three commemorative gold coins featuring Princes William and Harry are set to go under the hammer in Ipswich – and could fetch up to �80,000. Just days after Clarence House announced the engagement of Prince William to Kate Middleton, the coin bearing his image is expected to gain a lot of interest. The 22-carat gold coins, each weighing one kilogram, are estimated to fetch between �25,000 and �27,500 each. On Sunday, lot numbers 165, 166 and 167 are expected to get a lot of attention as auctioneers Lockdales host the auction of specialist collectables at the Holiday Inn in Ransomes Europark.

Coins like these are made in small numbers by the Royal Mint for collectors.

A spokesman for the auctioneers said the antique value of the coins in the future is still to be determined, but the gold content of the pieces will help them maintain a strong value.

People can view the lots at the hotel from 9am. The sales will start at 11.30am.

IPSWICH: Street parties celebrating the Royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton could match the joyous scenes that marked the nuptials of the prince’s parents 30 years previously.

As the prince and his fiancee start discussing their marriage plans with officials, already putting together a list of possible wedding venues and dates, people across Suffolk are today waiting with baited breath for more announcements to be made.

Council chiefs said they are already considering how the county could mark the occasion, but said no formal plans will be put in place until the couple announce when and where they will tie the knot.

Royal aides will now consult with the Queen, senior royals, Miss Middleton’s parents and others before reporting back to the happy couple, who will make the final decision.

A spokesman for Ipswich Borough Council said while no plans are yet in place, they would be supportive of communities who wanted to get together and mark the occasion with street parties and other events.

A spokeswoman for Suffolk County Council echoed the sentiment, saying: “I think until we know a date and place nothing will be formally decided.

“Once we know more details, we can start planning. I am sure we will want to mark the event.”

Twenty-nine years ago, on Wednesday, July 29, Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

As these pages from The Evening Star show, hundreds of people across Suffolk marked the occasion in style with bunting, balloons and celebratory cakes.

Possible venues for Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding include St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, where the Queen married, or even St Clement Danes, the RAF’s main church in central London, as the prince is an RAF Search and Rescue helicopter pilot.

The couple are thought to favour March for their big day, but dates in the summer may also be picked.

Felixstowe councillor Cyril Webb, who remembers the celebrations at Prince Charles’s wedding announcement, said: “We have got some super things to look forward to with the wedding and the Queen’s jubilee.

“We have had some ghastly times and tragic things happening in Afghanistan and so on, and I think this is something that will give us a bit of a lift.

“It’s what we do in this country.”

n How will you celebrate? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.