James Holcroft, FRNS
Co-founder · Chairman
Twenty-two years at Sotheby's, latterly Head of Coins. Past President of the British Numismatic Society. Author of three monographs on hammered gold.
About
A London house, founded on the simple idea that collectors deserve a quieter authority.
Our story
Xene Ltd was incorporated in England on 18 July 2014, in a single room above a jeweller in Hatton Garden, London.
The founders — three specialists who had collectively spent decades at major auction houses — had grown weary of two failures they encountered repeatedly in the trade. Authentication that was hurried, and grading that was inconsistent across firms. They set out to build a house that combined the scientific rigour of a forensic laboratory with the decorum of a private bank.
The name was chosen for what it does not mean. Xene carries no etymological baggage in English, no resonance with any particular market, no implied bias toward any continent or century. It was meant to be a neutral mark, applied dispassionately to the things we examined.
A decade later, Xene operates from a five-storey Georgian townhouse on the same street, with a manufacturing atelier in Surrey. Our specialists number eleven. Our clients include private collectors, family offices, museums, central bank archives and the principal auction houses of Europe, North America and Asia.
We remain wholly independent. We have never taken external capital, and we have never been for sale.
48 Hatton Garden
The London office.
A Grade II listed Georgian townhouse on London's historic jewellery street. Built in 1763, it was occupied for most of its life by gold-beaters and then by a diamond merchant. Xene purchased the freehold in 2018 and restored the façade and interiors in collaboration with English Heritage.
The basement and ground floor house the examination laboratories — climate-controlled, electromagnetically shielded, with a Class III strongroom rated to UL Insurance Standard 687. Upper floors house the library, registry and a drawing room where clients are received for consultation.
Principles
Four commitments, unchanged.
Independence
We do not buy, sell or broker the objects we examine. Our only product is judgement. No specialist may hold a beneficial interest in any item submitted to the firm.
Discretion
Items are handled under strict confidentiality. Names appear in our records only with consent; institutional clients may submit anonymously through a nominated solicitor.
Documentation
Every examination is photographed, timestamped and stored in triplicate, indefinitely. Our oldest case file dates from 18 July 2014 and remains retrievable in seconds.
Consensus
No grade is final until two specialists agree and a third has reconciled any difference. The firm has, in ten years, never published a non-unanimous grade.
Specialists
The people who sign the certificates.
Every Xene certificate is hand-signed by the specialists who graded it. Below, the heads of our six disciplines and the firm.
Augustus Veil, FRNS
Director of Numismatics
Twenty-eight years across Spink, Stack's-Bowers and Heritage. Specialist in ancient gold, Renaissance medallions and British proof coinage.
Sophie Aldhurst
Senior Notaphilist
Formerly Curator at the British Museum Department of Coins and Medals. Specialist in early Bank of England issues and Imperial Russian notes.
Marcus Brent
Director of Cartophily
Eighteen years at Heritage and Goldin Auctions. Co-author of the standard guide to T206 cards and a recognised authority on trimming detection.
Henrietta Maule, FRPSL
Director of Philately
Formerly Senior Curator at the British Postal Museum. Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society of London. Specialist in GB classics and Empire issues.
Dr Iris Carrow
Director of Bibliography
Former Sotheby's Books cataloguer. DPhil (Oxon) in early modern printing. Editor of the new ESTC supplements for English provincial presses.
A brief chronology
Ten years of practice.
- 2014
Founded in London
Three specialists open the first Hatton Garden office on the second floor of 48 Hatton Garden, beginning with numismatic work.
- 2015
First million-pound submission
An Edward III Florin of 1343 is graded MS-63 — the first item we certify above £1m declared value.
- 2016
Notaphily division
Bank note authentication added; first major commission for a European central bank archive.
- 2017
Surrey atelier opens
Our holder-manufacturing atelier opens in Guildford; every Xene slab from this point is machined in-house.
- 2018
Philately & cartophily
Two senior specialists join from the British Postal Museum and a major auction house; full philatelic service launched.
- 2019
Public registry online
The Xene registry — a public index of every certificate we have issued — goes live. NFC chips embedded in slabs from this year.
- 2020
Lifetime guarantee
Insurance partnership signed with Lloyd's; every certificate becomes lifetime-guaranteed, transferable and indefinite.
- 2022
Bibliographic services
Rare books and manuscripts division opens, with the museum-grade clamshell programme.
- 2023
First million items
Xene marks its millionth certified item — a 1933 Bank of England £5 white note.
- 2024
10 years, 11 specialists
The firm marks its first decade. Staff number eleven, across five disciplines, in two locations.
Memberships & Accreditation
Recognised by the bodies that govern our trade.
Royal Numismatic Society
British Numismatic Society
Royal Philatelic Society of London
Antiquarian Booksellers' Association
International Society of Appraisers
British Antique Dealers' Association (Affiliate)
Lloyd's Coverholder
Made in London & Surrey
The Xene mark.
Every Xene holder, certificate and label is made in the United Kingdom — slabs machined in Surrey, certificates printed in Clerkenwell, labels foiled in Holborn. We do not outsource the physical mark of our judgement.
Visit
By appointment, at 48 Hatton Garden, London.
The Xene office receives clients by prior arrangement. Tea is served at four. Items left with us are held in a Class III vault.