Two rare medals, awarded to Inverness Thistle players in the late 1920s and early 1930s, sold for £500 – £150 more than expected – at auction yesterday.
The nine carat gold medals were awarded when Thistle won the Inverness Cup in 1927-1928 and 1933-1934, when the club was a Highland League outfit and playing their matches at Kingsmills Park in Inverness.
The 1933-1934 medal is inscribed: “Inverness Cup 1933-1934 ITFC. Jas. Roy.”
The 1927-1928 Inverness Cup medal does not feature the recipient’s name and it is simply inscribed: “Inverness Cup 1927-1928, Thistle FC.”
The Inverness Cup was introduced in 1895 and was originally a competition for the four Inverness clubs: Thistle, Caledonian, Citadel and Clachnacuddin. It was later opened up to other clubs, before interest in the competition waned. Inverness Thistle was founded in 1895.
The 1920s and 1930s was a particularly successful era for the club. For it won the Inverness Cup three times in the 1920s and five times in the 1930s and also won the Highland League title in 1928-1929.
Before the sale at Graham Budd Auctions in London yesterday morning, the Thistle medals were expected to fetch between £250 and £350, but, in the end, they were snapped up by a mystery bidder for £500.
The medals were part of an extensive collection of football medals assembled over many years by an enthusiast living in the north east of England. Following his death, his daughter then put the medals collection up for sale.