Indian Coins from the Collection of the late John Roberts-Lewis

John Roberts-Lewis
John Roberts-Lewis was born in 1936. He spent his childhood in Wales with his mother who ran a café in Abergavenny.
He joined the army at age 18 and did his national service for nearly two years, but despite passing the entrance exams for Sandhurst he decided an army career was not for him. He then worked in the research department at Guest Keen’s steelworks in Cardiff for a few years and completed his A-levels at night school. To further his career he then entered higher education at the University of Wales and obtained first class Bachelors degrees in Geology and Physics, which combined to constitute one of the first qualifications in Geophysics from the university. When he left university he took a post with Seismograph Service Ltd which began his career in oil exploration. Then he embarked on a long career with British Petroleum which took him all over the UK and the world.
He lived and worked in Yorkshire, the North Sea, France, Germany, Iran, Libya, Nigeria (in the swamps of the Niger Delta), Norway, Australia, and finally returned to London for a few years. Taking early retirement at the age of 50, he made use of his time renovating his house and land in Buckinghamshire. On retiring John was also able to indulge his interest in history and archaeology by lecturing at local history societies and travelling to ancient sites in Italy, Greece, Turkey, Albania, Tunisia, Jordan and the Inca Trail in South America, to name but a few.
John discovered his interest in coins whilst at preparatory school at the end of World War II. The first coin in his collection was a large copper Cartwheel twopence which he enjoyed rolling down the bed sheets when he was confined to bed with asthma. From the age of 8 he was bitten by the ‘collecting bug’ and began by focusing on coins from the British Isles; he went on to build his collection of British coins over the next 60 years. As a child he spent hours in museums and antique shops, where he particularly enjoyed the historical narratives illuminated by coinage of different eras. As a young man he wrote a numismatic column for the South Wales Echo, answering coin related questions posed by readers.
During his travels, John enjoyed archaeological holidays which piqued his interest in ancient coins; these soon formed a part of his collection. Although he became interested in foreign coins in his teens, thanks to coins collected at secondary school from pupils whose older family members had been with the forces overseas, he later developed his British Colonial coin collection in the 1970s whilst working at home and abroad. During the 1990s John gave greater attention to collecting tokens, and he made a particular study of the SS Great Britain and her associated tokens over the ten years that his two daughters were at university in Bristol.
Despite his wide travels, John says he rarely purchased coins abroad, preferring the provenance of coins from trusted friends and dealers in London. And the prices at home were always better than in Hong Kong, apparently! Ever level-headed, he even declined the exciting offer of an interesting hoard of coins in Iran as he distrusted their source!!
At the age of 78 John has decided to stop collecting at his previous zealous level as he is finally content with his sets. He has decided to pass on a selection of his coins in the hopes that new collectors will enjoy their stories and provenance as much as he has.
Collection Information
This collection was sold on 27 February 2020.
Other Collections Sold in 2020
- London 17th Century Tokens from the Collection of Quentin Archer
- British Tokens from the Collection formed by the late Jeffrey Gardiner
- English Coins from the Collection of the late Dr John Hulett
- The North Yorkshire Moors Collection of British Coins
- British Copper and Bronze Coins from the Collection formed by the late Hiram Brown
- Coins of Elizabeth I from the Collection Formed by Walter Wilkinson
- The David Kirch Collection of Jersey Paper Money
- A Collection of German Militaria
- The Collection of London 17th Century Tokens Formed by the Late Cole Danehower
- A Collection of Coins of the Indian Sultanates
- English and Anglo-Gallic Coins from the Michael Gietzelt Collection
- The Sutton Coldfield Collection of British Coins
- Charity Sale from the Archive of the AIB (formerly First Trust Bank)
- A Specialist Group of Milled Silver Coins
- Indian Coins from the Collection of the late John Roberts-Lewis
- Indian Coins from the Collection of John Rose
- Indian Historical Medals from the Collection formed by Michael Shaw
- The Yves Cataroche Collection of Guernsey Banknotes
- A Collection of Awards to the Q-Ship H.M.S. Penshurst
- A Collection of Army Gallantry Awards to the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, and the Royal Air Force
- A Collection of Waterloo Medals
- A Collection of Irish Coins, the Property of a Gentleman
- Irish Coins from the Michael Gietzelt Collection
- A Collection of Irish Historical Medals, the Property of a Gentleman
- The Brian Dawson Collection of British Tokens
- A Collection of Historical Medals, the property of a Gentleman
- A Collection of Medals formed by the Reverend Canon Nigel Nicholson, OStJ, DL
- A Collection of Police Medals
- The Collection of British Colonial Coins formed by the late John Roberts-Lewis
- The Antony Scammell Collection of British Coins
- A Collection of Queen’s South Africa Medals for the Relief of Ladysmith
- A Collection of 17th Century Tokens formed by a Gentleman Deceased
- Essex 18th Century Tokens from the Collection of the late Peter Spurdens
- Duplicate 19th Century Tokens from the Collection of the late Francis Cokayne
- The Malcolm Assistant Collection of Market Checks
- A Group of Tickets and Passes Related to Horse Racing
- Duplicate Southwark 17th Century Tokens from the Collection formed by the late Cole Danehower
- The Antony Scammell Collection of Roman Coins
- The Sarah Bernhardt Collection of Jewellery and Objects of Vertu
- The Culling Collection of Military Watches
- The Amherst Family Medals
- A Collection of Naval General Service Medals 1793-1840
- A Collection of Egypt and Sudan Medals for the Battle of Tel-el-Kebir
- A Collection of German Militaria
- An Interesting Collection of Bank of England Error Notes
- A Specialist Group of Milled Silver Coins
- A Collection of Queen’s South Africa Medals to the Royal Navy
- A Collection of Queen’s South Africa Medals for the Defence of Kimberley, Ladysmith and Mafeking
- A Collection of Queen’s South Africa Medals for the Relief of Mafeking and Kimberley
- A Small Collection of Medals to War Correspondents
- A Collection of South Atlantic Medals
- A Collection of Irish Tokens, Tickets and Passes, the Property of a Gentleman
- 18th Century Tokens from the Collection formed by the late David Barry Bailey
- Tickets and Passes of London from the David Young Collection
- Tokens of Cheshire and Lancashire from the Collection formed by Bob Lyall
- The Chislehurst Collection
- The Jack Webb Collection of Medals and Militaria
- A Specialist Group of Milled Bronze Coins
- The Collection of Scottish Coins formed by Michael Gietzelt
- A Fine Collection of Medals to the South Wales Borderers
- A Collection of Egypt and Sudan Medals to the Royal Navy
- The Maclaine Family Medals
- A Collection of Rupees of British India
- The Collection of British Tokens formed by John Rose
- Medals from the Collection of Warwick Cary
- A Collection of Egypt and Sudan Medals 1882-89
- A Remarkable Collection of Bank of England Errors - Part One
- A Collection of Medals to the Gloucestershire Regiment
- British Coins from the Collection of a Decorated Korean War Veteran
- A Collection of French Historical Medals, the Property of a Gentleman
- A Collection of Medals to the Royal Welsh Fusiliers
- The Collection of 17th Century Tokens formed by the late Robert Thompson
- Sussex Tokens, Tickets and Medals from the Collection formed by the late Ron Kerridge
- A Collection of British Historical Medals, the Property of a Gentleman
- Golfing Medals, the Property of Gary Alliss
- A Collection of Medals and Coins of Edward VIII
- A Collection of Medals to the Norfolk Regiment
- Medals from the Collection of the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum
- A Collection of Queen’s South Africa Medals to the Royal Navy
- English Coins from the Collection of the late Peter Spurdens
- The Don Kenefick Collection of Historical Medals
- The ‘Boys at the Lake’ Collection of Durand’s Famous People of the World Medals
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