Every coin, medal, or token tells a story. However, some stories are more interesting than others, and what is more captivating than one involving a gold piece – unique – that also boasts a controversial monarch, espionage, and a new auction record? These are the components for a royal prize medal authenticated and graded PCGS SP61 and sold by Spink on December 10, 2025, for £75,000 (including buyer’s premium, or around $100,300USD), a record for an Edward VIII royal prize medal. This medal, struck from 57.56 grams of 22-karat gold, is formally known as the Dr. Thomas Arnold Award for Modern History and was awarded by the Rugby School in 1936, during the short, 326-day reign of King Edward VIII.
Royal prize medals are favored by numismatists as they bear the official portrait of the reigning monarch, similar to that on coinage – in this case Thomas Humphrey Paget’s portrait from Edward VIII’s rare pattern coinage. The reverse, by Leonard Charles Wyon (son of the legendary engraver William Wyon), shows a Latin inscription in nine lines. They are also favored as they are commissioned by the Privy Purse Office from the Royal Mint, and they are awarded only by institutions that have been granted a Royal Charter. Only 25 medals (22 in gold and three in silver) from 17 institutions were struck during Edward’s reign;many awarded only one medal, including this one from the Rugby school.
The Rugby School is famous as one of the "Clarendon Nine" and was a feeder institution for the British Empire's administrative and military classes. The recipient was Captain Patrick Findlater Stewart MC, SSM, late 11th Hussars (Royal Armoured Corps). Captain Stewart's later life as a MI5 operative is perhaps the most interesting aspect of his career. Archival snippets identify Stewart by the alphanumerical designator K 3/0 in internal MI5 correspondence. K Branch was the division responsible for counter-espionage (monitoring and neutralising foreign intelligence services operating within the UK), the 3 designation typically referred to a specific section within the branch, often focused on Soviet research or specific agent running operations.
In a document dated January 23, 1961, Stewart (as K 3/0) is recorded communicating with the U.S. Embassy regarding security matters. In another instance, he handles a "file summary" regarding the notorious traitor and Soviet double agent Kim Philby, passing it to a "K/Advisor." He was involved in controlling the flow of information regarding the most sensitive case in British intelligence history: the penetration of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) by Soviet moles. He also played a pivotal role in the MacDermot affair, the Henry Worthington File and the Wilson plot, and the Bernard Floud tragedy.
This new auction record is a testament to the confidence collectors have in coins, tokens and medals which are authenticated and graded by PCGS and backed by our guarantee on authenticity and grade.