Coin dealer Noble awaits £2m payment from Qatari investor
RARE coin dealer Noble Investments UK yesterday said it expected to hit trading forecasts for the year despite not being paid £2.2m owed to it by a Qatari collector.
The company, which auctions international rare coins and stamps, is hoping the collector, who snapped up a number of rare coins earlier this year, will pay up £2.2m they owe the firm’s auction arm, Baldwin’s.
The group said yesterday it was taking legal advice and would take “necessary steps” to get the payment, which amounts to about one fifth of its revenue.
Managing director Ian Goldbart said: “We are naturally disappointed with the continued delay in receiving payment from the Qatari collector; however, the new financial year has started well with a strong auction book for 2013 and we therefore hope to make further progress during the current year.”
The auction house set a new world record for an English coin auction in September when an Australian investor paid £780,000 for a rare George V 1920 Sovereign coin, one of only a handful in the world.
Goldbart said yesterday another rare coin, the 1819 George III Sovereign, would go under the hammer in May 2013, which could fetch a similar price.