specialist auctioneers Morton & Eden in London today (Wednesday 18 November 2020) for a combined total of £360,000, having fetched £174,000 and £186,000 respectively. The first of the two VC medals to come under the hammer was awarded to Captain George Forrest for ‘gallant conduct in the defence of the Delhi Magazine, on the 11 May 1857’, placing it amongst the earliest VCs to be awarded in the Indian Mutiny. It sold above estimate for £174,000 (lot 770). The second of the two Indian Mutiny VCs was the ‘Kashmir Gate’ VC awarded to Ensign John Smith of Royal Bengal Engineers. In broad daylight and under heavy musket fire Smith demonstrated ‘conspicuous gallantry’ during the storming and destruction of the Kashmir Gate at Delhi on 14 September 1857. It also sold above estimate fetching £186,000 (lot 771). Both VCs were bought by the same anonymous bidder. David Kirk, medal specialist at Morton & Eden said: “It was a great honour for us to have offered two distinguished Indian Mutiny VCs in today’s auction – neither of which had been seen on the market for more than two decades. There was plenty of competition for both VCs, and the results show that the market for these iconic awards remains strong”. Captain George Forrest (1800-1859) had previously had a long and distinguished service in the Indian Army prior to the Indian Mutiny. At the age of 57, he was too old to serve in the regular army so was serving in the Bengal Veteran Establishment of the Indian Army when the Mutiny broke out. As Assistant Commissary of Ordnance at Delhi he was intimately involved with the everyday workings of the Delhi Magazine, the city’s important store of gunpowder and munitions. Not surprisingly the Magazine was a significant target for the rebels, who fully intended to use it against the British once captured. One of the ‘Gallant Nine’, Forrest and his small group defended the Magazine for more than four hours…

    Art Daily
  • Re-scheduled auction 5 historic Islamic coins estimated to fetch US$1million
    Auction Industry
    Re-scheduled auction: 5 historic Islamic coins estimated to fetch US$1million

    5 Highly Important Rare Islamic Coins. LONDON.- Five exceptionally important Islamic coins dating from the 7th century AD are among the highlights of Morton and Eden’s next sale of Important Coins of the Islamic World in London on Thursday 22 October 2020. Collectively these five coins provide vital historic evidence for the birth of a purely Islamic coinage and are estimated to fetch around £700,000 (US$1,000,000.) Morton & Eden’s Islamic coin specialist Stephen Lloyd explains: “These highly sought-after rare coins, two of them gold and three silver, tell the story of the first decades of Islam in a unique way. They show how as the Islamic empire expanded both eastwards and westwards in the 7th century AD, not only were the conquered lands unified through Islamic rule and culture, a pan-Islamic coinage system provided additional cohesion. “In the early years of the great Muslim conquests there was no existing tradition of coinage so the rulers simply adapted or took inspiration from what coinage was in use for their own purposes. However after three decades of varying forms of hybrid coins, in 77h the first Umayyad gold dinar was struck heralding the birth of a new purely Islamic coinage. “Morton & Eden are delighted to be offering these remarkable five coins, which clearly demonstrate how Islamic coins evolved. “The current market for Islamic coins of great rarity, such as these, is extremely buoyant as proved by the outstanding record price of £3.72million paid for an Islamic gold coin from the ‘Mine of the Commander of the Faithful in the Hijaz’, which we sold in our Islamic coin auction in October last year. This has been supported by strong results in other recent European sales. Likewise an exhibition entitled “Coins of Islam: History revealed”, on display in Abu Dhabi earlier this year generated further interest.” Lot 1. The first coin is a gold solidus, probably struck in the 680s/60s. These were the first gold coins issued by the Muslims, who had captured large parts of the Byzantine Empire including Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt. “People living in these provinces had used gold coins like…

    Art Daily