The most talked-about lot in the sale was also one of the most historically intriguing. An Edwardian silver and enamel Coronation chocolate box, its lid enamelled with oval portraits of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra and inscribed Coronation Day June 26th 1902, sold for £1,700.
The story behind it is worth telling in full. Made by Sheffield silversmiths Cooper Brothers and Sons and hallmarked 1901, the box originally contained a single bar of Rowntree's chocolate, one of a tiny number of solid silver versions commissioned alongside the thousands of painted tin souvenir boxes distributed to schoolchildren across the country at the time of the coronation. The King and Queen received silver versions; others went to members of the Rowntree family.
There is a twist, however. The date on the box, 26 June 1902, is wrong. King Edward fell seriously ill with an abdominal abscess shortly before the planned ceremony and required surgery, pushing the coronation back six weeks. It did not take place until 9 August. The box, already made and inscribed, records the date that never was.
Our specialist Holly Hammond described it as about as rare as it gets, and believed it to be only the second example of its kind to appear at auction this century. The only other silver coronation chocolate box sold in recent years went under the hammer in London in 2007. This one, in remarkable condition and complete with its original red leather case, came to us and sold for £1,700.