Reference
The Xene Guide to collectible values.
Indicative market values for the rare coins, banknotes, trading cards, stamps and books our department heads are asked about most often — quoted in GBP, by representative grade, with the last documented public sale.
Updated 22 June 2026 · Next update July 2026
Method
Median of the last three documented public sales, normalised to GBP at spot on sale date, hammer plus buyer's premium.
Scope
Items graded by any reputable third party. A Xene certificate adds liquidity but is not a precondition for the price.
Caveat
A guide, not a quote. For a binding valuation request a Xene appraisal through contact.
Jump to a discipline
Rare coins
| Item | Representative grade | Indicative value (GBP) | 12-mo trend | Last documented sale | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 Double Eagle (US $20) | MS-65 | £14.2m | ▲ | Jun 2021 | Sotheby's NY |
| 1804 Draped Bust Dollar, Class I | PR-68 | £6.6m | ▲ | Aug 2021 | Stack's Bowers |
| 1787 Brasher Doubloon, EB on Wing | MS-63 | £7.4m | ▬ | Jan 2021 | Heritage |
| 1343 Edward III Florin (Double Leopard) | EF-45 | £540,000 | ▲ | Nov 2025 | Spink London |
| Victoria 1839 Una and the Lion £5 | PR-64 DCAM | £175,000 | ▲ | Mar 2026 | Heritage Long Beach |
| 1933 George V Penny (pattern) | MS-64 BN | £105,000 | ▬ | Feb 2026 | Baldwin's |
| 1797 'Cartwheel' Twopence | MS-65 BN | £2,400 | ▲ | May 2026 | DNW Noonans |
| 1893 Morgan Dollar (San Francisco) | MS-65 | £260,000 | ▬ | Apr 2026 | GreatCollections |
For the grading conventions used above, see the Sheldon scale. For the certification workflow, see coin services.
Banknotes
| Item | Representative grade | Indicative value (GBP) | 12-mo trend | Last documented sale | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of England £1,000, 1936 (Peppiatt) | EPQ-58 | £82,000 | ▲ | Apr 2026 | Spink |
| US 1890 Grand Watermelon $1,000 | PMG-30 | £2.6m | ▲ | Sep 2024 | Heritage |
| Straits Settlements $10,000, 1953 | PMG-64 | £185,000 | ▲ | Mar 2026 | Stack's Bowers HK |
| Reichsbanknote 1923 Hyperinflation set | Mixed UNC | £1,800 | ▬ | Jun 2026 | Künker |
| Banque de France 5,000 Fr 'Terre et Mer' | EPQ-66 | £11,500 | ▲ | May 2026 | iNumis |
| Specimen £50 Series D, 1981 | EPQ-67 | £4,400 | ▬ | Feb 2026 | DNW Noonans |
Paper-money grades follow the conventions documented in paper-money grading. EPQ denotes Exceptional Paper Quality.
Trading cards
| Item | Representative grade | Indicative value (GBP) | 12-mo trend | Last documented sale | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1909 T206 Honus Wagner | SGC 3 | £5.4m | ▲ | Aug 2022 | Goldin |
| 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle #311 | SGC 9.5 | £10.6m | ▲ | Aug 2022 | Heritage |
| 1999 Pokémon Base Set Charizard 1st Ed Shadowless | Gem-Mint 10 | £330,000 | ▼ | Apr 2026 | PWCC |
| 2003 Topps Chrome LeBron James Refractor RC | Gem-Mint 10 | £260,000 | ▬ | Jan 2026 | Goldin |
| Magic: The Gathering Alpha Black Lotus | Gem-Mint 10 | £420,000 | ▲ | Mar 2026 | Heritage |
| 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan #57 RC | Gem-Mint 10 | £62,000 | ▼ | May 2026 | Goldin |
Card grades quoted on the 10-point scale. Modern sports and TCG markets are the most volatile in the guide; quoted trends are twelve-month, not lifetime.
Postage stamps
| Item | Representative grade | Indicative value (GBP) | 12-mo trend | Last documented sale | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Guiana 1c Magenta, 1856 | Unique | £7.1m | ▲ | Jun 2021 | Sotheby's NY |
| Treskilling Yellow, Sweden 1855 | Used, sound | £1.9m | ▬ | May 2010 | David Feldman |
| Inverted Jenny (US 24c, 1918) — single | Centering 90 | £1.4m | ▲ | Nov 2025 | Robert A Siegel |
| Penny Black, plate 1a, 1840 | Centering 85 / OG | £18,500 | ▬ | Jun 2026 | Spink |
| Mauritius 'Post Office' 2d Blue | Used, sound | £1.1m | ▲ | Dec 2016 | David Feldman |
Centering scores follow stamp centering. Original gum (OG) and the absence of hinge remnants are priced as separate premia.
Rare books
| Item | Representative grade | Indicative value (GBP) | 12-mo trend | Last documented sale | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shakespeare First Folio, 1623 | Complete, period binding | £7.6m | ▲ | Oct 2020 | Christie's NY |
| Audubon Birds of America, double-elephant folio | Complete set | £9.2m | ▬ | Dec 2018 | Christie's NY |
| Newton, Principia Mathematica, 1st ed 1687 | Continental issue | £2.8m | ▲ | Dec 2016 | Christie's NY |
| Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1st ed 1st print | Hardback, fine | £140,000 | ▲ | May 2026 | Heritage |
| Tolkien, The Hobbit, 1937 1st ed | Original dust jacket | £105,000 | ▬ | Mar 2026 | Sotheby's |
Book values are sensitive to binding, completeness and provenance; the figures above assume a credible, complete copy in the binding most readers will recognise. Significant association or inscription copies trade well above these levels.
How to read this guide
Grade is the single biggest driver
For most modern coins, cards and banknotes a single grade point can double or halve the price. The market pays a steep premium for the highest known surviving condition; below mid-grade the curve flattens sharply. The grades quoted here are representative, not the only grade the item trades in.
Thin markets distort medians
Some entries — the British Guiana 1c Magenta, the Audubon, the 1933 Double Eagle — are effectively unique or near-unique. Their values are anchored to a single very public sale and should be read as last-traded price, not as a repeatable median.
Currency and premium are normalised
Sales settled in USD, EUR, CHF or HKD are converted to GBP at the spot rate on the sale date, and the figures include the auction house's buyer's premium. They exclude VAT, shipping and import duty.
Trend arrows are twelve-month
A ▲ means the median trade in the last twelve months sits above the median of the prior twelve; ▼ the inverse; ▬ within five per cent. Trend is not a forecast.
Frequently asked
- How are the values calculated?
- Median of the last three documented public auction sales for that item in that grade, sourced from the major international houses and verified specialist dealers. Where fewer than three sales exist we mark the row as a thin market and quote the most recent trade alone.
- How often is the guide updated?
- Monthly. The dateModified at the top of this page reflects the last update; each row carries its own last-traded date.
- Do prices include buyer's premium?
- Yes. All values are hammer plus buyer's premium, converted to GBP at the spot rate on the sale date. They exclude VAT, shipping and import duty.
- Is a Xene grade required to use these values?
- No. The guide reports values for items graded by any reputable third-party service, normalised to the relevant scale. A Xene certificate strengthens provenance and resale liquidity, but it is not a precondition for the price.