A NUMBER of unique pieces of policing history will soon be up for grabs from Knutsford fine art sellers, Wright Marshall.

The auctioneers, based on Princess Street, will sell off a collection of more than 100 sets of Scottish police memorabilia worth around £30,000 during a sale from Tuesday, January 19 to Thursday, January 21.

The items are a collection formed by John C. Green, who wrote ‘Scottish Insignia as used by old Police forces.’

“It’s very different, and there’s such a lot of it,” said Simon Nuttall, specialist at Wright Marshall. “It has all been meticulously handled with all of the tags on it still.

“This is a great opportunity to buy these things. John C. Green even said to his wife before he died that he wanted people to have the chance to buy these things at auction.”

Among the collection is a bass drum from the City of Edinburgh Special Constabulary, which is expected to sell for around £200.

The collection began in 1985 when John C. Green was offered a group of nine police badges by a dealer.

According to Wright Marshall’s information, the badges differed from John’s collection at the time, which was comprised mainly of Insignia from England and Wales.

The collection continued to grow until it became a large collection illustrated in his book.

John passed away in 2010 but expressed his wishes for the items to be made available to the other collectors and members of the general public.

The Wright Marshall brochure says: “Wright Marshall are honoured to have been instructed to sell John Green’s outstanding collection.”

It has been described as the ‘best collection of Scottish Insignia in private hands.’

Collectors will also have the opportunity to get their hands on a Seychelles 50 rupees bank note from 1972, which depicts the word ‘sex’ in the trees to the right of Queen Elizabeth’s head.

Simon said that the artist must have been ‘having a bit of fun’ when the note was originally designed. It is expected that the note will go for between £80 and £120.

Entries are invited to the sale, for more information contact Simon Nuttall on 01565 653284 or email simonnuttall@wrightmarshall.co.uk