Unusual offerings in sales over the coming weeks include a collection of Communion tokens and a Lewis Hamilton Formula 1 racing car.
For fans of Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton's 2010 Turkish Grand Prix winning McLaren will be offered for sale in a one-off auction on July 17th, the Saturday afternoon of the British Pirelli Grand Prix race weekend. In the fourteen years since his F1 baptism of fire in Melbourne 2007, Hamilton has competed in 270 Grand Prix events, winning 98, amassing 100 pole positions in over 5,170 laps. The seven-time Formula 1 World Champion has also taken his talents across multiple arenas, such as fashion design and social and environmental activism.
The McLaren MP4-25, powered by the Mercedes Benz FO 108X 2.4l V-8 engine, proved to be a major improvement on its predecessor due in part to the innovative F-Duct being incorporated into its design, which helped reduce aerodynamic drag and allowed the car as much as an additional 6mph on the straights. With the chassis number 25A-01, auction house Sotheby's says it is "an unrepeatable opportunity given the model's scarcity" and it is believed to be one of a rare few (client confidentially precludes disclosing exactly how many cars exist in private ownership). It can still be track driven and is supported by the original factory team as it is part of individual heritage departments of both McLaren and Mercedes.
The auction will take place prior to the first ever sprint qualifying race in Formula 1, and the car will be driven around Silverstone as the bids roll in. As it’s the first-ever Lewis Hamilton GP-winning car to come to market, it is listed with an eye-watering estimate of $5m-$7m (€4.19m-€5.87m) and that is before the 12.5 percent commission.
Communion tokens
At its Coins, Tokens and Historical Medals sale, July 6th and 7th, Mayfair-based Dix Noonan Webb is selling what's described as the "best ever collection of Irish communion tokens to be offered at auction", which was amassed over many years by Delmas Parker from Oklahoma.
"Communion tokens are derived from the Irish wars of religion of the mid-1600s," Peter Preston-Morley, head of coin department at Dix Noonan Webb, says.
“Protestants assembled in large church meetings, which served, not just as religious meetings, but also as political gatherings. To keep track of just who was attending these larger meetings, which were subject to activities of political spies and people that did not belong, communion tokens came into being.”
The collection of 72 lots, totalling 455 tokens mainly features pieces from Northern Ireland but Dublin is also represented with three tokens from Ormond Quay, including the Scotch Church 1843 (£150-£200/€174-€232) and what is described as "an extremely fine token from the Presbyterian Church in Tralee dating from 1911" (£60-£80/€69-€93). The entire collection includes pieces from the Norweb, Noble and Macmillan collections in addition to that of Lester Burzinski, author of the standard reference, and is expected to achieve in the region of £10,000/€11,641.
