Look, but don’t eat! Untouched box of Cadbury’s chocolates which were made for King Edward VII’s coronation 121 years ago to go under the hammer
- The chocolates marked the coronation of King Edward and Queen Alexandra
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A tin of Cadbury’s chocolates which are more than 120 years old and were produced for King Edward II’s Coronation will soon go under the hammer.
The confectionery, a limited edition box which is imprinted with the King and Queen Alexandra’s portraits, will go up for auction in a Derby showroom, Hansons and is expected to fetch up to £150.
The chocolates, which are vanilla flavoured, were produced specially to mark the monumental event on June 26, 1902, making them 121 years old.
The perfectly preserved chocolates were originally given to Mary Ann Blackmore when she was a nine-year-old schoolgirl in Durham.
When she first received the box of sweet treats, she exercised incredible self-restraint and chose not to eat any of it she decided not to eat any of them.
The special tin of chocolates were released in celebration of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra’s coronation
Instead, she decided to keep the goodie full of chocolates as a memento of the historic royal event.
The packaging of the vanilla Cadbury’s chocolate is far from what you might expect of the purple-covered treats we get today.
The historic gold-lined red packaging features a portrait of both royals with a golden ‘E’ next to King Edward VII and a ‘A’ next to Queen Alexandra.
The words: ‘Coronation of King Edward VII & Queen Alexandra 26 June 1902’ is also written around a detailed illustration of a crown.
A label inside also shows the event, date, and royal names in blue writing.
Since Mary first received the special chocolates, they have been passed through the family’s generations, with the tin remaining untouched.
The chocolates are set to go up for auction later this month at Hanson’s Auctioneers in Derby
The rare treat is expected to fetch at least £100 to £150 at the auction
Mary’s granddaughter, Jean Thompson, 72, recently decided to bring the tin to Hansons Auctioneers in Derby.
Over a century since Jean’s grandmother received the chocolates, they will be auctioned off, and are estimated to reach at least £100 to £150.
Morven Fairlie of Hansons Auctioneers said: ‘Back in that time, this was a real treat, children never got chocolate.
‘It was obviously such a special gift to this little girl that she thought she couldn’t even touch it.
‘It depends on who collects royal memorabilia, and who wants to collect things from this time.
‘It may make more, sometimes you get a few bidders, people who want a piece of history, and the price could rocket.’
It comes as no surprise that the 121-year-old chocolates have far surpassed their use-by date, meaning that future owners should stick to marvelling at the old chocolates packaging, and not be tempted give them a taste.
Morven Fairlie said: ‘Nobody’s going to be eating it.
‘If you do open the tin, it does smell of chocolate, but I wouldn’t want to risk it.’
The coronation chocolates are expected to feature in Hansons’ July saleroom.
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