ANTIQUES
Objects of desire
While many of the King's Coronation 'collectables' will be mere junk, some of our previous monarchs' merch are now seen as crown jewels, including pants ...
by JENNIE BUIST BROWN
From coins to coffee cups and plates to pants (yes, pants!), the market for royal memorabilia is massive, and the Coronation of King Charles III will no doubt see the market flooded with all manner of 'collectables'.
But despite claims they're 'limited-editions', most of these items are little more than junk. Fun to collect perhaps, but not as investments. Unlike an English delft 'blue-dash' charger that was made to celebrate the coronation of King Charles II in 1660 when he was restored to the throne. It sold at auction in 2011 for £105,000. And a tin-glazed delft polychrome royal portrait plate dating to 1715-25, depicting King George I, sold at Christie's in 2008 for £17,500. By the time of King George Ill's coronation in 1760, transfer printing on pottery had been invented and the plates made for that occasion can now fetch up to £8,000.