Irish Proofs at Dix Noonan Webb Sale

 Today is the closing of Dix Noonan Webb auction 76, which offers a nice selection of British, Irish and South Africa coins, along with various world coinage including German East Africa, India and some fine Medeival coins.

 Of special interest are the short proof sets from Ireland. The first is lot 221, comprised of the threepence, penny halfpenny and farthing struck in proof, dated 1949. The second is a 1950 dated group including the sixpence, threepence and penny, also struck in proof. estimates for the two groups of coins are in the 5,000 to 6,000 pound range.

Irish proof strikes of the circulation types from these dates are quite rare and I was most interested to see what the drop of the hammer revealed for these brilliant beauties. Unfortunely both lots went unsold according to the prices realized list posted this morning. I wonder if there was a specific problem, or if they just failed to reach a reasonable reserve based on their lofty estimates?