I’d be grateful for any information about this Richard Comyns piece.
It is a large crystal decanter, approximately 40cm tall, with a substantial sterling silver collar hallmarked London 1985 and marked RC for Richard Comyns.
The hallmarks appear to include RC (Richard Comyns), Lion Passant (sterling silver), Leopard’s Head (London Assay Office) and the 1985 date letter K.
I know that it was originally used as a presentation trophy for horse racing. It apparently had three small cardboard badges/tags hanging around the neck, but unfortunately these are no longer with it.
I’m particularly interested to know whether anyone recognises this type of Comyns racing trophy, or knows which races/organisations may have used them in the 1980s.
Any information about its history, rarity or collector interest would be very much appreciated. Thank you!
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That “k” date letter is actually 2009 and the assay office mark is the rose of Sheffield. RC is Carrs of Sheffield. My feeling is that it is a standard decanter, not produced specifically as a trophy. If you felt so inclined you could contact them directly (search for Carrs Silver Sheffield) and ask if they had any knowledge of the piece.
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Thank you for your reply. It definitely had tags on it, I saw them. Racing I think
It may have been a prize but it’s not a trophy. A trophy would have details of the race and winner on it. The cardboard tags you mention will be the badges worn by owners/ trainers/ VIPs at the meeting … ie the owner of the decanter. Narrowing it down to meeting/ race relies on the cardboard badges you don’t have. If there were 3 of them it might have been a 3 day meet such as Goodwood. However even if you do find out where it was presented… it’s not going to add anything to the value. It’s a very nice silver collared decanter.
Thank you very much for your reply which is very helpful and thank you for saying it’s a nice piece. I moved and can’t find a space for it - would you mind giving me a rough idea on its resell value? I hope that’s allowed. It’s on a selling platform but has no views which is confusing as it is a nice decanter.
Bear in mind decanters are a bit niche these days as most people do not need to decant wine. Something like this would be the sort of gift one might give at a wedding or silver wedding anniversary. New I’d expect it to be about £250-300 so second hand you are probably looking at £100-150. A plain glass decanter would struggle to make £20 these days so you are really paying for the silver collar. Ones by Asprey, William Yeoward etc would fetch more.
If list on eBay I suggest Make an Offer and see if you get any… be prepared for some daft ones. Title is key… literally use key words for example:
COMYNS Silver Neck CRYSTAL DECANTER - Hallmarked - WEDDING - GIFT - Classic - STUNNING UNUSED 1985
Don’t know if you can fit all that but cut out some ‘spacing’ and either drop or change words.. STUNNING to SUPERB for example! Capitals are difficult to read but mixing up with lowercase makes it stand out and easy to read.
Describe it fully… and accurately height for example! Marks on base show where it’s been displayed… maybe never displayed and no scratches. ‘Ideal for a wine connoisseur’ … make it interesting but accurate!!!
Get some good photos. Clear glass is awful to photograph… maybe add a bottle of red wine for a touch of colour… and a corkscrew… make it stand out…
That’s about all you can do. Research prices of similar decanters in SOLD listings… and price accordingly. Too expensive and they will skip by.
Good luck .. hope it helps!
Thank you so much - I have changed it - here is the listing if you want to have a peek - 158230001667 - eBay ( hope that’s allowed) . I’ll try and improve photos later. Your help is very much appreciated, thanks for all the info and your time.
Mandy
