Noble Investments (UK) PLC : Prospero Collection sold for approximately $25m

5 January 2012

Noble Investments UK Plc

('Noble', 'the Group' or 'the Company')

Prospero Collection sold for approximately $25 million

The Directors of Noble Investments UK plc (AIM:NBL), the international rare coin and stamp dealer and auctioneer, are pleased to announce that the Prospero Collection of over 600 of the most beautiful and historically important ancient Greek coins was sold yesterday, on the first day of 'The New York Sale', raising estimated aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $25 million, including buyer's premium.  The collection was auctioned through the Group's subsidiary A. H. Baldwin & Sons Ltd.  This is one of the most desirable collections of ancient rare coins in existence, and having been collated over many decades, the collection has remained complete and untouched for the last 20 years. 

Noble will make a further announcement concerning the two day sale and its impact on the Company following its conclusion on 6 January 2012.

Ian Goldbart, Managing Director of Noble, commented: "The auction has just concluded after eight hours. We are delighted to have sold this important and comprehensive Prospero Collection for a total of approximately $25 million, making it the largest auction in the Group's history.  We look forward to updating shareholders further once the two day sale has been concluded."

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For further information please contact:

Noble Investments plc
Ian Goldbart, Managing Director	Tel: [phone]
[e-mail]

WH Ireland
Chris Fielding
Head of Corporate Finance	Tel: [phone]

Financial media enquiries:

Abchurch Communications
Mark Dixon / Jamie Hooper	Tel: [phone]
[e-mail]

About Noble Investments PLC

Noble Investments (UK) PLC is the only listed UK based company involved with the trading and auctioning of collectables, including ancient and foreign coins; commemorative medals and tokens; banknotes and paper ephemera; military orders and decorations, and world stamps. The Group also deals in rare and valuable numismatic and philatelic books.

The Group helps private collectors build their collections, provides new collectors with guidance on their purchases and supports investors with the formation of portfolios in a variety of valuable collectables.

Noble Investments operates two brands; Baldwin's, which was established in 1872 and is a leader in the field of numismatics, and Apex Philatelics, which focuses on the auctioning of world stamps.  The Group conducts the majority of its trading through wholly owned subsidiary A. H. Baldwin & Sons Limited, which runs major auctions internationally, including London, New York and Hong Kong.

The Group has a robust cash position and a progressive dividend policy, and for the six months ended 28 February 2011 reported that pre-tax profit increased by 40%.  Noble Investments has a strong team of numismatic experts, and the Group has 140 years of experience in rare and collectable coins.