Sport · India Bureau
Man's £25 car boot haul yields rare Captain Cook medal worth £5,000
A British collector stumbled upon an 18th-century medal commemorating Captain James Cook's death while sorting through a box of old medals purchased at a car-boot sale for just £25. The rare piece eventually sold at auction for £5,000 and has now been acquired by a museum.
LSN India ·
A fortuitous discovery at a West Yorkshire car-boot sale has netted a collector a significant windfall and enriched a museum's historical collection. The buyer purchased a box containing 22 old medals for £25, an investment that would prove remarkably rewarding upon closer examination.
Among the collection lay a rare medal from the 18th century commemorating the death of Captain James Cook in 1779. The finder's initial sale of the remaining 21 medals generated £500, but it was the Cook medal that proved the genuine treasure.
Upon taking the rare piece to an auction house for valuation, the medal fetched £5,000—a return that far exceeded the original purchase price of the entire box. The acquisition demonstrates the unpredictable nature of collecting and the value that can be hidden in seemingly ordinary lots.
The Captain Cook Memorial Museum in Whitby, located in the explorer's hometown, secured the medal for its collection. The museum plans to feature the piece in a special exhibition scheduled for 2028, making it accessible to visitors and researchers interested in Cook's historical legacy and the cultural commemoration surrounding his life and expeditions.