Amid persistent geopolitical tensions rise in various parts of the world, precious metals such as gold and silver continue to see strong price growth.
“The price of silver and gold has risen greatly in the past 60 days, mainly due to what’s going on in the world, from Greenland to the Middle East to Ukraine,” says John Weldon of Weldon Auctioneers in Cows Lane, Temple Bar, Dublin. Earlier this week, pure silver ingot was on the market for about €2.60 per gramme, compared with €1.39 per gramme in mid-November 2025.
“People and banks move cash funds into the safety of silver and gold, not only to guard as an inflation hedge, but also to have a tangible asset,” Weldon says.
John Weldon Auctioneers will be selling a commemorative set of silver ingots celebrating 1,000 years of the British monarchy from AD 973 to 1973, at their next auction on Tuesday, January 27th, at 2pm.
Weldon says potential purchasers of this walnut-cased set of 50 silver ingots (each of which has a portrait and scene of a British monarch), will be more interested in the gramme weight of the silver rather than the historic significance of the item. The combined weight of the collection is about 3,300g.
Although one would imagine that such a collection would sell better in the UK than in Ireland, Weldon says Irish owners have found that post-Brexit import duties have made it much less attractive for Irish owners to sell items of significant historic British interest there.
The 1973 limited edition set made by John Pinches in London has an estimate of €5,000-€8,000, with the upper figure representing a little under the market price for silver (which stood at €2.57 per gramme earlier this week).
Weldon says gold sovereign coins are another way of storing value. The auction includes three gold sovereign coins with guides of €700-€800 each, and a Canadian silver coin dated 2018 with a guide price of €400-€700.
If predictions about people spending less time on their smartphones comes to pass, older-style time pieces such as alarm clocks and watches may well come back into vogue.
Watches feature prominently in both Adams Blackrock online auction on January 28th at 7pm, and the aforementioned John Weldon in-person and live online auction on January 27th at 2pm.
Elena McCrory of Adams Blackrock says Omega, Rolex, Patek Philippe, Longines and Raymond Weil watches are always in demand. A Rolex GMT-Master II Oyster-Perpetual Date man’s stainless steel wristwatch (€8,000-€9,000), and a Rolex Oyster 18-carat yellow gold diamond woman’s wristwatch (€6,000-€7,000) are included in the auction.
Meanwhile, an 18-carat gold Rolex Oyster Date wristwatch with a white face and roman numeral dial (€9,500-€11,500) and an 18-carat Cartier Tank Française Chronograph wristwatch (€5,000-€6,000) are among the watches for sale at Weldon’s auction. The latter includes three sub-dials that track seconds, minutes and hours for anyone in need of such exact measurements for sporting or other pursuits. The Weldon auction also has a stainless steel Rolex Oyster Date wristwatch with a guide price of €3,000-€4,000. Most guide prices for watches at auction are substantially below the retail price of an equivalent watch.
Moving on to matters much more mechanical, Wilsons Auctions in Belfast is holding a timed online auction of vintage tractors from Wednesday, January 28th, at 2pm, to Friday, January 30th.
Collected over 60 years by Ronnie Deering of Newtownards, Co Down, the John Deere, Case, Chamberlin and Hanomag tractors date from 1918 to 1969 and were sourced in the UK, across Europe and in Australia.
David Deering, son of Ronnie and Margaret Deering (who also ran Ballycastle House B&B for a number of years), has fond memories of participating in road runs, agricultural shows and vintage tractor shows over the years. Mount Stewart and Rosemount Estate in Greyabbey, Co Down, and Shane’s Castle, Co Antrim, were among the most popular local venues for such events.
At least two of the Deering tractors for sale – a 1922 Case 12/20 Crossmotor tractor and a 1949 Chamberlin tractor – that were used in the Cooley Vintage Festival in 2007. At that event, more than 4,500 tractors helped set the Guinness World Record for the most veteran tractors ploughing simultaneously.
Ronnie Deering, who worked for the Department of Agriculture in Northern Ireland, bought some of his collection in Western Australia when visiting family there. Now in his 80s, he is ready to sell 12 of them, while the family retains eight or nine others, alongside vintage cars for future generations of the Deering family.
“Myself and my father have restored many of these tractors over the years and we built an insulated shed to store them,” says David Deering, who expects strong interest in the vintage tractors from collectors here as well as abroad. Viewing takes place at the Deering residence (BT222AL) on Monday, January 26th, 10am-5pm.
jwa.ie, adamsblackrock.ie, wilsonsauctions.com
What did it sell for?
Women’s Day in the Mosque, Morocco, Richard Caton Woodville jnr
Estimate €500-€800
Hammer price €3,000
Auction house Adam’s
Cubes by Harry Kernoff
Estimate €800-€1,200
Hammer price €1,300
Auction house Adam’s
Homage to the Square with label typed “In memory of the Early Days”, by Josef Albers
Estimate €400-€600
Hammer price €1,300
Auction house Adam’s
Cherbourg Regatta, Henri Hayden
Estimate €600-€1,000
Hammer price €1,800
Auction house Adam’s