KCR WINTER 24:25 Magazine FINAL 1 - Flipbook - Page 26
IN CONVERSATION WITH : Ema Sikic - World
Coins Specialist at Baldwin’s Auctions
Numismatics – the study or collection of currency, including coins,
tokens, paper money, medals and related objects – may seem a dusty
corner reserved for those of a very particular demographic. But new
generations are breathing new life into this part of the auction world.
At Baldwin’s Auction House on The Strand, we spoke with World Coins
Specialist Ema Sikic. While her career trajectory has in many ways been
fairly traditional, her passions are wide-ranging, and sometimes out of
the box….
Ema holds an MPhil in Classical Archaeology from University of Oxford,
specialising in Roman art and religions. She also holds a BA in Art History and Archaeology. As an art historian and archaeologist, she gained
experience working at archaeological digs in Italy and Croatia and
numismatic collections of archaeological museums in UK and Croatia.
Ema started her professional path in London as a manager of an ancient
art gallery, working with ancient artefacts and coins, helping her clients
source the best items for their collections. Ema is a member of the Royal
Numismatic Society, Oriental Numismatic Society and a regular contributor for the Coin Collector magazine.
As a collector herself, Ema told us she is a hunter and gatherer of many
things, including coins but also Pokémon cards and other Pokémon-related items, as well as medals and postcards.
Interestingly, as well as coins, currency and medals, Baldwin’s works
with stamps and other postage related items (philately) and a whole
array of trading cards, including Pokémon and Magic the Gathering,
both of which have incredible international – and intergenerational –
cult followings. The auction house recently launched a new category in
Vintage and Retro Video Games and will be starting sales later this year
for Music, Movies & TV Memorabilia. Anyone can register to bid at one
of the many auctions hosted by Baldwin’s, but you can also visit and buy
from their amazingly colourful and showroom in person at the Strand.
We asked Ema about her interest in collecting postcards. As well as 昀椀nding material related to the area where she lives in London, she said she
loves hunting down satirical postcards by Cynicus – considered to be
the 昀椀rst comic postcard artist. In the late 1890s, when he was working,
postcards were relatively novel; he started with satire and caricatures
which were incredibly popular in his day.
Ema’s numismatic passion is Samurai money, the interesting coinage
of the Edo period. In particular, the large gold denominations that are
called Kobans and Obans.
Gorgeous, large and unusually oblong in shape, the Koban is particularly recognisable, and these gold coins were used exclusively by the
ruling Samurai class. At the time, they would have traded at market
value of their metal content (excluding the gift pieces which were highly
esteemed and kept in the families rather than exchanged.) Nowadays,
these stunning coins are priced based on their numismatic value which
combines condition, rarity and provenance.
All Obans are rare and sought after on the market, however, the earliest
ones commissioned by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (the man who uni昀椀ed the
Japanese monetary system of the time) are incredibly rare with the
mintage of di昀昀erent types being either unknown or under 昀椀ve pieces
overall. The good news for those wishing to start their collection of Japanese coins is that many other denominations are available at far more
a昀昀ordable prices, starting from as little as a few hundred Pounds.
For more information on Baldwin’s and their upcoming auctions, visit
https://sgbaldwins.com/en-GB/departments/coins
Images: Credit Thomas K. And Bakr Magrabi.
