Coincraft - Britain's Coin Shop, has hired two PhD's to catalogue the Richard Lobel Collection of Edward VIII material. Dr Lucia Scigliano and Dr Aalia Ahmed have agreed to take on the mammoth task, which they hope will be completed in about a year's time. The project is expected to culminate in a three or four volume set of catalogues of the collection.

The pair previously worked with The Royal Philatelic Society on co-editing the Clash of Empires: The 1879 Anglo-Zulu War Exhibition Catalogue.

Richard Lobel has spent more than 50 years collecting Edward VIII memorabilia and his collection is considered the second finest in the world. The finest is of course, The Royal Family's. Richard has been a secret buyer at auctions and from specialist dealers in ephemera over the years. In an article in The Antique Trade Gazette Richard Falkiner once questioned the strength of Edward VIII material, because most of two large auctions were bought by only one buyer, that buyer was Richard Lobel.

The collection starts with the birth announcement of Prince Edward hand written by his father (George V) and the newspaper where it was published in 1894. It also contains the King's day book for 1936, where his valet wrote 'Finis' on the day Edward Abdicated. The archives of the chateau in France, where the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were married, was purchased in its entirety. Including 63 handwritten letters from the Duchess of Windsor. The collection contains thousands of pieces, with many of the items unique and never seen before.

The section of medallic portraits and medals is considered to be the finest in the world. Mr. Lobel was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for owning the only partial set of Edward VIII British coins. He and his company have been listed 14 times in the Guinness Book of World Records.

It is hoped that the catalogues will bring more light to an important, yet turbulent period in British history. Even today, Edward is never far from the pages of the National Press. When important pieces are discovered, Mr. Lobel is still adding them to his collection, even while the catalogues are being prepared. It is hoped that the collection will stay together.

For more information contact: info@coincraft.com

To read earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
SUBSCRIBER PROFILE: RICHARD LOBEL OF COINCRAFT(https://www.coinbooks.org/v25/esylum_v25n12a17.html)
RICHARD LOBEL INTERVIEW PART SIX(https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n24a21.html)