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 Thursday, November 05, 2009
Freudenberg Medals in Hirsch Auction 264
Posted by Tom
 Freudenberg 700th Anniversary Medals - 1987
For those who like to collect an issue from every location, the November 24-25 Gerhard Hirsch Auction 264 will be offering a rare pair of medals issued for the 700th Anniversary of the independent local of Freudenberg situated on the Main River in Baden-Wuerttemberg Germany. Both the silver and gold medals are paired as lot 1274 from the sale and can be viewed on the Hirsch website at www.coinhirsch.de
Mintages for these simple Freudenberg am Main medals were very limited with 500 stuck of the silver and only 100 struck in gold. So don't miss this opportunity to acquire a new location for your collection!
Lots You'll Like
Thursday, November 05, 2009 5:43:59 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00) 
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Thursday, June 18, 2009
Cederlind Buy or Bid Closes Tonight at 5PM
Posted by Tom
Tom Cederlind Sale 151 Closes at 5PM Today
Tom Cederlind's buy or bid sale No. 151, offering 274 lots of ancient and medieval coins is set to close in afew hours at 5pm west coast time tonight. The sale features a great array of Roman and Greek coins along with Byzantine, Dark Ages, English hammered, Scottish and Medieval coins.
Among the many interesting highlights of this sale rests an aEF silver Denier of Lothaire I, grandson of Charlemagne. Lothaire's struggle with his brothers for territory ended in the establishment of what evolved into the modern nations of France and Germany. Lothaire was the looser in this conflict, but the territory he was left with became something those two larger nations have fought over for years, Alsace-Lorraine.
Check out this sale and bid today at Tom's website: www.tomcederlind.com
Lots You'll Like
Thursday, June 18, 2009 10:06:07 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, June 11, 2009
Serbia, Montenegro and Greece in Marseille
Posted by Tom
Maison Palombo Offers Nice Run of Montenegro
 Montenegro has always been a favorite location for coin collectors. They produced a limited number of coins, making it a very achieveable series to complete. Often you will see runs of two, four or more Montenegro coins at auction, but this Saturdays Maison Palombo Auction offers collectors the chance to purchase seven Montenegro types, plus one rare pattern.
All six gold type coins of classic early 20th Century Montenegro are represented in Maison Palombo's June 13th auction, plus the bust right 5 Perpera of 1914. The 1915 2 Perpera, KM-Pn6, not PN5 as described in the catalog, was struck in Paris in advance of a circulation mintage that was never produced. It bears the word ESSAI on the reverse to the right of the date.
 Other gems of particular interest floating about the Maison Palombo sale include a scarce proof 5 Dinara of Serbia dated 1879, KM#12, grading Proof-63. The proof is not often found for sale, so don't miss this one.
Also striking in it's high grade and wonderful eye appeal is lot 741, an MS-62 graded FDC looking KM#1 copper 1828 Lepton of Greece. While it  is the more common date of this two date type, it is unusual to see 19th Century copper coins of Greece in such an excellent state of preservation.
Lots You'll Like
Thursday, June 11, 2009 9:00:28 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Great Gold Selection in Paris
Posted by Tom
Numismatique Collection A.M.
Today and tomorrow Binoche Renaud Giquello and Vinchon will be offering a large collection of gold coins of the world for public sale. Most all European and many other countries are represented, though there is a heavy emphasis on french gold coins.
A good selection of Ancient gold coins is here, along with nice groups of German States, Swiss Cantons and Italian States. Some very special Spanish and Latin American coins are also scattered throughout this sale, as evidenced by the Tierra del Fuego coin of Julius Popper, so look carefully and bid wisely.
Lots You'll Like
Tuesday, June 09, 2009 11:51:30 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Ancient Coins at Freeman & Sear Mail Bid Sale 16
Posted by Tom
 Freeman & Sear Mail Bid 16 Closes June 5th
Over 500 lots of ancient coins will be offered through the Freeman & Sear Mail Bid Sale 16 closing this Friday. Freeman & Sear are known for their accurate attribution and excellent experience in the field of ancient coinage and Sale 16 offers a wide array of coins from Greek to Roman, Byzantine to Oriental Greek, plus a selection of Islamic and world coins as well.
For more inforamtion and a complete lot listing with images and estimates visit www.freemanandsear.com but act quickly as this sale closes on Friday, June 5th and coins like the gold one-mina of Ptolemy IV Philopator, shown above, do not come along very often.
Lots You'll Like | Where to Find it
Wednesday, June 03, 2009 6:16:48 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, May 29, 2009
Modern Gold Commemoratives in Long Beach
Posted by Tom
Hertiage Auiction Offers Some Special Odds and Ends
 
To wrap up my coverage of some of the highlights of the super Heritage World Coin Auction going on right now at the Long Beach Coin Expo, I'd like to touch on a few modern gold commemoratives worth watching. These are coins which are rarely encountered for sale in the world coin market and so price guides and estimates mean much less than desireablily and demand.
First is a coin that is highly sought after and almost never offered since it's primary market sale; the 1996 gold Rouble of Belarus. this coin is offered as lot 22541, with an opeing bid of $750 and a web bid of $1100 at time of this posting. The catalog notes that the SCWC value of $4500 is overly optimistic, but in  the home market everyone is looking for this coin. The closing bid will give us some good data for adjustments.
Second is an exceptionally rare modern issue  specially designed and struck to honor diplomatic relations between Arab Saharawi and Venezuela listed as lot 22548. The reverse of this coin features Bolivar and El Uali, while obverse displays armas of both countries divided by a pillar. It's got an interesting past, a high denomination, 40,000 Pesetas and a low mintage of just 90 pieces. Opening bid was $350, with the top web bid at $650. Catalog value is at $1,000 for this one - so here too we may see some adjustment post closing.
 
Finally keep an eye on the three Yemen Republic gold commemoratives set as lots 22830, 22831 and 22832. These are not often seen for sale. The roaring lion 2 Riyals is quite highly sought, as is the lovely 1969 50 Riyals illustrated at the beginning of this posting. Opening bid for the standing Lion was at $750, high website bid was $1,900, opening for the roaring Lion was $600 with web bidding ending at $1,800, opening for the 1 Riyal with Camel was $300 with web bidding rising to $750. All should see active floor bidding before the hammer falls, especially with spot prices on gold moving up all week.
Lots You'll Like
Friday, May 29, 2009 9:20:53 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Proof 68 1906 Philippines 50 Centavos
Posted by Tom
 High Grade 1906 Proof 50 Centavos of Philippines
 Amongst a little run of 25 coin lots from the Philippines in tonights Heritage World Coin Auction are 19 scarce and desireable U.S. Administration proof issues. Many of these are very low mintage strikes, so careful numismatic students of Philippines coinage are sure to be watching and waiting to win a few items for their collections.
One of the standouts from this grouping is a gorgeous 1906 50 Centavos which has been graded PR-68 by NGC. This date had a mintage of just 500 pieces, which is not the lowest for Philippines coins of this era, but the grade is surely one of the highest, making this coin a real prize. Statring bid was $4,000 and as of this posting the website bid on Heritage was at $4,250. Expect it to climb a bit higher before finding it's new home.
Focus Country | Lots You'll Like
Friday, May 29, 2009 8:35:28 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, May 28, 2009
Guatemala Gold & Silver Rarities at Long Beach
Posted by Tom
Hertiage Sale Offers Rare Guatemala
 
Sometimes it's the humble looking, low grade 2 Reales that most catches my eye. Especially when it is a 1765G-P 2 Reales of Guatemala. 1760G-P, 1765G-P and 1766G-P are all exceptionally rare dates for this type of 2 Reales. When you locate an example, you should buy it, regardless of condition, as you may not see another one during your years as a collector. This well worn VG piece fron the Long Beach Heritage World Coin Auction is fairly pleasing, displays a full date, mint mark and assayer initial making it a real treasure for the specialist. In addition, as is true with many of the rare Spanish Colonial minor coins, the price won't brake your bank. It will cross the block on Friday afternoon as lot 21308. Don't miss your chance.
 If your your tastes run towards the higher priced rarities, this auction can offer you a few other Guatemalan prizes, such as the exceptionally high grade 1768G-P 8 Reales, lot 21317. This Pillar Dollar is NGC graded at MS64, which is much better than most any example I have seen. The most you can normally hope for in this type is an attractive XF.
But if you are looking for the knock out Guatemala coin, check out lot 21307, a beautiful 1754G-J 8 Escudos of Ferdinand VI. The Heritage catalog describes this coin as KM#7 listed as Rare, but it is actually a KM#19 with an SCWC value of $25,000 in XF. This piece is one of the nicest looking coins of this type you will find and is NGC graded XF-45. I'll be watching to see what this lot brings at auction and adjusting the values accordingly after this sale.
Focus Country | Lots You'll Like
Thursday, May 28, 2009 10:56:12 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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U.S. Patterns on Sale Friday Night in Long Beach
Posted by Tom
Heritage Sells Aluminum 1942 Lincoln Cent Pattern
A nice run of 45 choice United States patterns goes on sale through Heritage Auction at the Long Beach Expo on Firday night. This group includes some very rare patterns, 3 and 4 four know examples of some types, and many are the finest know pieces.
 Included in this group is the Judd-2079 plain edge 1942 Lincoln cent struck on a nearly double thick aluminum planchet. According to the new 10th edition United States Pattern Coins book, commonly known as the Judd book, this pattern was said to have been struck in several different metals, only three of which are know to exist today; aluminum, zinc-coated steel and white metal. This particular piece has been graded PR66 by PCGS and is listed in the 10th edition Judd as R-8, indicating 2 to 3 known examples. 
This is a rare opportunity for collectors of U.S. patterns and one that should not be missed. The Hertiage website shows 12 internet bidders already participation in this lot's sale, plus an additional 55 watchers. Current bid is at $85,000 as of this posting, but once it gets to live auction tomorrow night in Long Beach, I would expect some serious competition to ensue.
Lots You'll Like | Where to Find it
Thursday, May 28, 2009 6:32:46 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, May 22, 2009
Ancients in Your Future
Posted by Tom
Past Meets Present in Upcoming Ancient Coin Auctions
Over the next few weeks there are several Ancient coin auctions crossing the block and each will offer great selections. In this and subsequent postings I'll give you a quick overview of what's coming your way in Ancient coins during May and June 2009.
 First up is the Numismatik Lanz Munich Auction 146 set to close on May 25th. The first half of this sale, nearly 700 lots, is all ancinet coins. They come from a variety of areas and cultures and span a broad value range, allowing for most any collector to find something of interest. Of special interest should be the long run of about 16 gold Hekte's from Mytilene, the capital city on the Greek Island of Lesbos. This is a big group of these little 2.5g nuggets and more than I have normally seen in any other sale of late. It presents itself as a fine study group and a good opportunity for anyone considering building a Lesbos collection.
In the Roman section of the Numismatik Lanz Munich sale you will find a good number of hidden rarities, such as this outstanding Domitilla Denar, mixed in with a a large selection of high grade and reasonably estimated material. There is a nice run of Denar of Caracalla all in XF condition with estimates arround 200 Euro. The same can be said for the selection of Severus Alexander, and several others, so opportunity awaits the careful buyer.
 For those interested in later date material there are several pages of Byzantine coins, including nearly 20 gold pieces. The second half of the sale features an equally large number of German States minors, so I will pass my copy of this catalog along to friend and fellow numismatist, Doug Nicol, to help with his current work on a third edition of the Standard Catalog of German Coins.
Lots You'll Like
Friday, May 22, 2009 9:18:52 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, March 06, 2009
Scarce Modern Gold at Kuenker 151
Posted by Tom
Great Modern Gold Featured at Kuenker 151
Modern world gold coins are featured in the March 11-12, 2009 Kuenker Auction 151 and several, like this 25,000 Francs of Dahomey KM#9, are seldom available on the market. The sharp eyed collector of modern gold coins will find many rare opportunites in this sale, including a scarce gold 200 Riyals of Sharjah, a set of 1, 1/2 and 1/4 Golde's of Sierre Leone, a scarce Burundi 100 Francs of 1965, a 1976 Kazimierz Pulaski 500 Zloty of Poland and many other seldom encountered modern gold coins.
Also in Auction 151 are many desireable gold issues of the 19th Century, including a wonderful Una and the Lion 1839 5 Pounds of Great Britain, a scarce Vittorio Emanuele II Italian 100 Lire of 1878, a scarce Costa Rica 4 Escudos of 1837 and a nice array of smaller gold issues from Spain, Netherlands, Romania, Serbia, Greece, Monaco and Liechtenstein at reasonable estimates for bidders of more moderate budgets.
Other scarce items in the sale include a rare Oliver Cromwell 1656 Broad, a Besancon Pistole of 1595, a scarce 1647H Double Louis d'Or, a sharp Swedish Dukat of 1683, a very high grade 1/2 Louis d'Or de Noailles struck at the Paris mint in 1717 and many early German States gold issues.
Also offered are large selections of both United States and Austrian gold coins from various time periods.
Lots You'll Like
Friday, March 06, 2009 3:58:04 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, December 15, 2008
Swedish Pommerania Gold at Lanz-Trieste Sale
Posted by Tom
Pommerania Under Swedish Rule 1706 Double Ducat
On January 5, 2009, Numismatik Lanz Munchen and Numismatica Bernardi Trieste will be offering Auction 145 with a bevy of numismatic rarities.
One that caught my eye was lot 172, pictured above. This Swedish ruled Pommerania double ducat of 1706 has a very striking design and it is one which we have not illustrated in the Standard Catalog series. We have considered this piece to be medallic and it was formerly listed as KM#M5 in the Standard Catalog of World Gold Coins, but currently has been moved to our Unusual Wolrd Coins book as X#M5.
Either way, it is a rare piece and this is an excellent XF example. It's well worth the auction estimate of 10,000 Euro, but we will see what the market bears when it crosses the block in January.
Lots You'll Like
Monday, December 15, 2008 3:49:18 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Tuesday, September 23, 2008
DNW 2008 Coinex Auction
Posted by Tom
Irish Coins of Hillel Kaslove
Hillel Kaslove is a very knowledgeable numismatist in the realm of modern world coinage. He was curator of Modern World Coins at the American Numismatic Society from the late 1960's to the early 1970's. After leaving the ANS, Kaslove moved up to Canada and became curator of the Currency Museum at the Bank of Canada in Ottawa.
In the late 1980's when I began my tenure with Krause Publications, I was blessed in developing a good friendship with Bob Archer, who then worked at Stack's in New York. Bob had a wonderful knowledge of Heaton Mint coins and other British Colonial issues. Whenever I had a question, Bob always made time to help me. He answered my questions and gave me an exceptional education on Heaton Mint proofs over the years.
 I remember one time I came to Bob with a question and he recommended that I talk to Hillel Kaslove. It was something about a specific area of British Colonial coinage and Bob said that Hillel would have the answer and sure enough he did. That was the only time I spoke with Kaslove and though I would have liked to expand the working relationship, time never allowed this to happen.
Yesterday, I was looking over the Dix Noonan Webb 2008 Coinex Auction set to cross the block this week and trying to organize my thoughts about the sale in order to bring them to you in some blog postings, when friend and fellow blogger, George Cuhaj pointed out that some of Kaslove's Irish collection was presented in the sale.
What a treat! There are 36 lots of Irish coins from Kaslove including a great run of Gunmoney, some very beautiful high grade pieces from George II and George IV, plus a very rare 1681 small letter Halfpenny of Charles II. Though rather smooth and graded about fine, the small letter 1681 Halfpenny is quite rare, possibly unique and the low estimate on this lot presents a prime opportunity for some lucky collector of Irish copper to snag this coin at a bargain price. 
Though the 2003 Spink catalog of Coins of Scotland, Ireland and the Islands offers prices in three grades for the 1681 small letter Halfpenny, I am not aware that any examples exist above the grade of fine. In fact, Coincraft's 1999 edition of the Standard Catalogue of the Coins of Scotland, Ireland, Channel Islands & Isle of Man only values the 1681 small letter in fine at 150 pounds. In our Krause Publications Standard Catalog of World Coins 1601-1700 edition, we have listed the 1681 small letter Halfpenny as unique for several years, with no objection from numismatic quarters. Perhaps this is the only known example? Perhaps collectors have been too isolated to report additional examples?
This auction will provide me a value record to add to the SCWC and NumisMaster and I would hope that the coins surfacing at public auction might drive some meticulous numismatist to offer the SCWC further data on this ellusive date.
Lots You'll Like
Tuesday, September 23, 2008 3:41:03 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, September 15, 2008
Cederlind Offers Ancient North Africa
Posted by Tom
Great North Africa Ancient Selection From Cederlind
Amongst many other rare and exceptional offerings in the upcoming Tom Cederlind Buy or Bid same No. 148, I noticed a nice array of North African and related coinage.
From the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, Cederlind is offering a nice selection of eight pieces, including two very large bronze coins featuring the Diademed Head of Zeus-Ammon and a bold eagle facing left. These two coins are 47mm and 45mm with bold detail and VF grades, with estimates of $950 for each.
 A nice run of Hannibal animal types from the Barcids in Spain is augmented nicely by an exceptionaly rare silver shekel-Didrachm with portrait of Hasdrubal, Hannibal's younger brother. Those interested in the coinage of Carthago Nova will find this coin most interesting, along with the final lot in this grouping, which features a transitional portrait silver shekel struck after the sacking of the city by Scipio Africanus. In order to get new coins into circulation quickly, old dies with Hannibal's portarait were reworked to resemble Scipio and this coin is typical of the result. The Hasdrubal coin is graded VF+ and estimated at $15,000, while the Scipio coin grades nearly EF with an estimate at $6000.
 But if your interest lies with North African coins and your budget is more modest, you might consider a sharp little coin listed under the Dark Ages in Cederlind's catalog.  This bronze Nummus of the Vandals in North Africa checks in at 10mm and grades EF with a circa time period of A.D. 500. With fantastic eye appeal and an estimate of only $750, this little gem would be a fine addition to any North African collection.
Lots You'll Like
Monday, September 15, 2008 4:30:08 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, June 19, 2008
South African Proof Sets at DNW Sale
Posted by Tom
 Eight South African Proof Sets at Dix Noonan Webb
One more unusual group set to close in tomorrow's Dix Noonan Webb sale No. 78 is a run of eight South African proof sets. Normally I do not see too many of these at auction, though I know they do trade privately. Some 20 years ago these scarce 20th Century cased sets were a very hot commodity, with high prices and a handful of collectors striving to obtain them. Low minatges and high collector interest made for a volatile market mixture, but once a couple of the higher buyers left the field, market prices dipped a bit.
It will be very interesting to see the bidding activity on these sets, which run from lot 728 to lot 735. Even though the market did soften from those former highs, the last few years there has been a bit more interest and most of the sets have very low mintages especially in the 1930's. In addition some nice South African material has been more available to collectors outside the home market and this has stirred some buyers to look for bargains. We'll see if this translates into more bidders with higher limits again, or if these sets remain somewhat repressed.
Within the last two years I have noticed a increase in individual prices of choice proof pieces and some of the early set prices have gone up on NumisMaster, but this sale will be a good barometer to judge possible future performance for these scarce South African Mint cased sets released from 1923 to the 1950's and beyond.
Lots You'll Like
Thursday, June 19, 2008 3:13:24 AM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, June 18, 2008
British Colonial Coinage at DNW Auction
Posted by Tom
Dix Noonan Webb Present Great Irish Collection & More
Tomorrow Dix Noonan Webb will be selling Part II of a wonderful collection of Irish Coinage which spans most all eras. The offering begins with gold ring money from the first millennium BC, parading through a variety of classic Medieval Coinage from John, Henry III, Edward I, Edward IV, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Philip and Mary and up into the early coins of Elizabeth I.
Of course, for me, it is the superior collection of coins of the Great Rebellion which hold the most interest. Many types are represented here and most any Ireland collector should have an opportunity to acquire new specimens. There are several examples of Inchiquin Money, Dublin Money and Ormonde Money of the Lords Justices.
Dublin Money is quite rare and not often seen up for sale, but this auction offers both a Crown and a Halfcrown. The Crown is lovely, the Halfcrown a bit weaker in strike but less often encountered, so don't miss this chance to add one to your collection.
 There are fourteen Ormonde coins in the NDW sale 78 including three Crowns, two Halfcrowns and a scarce large letter  Twopence (pictured at the top of this posting) from the normally encountered 1643/1644 issue. But my excitment really ramps up a step at lots 83 and 84, a Crown and Halfcrown from the seldom encountered 1649 issue. Don't miss them! They do not come around too often.
 Also in this Irish offering are couple scarce Kilkenny types, including the Castle above K coutermark, which is seldom seen for sale. There are two sharp Blacksmith Halfcrowns, and a couple Cork issues, including the Cork and castle on a klippe, which I don't recall seeing very often.
A third Cork piece cataloged as lot 121 is sepearted from the others, as it may be from the Civil War of 1689-1691 but attribution is not yet quite certain. This coin hosts a countermark of a leopards head above CORKE with palm leaves below, struck over a 1677 token of William Ballard. I think it must be rather scarce,as I don't recall seeing it offered more than one or two times before.
In standard Ireland coinage this sale hosts many sharp examples of types from Charles II, James II including Gunmoney, some Limerick coinage, plus coins of most other British rulers and several Free State issues.
This catalog would be an excellent addition to any British Colonial or British Commonwealth reference library, but will be especially important for the collector of Irish coinage.
Lots You'll Like
Wednesday, June 18, 2008 10:17:20 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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British Maundy Set's at DNW Sale
Posted by Tom
Several British Maundy Set's Closing Tomorrow at DNW
Tomorrow morning Dix Noonan Webb's auction 78 will be crossing the block with lots of interesting lots. Of particular note to me were several nice Maundy sets including two from 1679, a William and Mary set from 1689, two Queen Anne sets from 1708 and 1709, a George I set from 1727 the year of his death, a George III set from 1795 and a George IV set dated 1824. I would expect that several of these will garner serious attention, as Maundy sets have been very popular of late. Prices have risen, especially on the tougher dates and earlier sets. The William and Mary set is a nice opportunity and should bring a tidy sum.
 Also in this sale are a number of excellent British patterns from all eras. I was particularly taken with lots 412 and 413, a pair of striking William Wyon Florin  patterns for Queen Victoria. DNW is also offering several George III pattern halfpenny pieces, a few rare Queen Anne farthing patterns, and a few others here and there as well, including a rare Pinches private pattern crown.
Later this afternoon, I'll post about some of the British Colonial coins in DNW's auction 78.
Lots You'll Like
Wednesday, June 18, 2008 6:36:48 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, May 30, 2008
Presidential Error Coin at Heritage
Posted by Tom
Error Dollar in Heritage Auction
 With the U.S. Mint State Quarter program and again with the Presidential Dollar program there has been a great flurry of activity focused at detecting and capitalizing on error coins. Off metal strikes, missing legends, plain edges and extra corn husks, there are seemingly lots of them out there waiting for collectors to uncover in rolls, bags and pocket change.
 Several books and websites can help you learn more about error and variety coins. KP published one last year, titled Strike It Rich - Eith Pocket Change by Brian Allen and Ken Potter. I really enjoyed this book and from what I'm told it sold gangbusters, so others must be finding it useful as well. Allen and Potter provided excellent close up images, clear explanations of differences and terms, plus many cross references to  other books. Web based sources are noted as well for specialty clubs like Combined Organization of Numismatic Error Collectors of America known as CONECA - whose publication is nmaed Errorscope and the National Collectors Association of Die Doubling known as NCADD - whose publication is called The Hubb.
Some error and variety coins have relatively little value, but many are quite expensive. Recently at least one rare 1969S doubled die Linclon cent was found by a collector in a roll of 1969S cents. The coin was full red and graded MS 64 by PCGS the Professional Coin Grading Service, which makes it one of the finest know examples. Check out this great photo of the coin, provided by Ken Potter. An example found and sold in 2007 brought about $85,000 and this latest one brought about $125,000 at auction!
 Some of the State Quarter errors have sold in the hundreds, as have the edge varieties of the Presidential dollars. In fact, Heritage Auctions has a plain edge John Adams dollar closing in their Sunday night Internet Auction which currently is bid at $425 and has at least four active bidders and five trackers watching the lot.
There is certainly interest in error coins and the opportunity is there for wonderful finds if collectors obtain a bit of knowledge and keep a keen eye out for the unusual.
KP Update | Lots You'll Like
Friday, May 30, 2008 3:46:24 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, May 16, 2008
Stack's Wilson Dollar
Posted by Tom
Two Gold Wilson Dollars in One Year
In my last posting I included an image of the gold Wilson Dollar which sold through Heritage in April and again this week. As a follow-up, I thought I should post images of the other gold Wilson Dollar which sold through Stack's in January, thus providing at one site a nice photographic record of two of the three know gold strikes.  
Additionally, here are a few quick details about the Wilson Dollar medals in brief reference form:
- Bronze mintage: 3,700
- Silver mintage: 2,200
- Gold mintage: 5
- designed by Clifford Hewitt
- dies cut by George T. Morgan
- For Manila Mint opeing in 1920
- Mint facility was first and only U.S. branch mint opened and operated outside the United States
- U.S. Mint Chief Engineer Clifford Hewitt supervised the outfitting of the Manila Mint and the striking of the Wilson Medals
- Original Manila Mint building was destroyed during WWII
Lots You'll Like
Friday, May 16, 2008 3:25:35 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, May 15, 2008
Build a Wilson Dollar set - Now!
Posted by Tom
Three Wise Wilson Dollars
On July 16, 1920 the Manila Mint in the Philippines held a ceremony for its inauguration. Medals were struck for the occasion, under the supervision of Chief Engineer Clifford Hewitt, using dies cut by George T. Morgan of the U.S. Mint, just a matter of five or six years before his death. Today these medals are known as " Wilson Dollars" and are typically sought by collectors of Philippines coinage as nice additions to their numismatic holdings.
The design sports a portrait of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, with legend: PRESIDENT. OF. THE. UNITED. STATES. on the obverse and a depiction of Juno Moneta kneeling with scales, guiding a nude youth on the operation of a coining press on the reverse, with legend: TO. COMMEMORATE. THE. OPENING. OF. THE. MINT. and MANILA P.I. 1920 in the exergue. The youth is feeding planchets into the press.
These medals were struck in three compositions, with 2,200 pieces struck in silver, 3,700 pieces struck in bronze and just five pieces struck in gold. Many of the bronze and silver pieces were tossed into Manila Bay, making high grade, quality examples tough to find today. Even lower grade examples bring reasonably good prices, as survival rates are not the best and sea salvaged pieces are often encountered. Of the five originally struck gold medals, noted Philippines coinage expert Lyman L. Allen noted in his 1997 reference, U.S. Philippine Coins, that only three are know to have survived.
 Which makes it amazing that over the spring and summer months of 2008 at least one nice uncirculated example of each of the three metals, including two of the gold examples, of the Wilson Dollar have been offered on the market, making it possible for someone to have very quickly built a choice or brilliant set of these interesting and historical medals.
The first came up in March through the Philippine Mail Bid Sale XI presented by Cookie Jar Collectibles. This was one of the bronze pieces. It was graded choice uncirculated with 95% red surfaces and realized $1103. Stack’s offered an MS-61 graded Wilson Dollar in their January sale, where it realized $80,500. In April, Heritage offered a second example of the rare gold medal at auction during the Central States Numismatic Society Convention. This piece graded MS-62 and sold for a recorded $69,000. This same gold example was again offered through a Heritage Online auction closing Tuesday May 13th, where it realized $77,625. On June 7th,Presidential Coin and Antique Company will offer a brilliant uncirculated silver example in its Auction Seventy-Eight as lot 208, allowing some savvy collector the opportunity of completing the grand uncirculated "Wilson Dollar" triumvirate over a slim three-month period.
Lots You'll Like
Thursday, May 15, 2008 4:38:48 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Kovacs Collection Selling Through Helios
Posted by Tom
Ancient Athletics in Helios - Frank L. Kovacs Collection
In reading through April’s The Celator magazine, I noticed an article about the Inaugural auction for Helios Numismatik. Seems that this coming Thursday and Friday, Helios Numismatik will be offering the Frank L. Kovacs Collection of ancient Roman coins with athletic and gladiator themes and designs, amongst other interesting ancient coins.
One Kovacs coin that caught my interest was lot 220, a silver denarius sporting the name L. Livineius Regulus and a grand depiction of animal vs. human combat on the reverse. L. Livineius Regulus, along with his brother were friends of Cicero. The head on the obverse of this coin is most likely a depiction of one of the Reguli ancestors, while the animal battle scene derives from the games of Julius Caesar.
Helios is also offering a good selection of medieval and modern coinage in this  sale. Some that caught my eye included a good run of inexpensive medieval Armenian billon and silver coins, two excessively rare Georgian coins – a half dram of Queen Rusudan (1223-1247) and a dram from Bagrat IV (1027-1072), a seldom seen Luxembourg gold Florin of Grand Duke Johann of Bavaria (1419-1425), a wide selection of medieval Islamic coins and a number of outstanding early German States bracteates.
 Even though this is the first auction for Helios, they seem to have all their ducks in a row. Their website is up and running, so you can check out the coins and place bids in time for the auction closing later this week. In addition I must say that I found their website pretty easy to use and friendly to operate. The switch to English translation was a breeze, terms of sale were clearly defined and bidding screens popped in quickly.
The staff
looked friendly to me as well, so I will pass them my electronic Best Wishes for a successful sale and strong future on the web.
Lots You'll Like
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 9:43:17 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, April 03, 2008
Tennessee Rolling Works Vignette in Smythe Sale
Posted by Tom
D. Hillman & Sons an Iron Clad Mystery
The next lot to catch my eye in the upcoming Smythe Schingoethe sale is lot 1901. This Obsolete note is denominated at 5 cents, printed in blue ink and hosts an oustanding vignette of the Tennessee Rolling Works. This is a large mill scene which streches over most of this unissued remaider note, making it most attractive to anyone interested in building vignettes. Also of interest to collectors of Iron Works items and ofcourse, a nice item for any Obsolete or Scrip collector. There is a lot of cross appeal working for this numismatic item.
In addition there is a good deal of mystery to solve. Under the main title, a note reads D. Hillman & Sons, who were the original owners of the mill, which later seems to have passed to Ewald Iron Company. The Internet offered a few references to a D. Hillman & Sons located in Trigg county Kentucky running a mill under the name Empire Iron Works, but I'm not sure when, or if, this changed to Tennessee Rolling Works, or if this is even the right D. Hillman & Sons. A quick check of the History of Trigg County revealed quite a bit of background on Daniel Hillman, with ties to Cumberland Furnace, Trigg County and Lyon County. Daniel established a company which eventuall became known as D. Hillman & Bros., so it's a short, but logical guess that it may have evolved over time into D. Hillman & Sons, the issuers of this note.
Ewald Iron Company
ran at least two mills, one in St. Louis and one in Louisville. The St. Louis mill was called Tennessee Rolling Works and was established in 1846. According to the 1881 buisness directory of St. Louis, the Tennessee Rolling Works was located at 519 North Main Street near Washington Avenue, though I also found an address of 801 North Second Street. These may be the offices of the company, as I noticed a works location in Lyons county. The Louisville location was built later in 1869 and originally opened under the name Kentucky Rolling Mill, later changed to Tennessee Rolling Mills. A third mill mentioned in one source ran under the name of Tennessee Iron House. Maybe this one was on the Cumberland?
As you can see, there's plenty of mystery to go around on this note. But I'll leave further research for the new owner to enjoy after the auction closes on April 9th
Lots You'll Like
Thursday, April 03, 2008 6:47:48 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, October 19, 2007
Exciting Hadrian Cistophoric Tetradrachm Surfaces
Posted by Tom
Die Variety of Hadrian Cistophoric Tetradrachm
While reading through the October issue of the British coin publication, Coin News, I noticed a really striking Roman coin for sale. British coin dealer Mike R. Vosper, who lists coins for sale on his site, at V-Coins and in an eBay Store and specializes in ancient Greek and Roman coins, as well as Celtic and British hammered coinage, had in his Coin News ad a beautiful Cistophoric Tetradrachm of Hadrian. This coin is very sharp in detail and hosts a lovely temple design on the reverse. Vospers price is 1,500 Pounds, or a little over $3,000 US Dollars.
A Cistophoric Tetradrachm is a large silver type, struck to the weight of four drachm or denarius. This particular coin uses Greek style lettering and would have been made for use in what is now Turkey. These were areas of the former Greek provinces and so this Roman Provincial coin would have been competing with coins of Alexander still in use in that area.
If you are interested in obtaining more information on Hadrian's Cistophoric Tetradrachms circa 117-138 AD, you might want to check out Bill Metcalf's book published through the American Numismatic Society, The Cistophori of Hadrian, Numismatic Studies No.15, 1980. There is also an earlier volume, Numismatic Studies No.14 by Fred Kleiner and Sydney P. Noe, titled The Early Cistophoric Coinage, dealing with Greek coins from 228-133 BC which display snakes on both obverse and reverse.
Friend and fellow Blogger, token historian, medallist and Checker enthusiast, George Cuhaj, was working at the ANS at the time that Metcalf was researching, compiling and writing the Hadrian volume. He did much of the legwork involved in carting coins and photos back and forth from the ANS vault to photography, though he did not get any recognition in print. He did, however, get an autographed book though his ANS membership subscription. George was also kind enough help me to better understand this particular coin and the references involved. In fact when I pointed out to George that Vospers example differs in several respects from the similar example noted in Metcalf, RIC459b, he offered to contact Bill with the information and image from Vosper's offering in an effort to help further the study.
What a friendly hobby we share!
Lots You'll Like
Friday, October 19, 2007 6:24:03 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, October 11, 2007
After the Paper, Gem Coins at Stack's Capital City Sale
Posted by Tom
Stack's Capital City Sale Holds Some Surprises
Amidst all the seminal John J. Ford, Jr. collection auctions, Stack's continues to offer sales of quality numismatic items for all kinds of collectors. The Capital City Sale, offers a vast array of U.S. paper money, including Fractional Currency, Federal Currency, Obsolete bank notes,  Continental Currency, Colonial Currency, Bank of the United States paper money, American Bank Note Company plates, cylinders, vignettes and seals, plus hidden way at the back of the catalog, a nice very nice selection of U.S. coins with a few standout items.
In this U.S. coin section, which will be closing later this evening, there are several lots, which caught our attention, and which we thought should be brought to your attention.  The first is an excellent example of the key date 1811 Half Cent. This coin grades  EF-40 and has a bold and attractive appearance. Most Early American Copper collectors have to be satisfied with lower grade and less attractive examples of the 1811 Half Cent, but today you all have a chance to upgrade in style. Current bid as this posting is $3350, check it out online at Stack's, the lot number is 1662.
 The second and third items of extra interest are both grade rarities of accessible dates. Lot 1724 offers a 1923 S Buffalo Nickel graded MS-65. It's a goo d strike and has the peripheral yellow toning common to coin album storage of the day. Current bid rests at $8250 as of this posting time. Washington Quarters have experienced a nice renaissance of late possibly due to some new collectors advancing from State Quarters.  Lot 1798 showcases a stunning MS-65 example of the most sought after date of the type; the 1932 D. It's an exceptional piece and should draw its share of attention. Currently the bid is at $9767 while I write this posting.
The last item we'll bring to yo ur attention is a stunning Liberty Seated Half Dollar, 1868 Proof-65. A nice original gem from a small mintage of 600 pieces. Take a look at it in lot 1834 online at Stack's and consider bumping the current bid of $6302, if is the right item to build your collection.
Lots You'll Like
Thursday, October 11, 2007 7:26:37 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, September 25, 2007
So-Called Dollars, Serbian Patterns and NumisMaster
Posted by Tom
Rare Ecuador & Seriba plus So-Called Dollars at Long Beach
Out in Long Beach this week collectors and dealers will be gathering for the Fall Long Beach Coin Expo to buy and sell coins, medals, tokens and ephemera of all sorts. Heritage will hold a number of auctions in conjunction with this show, including a Medals & Tokens auction and a World Coin auction. My company, Krause Publications, will have a booth at the show, with demonstrations of our NumisMaster coin catalog website. Stop by the booth and Beth will show you how NumisMaster can help you in your hobby pursuits. Tell her that Tom's Blog sent you!
 On a serendipitous note it's fun to observe that one of the major highlights of the Heritage Medals & Tokens sale is a good run of So-Called Dollars, which comes just ahead of the release of a new  edition of the Hibler and Kappen So-Called Dollar reference catalog. The new H & K book should be available in late November at a cost of $50 for the standard version or $150 for a color edition. You can get more details and order this new edition by contacting Paul Cunningham at cunninghamchips@hotmail.com. Paul often sets up at Long Beach, so you can look for him at the show. The issue of Numismatic News, which should be available at Long Beach, also happily contains an ad from Jeff Shevlin the So-Called Guy, SoCalledGuy@hotmail.com, with a large selection of So-Called Dollars for sale.
 The Long Beach World Coin auction from Heritage contains a slew of great items, all the way from extreme rarities like the 1850-GJ Ecuador 8 Escudos, which was absent in the extensive Eliasberg collection, to some lovely scarce items like the 1733 proof copper Penny of the Isle of man. In this sale you'll also find scarce modern items, like the Order of Malta 50,000 Liras 2004 gold coin, along with classics like the outstanding 1648 Pontefract Siege Shilling.
One particular trend throughout this auction is the inclusion of many pieces of pattern coinage. A quick search of the word pattern on this particular catalog at the Heritage website turns up 80+ lots!There's a Prussian white metal 2 Thaler pattern of 1819A, which seems to be a discovery piece, a run of Victorian Bronze pattern Penny pieces, a unique Korean copper pattern of the 1888 1 Warn and a pair of extremely rare aluminum-bronze patterns of Serbia.
The Serbian coins are engraved by Wolfgang Lauer with a young portrait of Alexander I and  dates of 1890-E. They are denominated as 1 Dinar and 2 Dinar and should garner quite a bit of attention, as both are historically significant and rare enough to set their own market value. We'll record their closing price in NumisMaster after the sale.
Auction Lot of the Week | Lots You'll Like
Tuesday, September 25, 2007 5:36:43 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, September 13, 2007
Cederlind Offers Rare Ancients
Posted by Tom
Children, Parents & Even Grandmothers on Ancient Roman Coins
In looking over the current Tom Cederlind catalog a few interesting items jumped out at me. Though young rulers, babies and mothers and often times wives of Emperors were depicted on various Roman coins over time, I don't every recall seeing a Grandmother on an ancient coin. Of course, I am not really too well versed in Ancients, but I do always look over the ancient sections of the many auction catalogs which land on my desk weekly and I don't remember any Grandmothers, but here in this Cederlind offering is a bronze coin featuring Julia Maesa, grandmother to Elagabalus and Severus Alexander. This coin is flanked by select coins of her two grandson's making for excellent representation from their time period ranging from 218 to 235 A.D.
After a bit more page turning I stumbled across another unusual Roman type from Domitian, which features his infant son seated on a globe. Cederlinds lot description tells the tale of Domitian and his wife Domitia, whose son died in infancy. During his rule from 81 to 96 A.D. Agustus Domitian had this silver Denarius struck to honor the memory of their son, who seems happy in Heaven. On the reverse of this type, the boy sits atop a globe, surrounded by stars, with the legend roughly reading " the son of the Emperor Domitian is now in the Heavens." It's an outstanding piece and quite rare.
Aside from the fine selection of ancient Roman coins this buy or bid sale closing October 1st also contains an unusual array of Byzantine coinage as well as a good grouping of Medieval English coins. Two standouts include a Kingdom of Wessex silver penny from Edward the Elder, sharply struck and well preserved and a classic bronze follis of Nicephorus I which could easily have been the basis for a string of modern imitative fantasy copper coins from St Hildegard. 
Lots You'll Like
Thursday, September 13, 2007 9:47:06 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, September 12, 2007
DuPont Explosion Bonded Quarter Pattern
Posted by Tom
Patterns at Heritage Long Beach Sale
Session Five of the upcoming HeritageLong Beach Auction contains a nice run of United States patterns. There are some of the classic pieces such as the popular Judd-1655 Coiled Hair Goloid Metric Dollar in copper and a Judd 346 Seated Liberty muling also in copper. These types always generate high interest, but this grouping also has a few more obscure pieces well worth the look.
An outstandingly sharp strike of the Liberty Head nickel design for a proposed alloy change to 50% nickel and 50% copper, Judd-1710, is offered as lot 3033. This pattern piece grades proof-67 and is a real dazzler.  There are several International Nickel Company Inc. strikes from 1964 when the U.S. Mint farmed out some of the composition testing for new nickel based coinage brought on from higher silver bullion prices. Many of these pieces were designed by Gilroy Roberts and had hubs produced by the Medallic Art Company. Some were struck by General Numismatics, which evolved into The Franklin Mint. All display Dr. Paul D. Merica of INCO on the obverse and the INCO laboratory on the reverse. This sale contains one of the Dimes from this series and three of the quarters including one of the scarce type three patterns with the revised design pictured here.
 
Finally this sale contains an undated DuPontBenjamin Franklinquarter pattern produced in 1964 under the same U.S. Mint program as the INCO pieces. In their search for a replacement for silver, DuPont experimented with a patented method called Detaclad. Detaclad was a process of explosion bonded laminating designed to adhere 75% copper onto 25% nickel. Judging by the results on this piece, it must have worked pretty well. DuPont eventually supplied 70 million pounds of Detaclad coin blank stock to the U.S. Mints in Philadelphia and Denver during the 1960's. This was a great start for the new Detaclad division which DuPont built up to an 11 million a year buisness before selling it to Dynamic Materials Corporation in mid 1996.
Lots You'll Like
Wednesday, September 12, 2007 11:08:24 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, September 06, 2007
Diana on Five Ounces of Gold
Posted by Tom
Diana Lingers On
Last week my Blogging Pal and numismatic neighbor, George Cuhaj, wrote a nice posting on the anniversary of Princess Diana's death. George noted that Princess Di has been immortalized on coins, stamps and at least one fantasy banknote. Check out George's Blog posting for illustrations, more links and his experienced take on sculpture.  When he was writing this posting, George asked my opinion on what coins to illustrate and I suggested my favorite off the wall Diana coin, which is a 10 Dollar silver piece from Liberia, KM#350, showing Diana wearing protective gear and observing a minefield. There is a similar coin type listed for Mongolia, KM#202, a 500 Tugrik, though I have never seen that piece.
One area that George did not cover in his Blog posting was Diana medals. So when the Coincraft special flyer from Richard Lobel arrived a few days ago serendipity lent a hand.
Coincraft is offering an unusually large gold Memorial Medal of Princess Diana. The obverse sports a nice depiction of Diana facing right with birth and death dates of 1961-1997 below. The obverse legend reads: IN MEMORY OF DIANA PRINCESS OF WALES. The reverse identifies the medal as Princess Diana's Pattern Gold Fifty Pounds and notes it as a Milestones of the Millennium piece. The weights and measures are included at the bottom of the reverse. At five ounces of .999 fine gold this piece carries about $3400 in melt value alone. Coincraft is offering the medal at 1,870 pounds or about $3780, just about $400 over melt.
Of course this isn't the only Di medal available for collectors. If you are looking for something less weighty, try eBay or look at the other Diana Medals offered through Coincraft's website.
Lots You'll Like
Thursday, September 06, 2007 5:36:53 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, August 24, 2007
Great Italian Coins in UBS Sale
Posted by Tom
Italian, Russian & French Coins Stand Out in UBS Sale
Spent more time looking through the upcoming UBS Auction 73 catalog and discover several additional delights. There was an impressive run of French material, and more importantly in todays market, there was also a fair sized run of Russian coins.
Most impressive h owever was the very large selection of Italian numismatic items. In addition to coins from unified Italy, this sale offers substantial groups of many Italian States issues including Medieval silver issues from Savoy and early gold coins from the Vatican and Venice, Colonial Italian coins from Somalia and Eritrea, a nice Tuscan medal, a scarce Mezzo Scudo of 70 Soldi from Venice and many other interesting items such as this sharply detailed 2 Doppie of Genoa stuck under the rule of the Biennial Doges in the name of Conrad II.  These coins are distiguished by their date, 1616 for this coin, and the mint masters or magistrates initials, which in this case are IZ for Joseph Zinus. A similar example grading gVF and with some heavy doubling sold in January 2007 for $2,400, but I would expect this example to sell closer toit's estimate of about $3300.
Auction Lot of the Week | Lots You'll Like
Friday, August 24, 2007 10:24:18 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, August 23, 2007
Another Fabulous India Piece
Posted by Tom
 Rare Jubilee silver medal from Gwalior at UBS
Another eye catching item in the UBS auction 73 set to close the first week in September is this Jubilee sliver medal from Gwalior. At almost 77g. this is a large and impressive item, with bust of Madhav Rao Scindia at the top of the obverse and a sharp centered Arms on the reverse.  Madhav Rao Scindia ruled from 1886 to 1925 and the design of this medal obviously shows him great respect. For the first eight years of his rule, Gwalior was run by regents, but after turning 18 Madhav Rao became a very active Maharaja.
His 39 year's as Maharaja began when he was 10 years old and when he died Gwalior was left to his 9 year old son George Jiyajirao Scindia. Both were major figures in Gwalior's progressive era before joining the Union of India in 1948. After joining the Union, George Jiyajirao served as regional Governor for eight years until 1956.
The lot description of this great historical item notes some minor scratches and grades the medal good extremely fine, with an estimate of 3500 CHF or about $2900 USD.
Focus Country | Lots You'll Like
Thursday, August 23, 2007 5:34:19 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Book Printing Medals offered in UBS sale 73
Posted by Tom
Gutenberg From Every View Point!
In the upcoming UBS Auction 73 set to close September 5-7, 2007 there is a great run of Book and Printing related medals. Most of the over 60 medals in this group commemorate Gutenberg, but there are few relating to other events. Estimates are reasonable, ranging mostly between 100 to 800 CHF, or about $85 to $665 US dollars each. 
There are ornate designs like this large silver medal from Haarlem dated 1740 and simple designs like this modern silver medal from  Wiesbaden. You can see many busts of Gutenberg in this group as well as several medals with flatbed letterpresses and even some with modern printing presses like this fabulous printing technology medal from R. Hoe and Company.
It's an impressive collection and well worth a look. Check it out at the online catalog section of the UBS numismatic site.
Lots You'll Like
Thursday, August 23, 2007 4:06:55 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Medieval Coins surface through DNW auction
Posted by Tom
Medieval Italian Selection Arrives at DNW
Dix Noonan Webb
- DNW, one of the best London auction firms, is soon presenting thier sale 74B which contains a large selection of Medieval coins. Many are a formed group of Italian States
 
and city issues, including coins from Aquileia, Avignon, Naples, Venice and more. There are some very scarce pieces here and the estimates are very resonable. Don't miss a good opportunity to add a few tough medieval issues to your collection.
 
Also hidden in sale 74B are a wonderful grouping of odd and curious Chinese Zhou Dynasty issues, including Cowrie shells, Bridge money, Fish money, Dagger Axe cons, Hoe money, Knife money and bars and ingots.
Of course the mainstay of the sale is British material, of which there are many fine pieces offered, including a scarce 1790 pattern sixpence with crowned GR and Britannia reverse. This coin is a dazzler and should create some serious interest from specialists in British pattern coinage.
Lots You'll Like
Wednesday, August 08, 2007 11:01:37 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Experimental Planchets used for State Quarters
Posted by Tom
Lot's You'll Like
Golden Colored Alloys Bring Big Money to State Quarter Series
Amongst the United States pattern issues offered for sale in the upcoming Heritage Milwaukee ANA auction there are five coins which may hold a very broad appeal for modern US coin collectors. They are examples of several experimental golden alloy planchets, which were tested on some of the State Quarter dies from 1999. You can look at these as tests for the Sacagawea Dollar, done prior to the decision being made for a manganese-alloy for the circulation strikes. I guess they used the quarter dies because they were readily available and planchets for quarter-sized coins could be prepared more quickly.
  Heritage notes that there are four known compositions for these off metal strikes, with gold or greenish color and with or without a copper core. The examples up for bid are all golden in color and made use of the dies for Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. All are dated 1999 and bear the P mintmark from Philadelphia.
In May 2007, Heritage sold an example of the experimental golden planchet Delaware Quarter for $3,450. In October 2006, Heritage sold an example of the Pennsylvania experimental golden quarter for $9,775. Earlier, in 2003 and 2004, four examples of experimental golden quarters were auctioned by Heritage, bringing prices in a range from about $3,000 to $6,000. All of these were slabbed by PCGS, as are the five offered this time around. It will be interesting to see what the current five pieces bring at the biggest forum of the year for coin collectors!
Auction Lot of the Week | Lots You'll Like
Wednesday, July 25, 2007 5:41:51 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, July 19, 2007
Modern World Travel meets the C.T.A.'s
Posted by Tom
Commercial Travellers Associations Began What International S.O.S. Continues
Friend and fellow Blogger, George Cuhaj, passed me an interesting New York Times article today. It covered the development of world business travel precautions, insurance plans and services since 9/11. One of the companies, which seems to be a leader in this field is International SOS, though other companies are emerging, while some larger enterprises are developing their own training and services for their own employees. The basic point was that there are options available to shield you from the aggravation and risk involved with failed health, kidnapping and other physically alarming difficulties world travels are at risk of encountering.
When I went to Costa Rica last month, the group I was with did take the time to check out in advance what we might have to do to provide solid health care for any of our group who might become seriously ill during our travels. Luckily we never had to exercise our knowledge of the Costa Rican healthcare system, as the worst any of us experienced was motion sickness and a bacterial problem, which allowed me to discover the extreme functionality of the air sickness bag. Sorry, no pictures, but I should add that air sickness bag collecting has quite a following, with many websites, displayed collections and avenues for trade.
But back to the New York Times article. One thing that did occur to me as I was reading was that there have always been organizations to aide us with travel. For Domestic travel in the U.S. we have had AAA for many years, but in other parts of the world I am sure there have been travelers organizations as well. One numismatic example that I recently came across involved threetokenlots currently being offered in the Noble Numismatics sale set to close July 24-27, 2007.
All three of these lots offer mid-sized groupings of tokens from Commercial Travellers Association or C.T.A. from different areas including Queensland and Tasmania. As you can see from the images, kindly provided by Noble Numismatics, these are very attractive tokens with monograms or initials on the obverses and denominations on the reverses. 
As to their use, I know little, but there are some histories of Australian Commercial Travellers Associationson the web. Seems there were many of them established in the late 19th Century to ensure the proper development of travel based infrastructure in various regions of  Australia. The first C.T.A. in Australia was formed in Adelaide in 1866, one year after the death of the famous rebel outlaw, Ned Kelly and by the turn of the Century the many individual associations had united to provide services and benefits to members. Over time most of those benefits have faded away, but I think many of the C.T.A.'s may still exist as clubs. 
In any case, these tokens are a link to the first major body to begin unifying the Australian continent for purposeful advancement of public good. The British Colonies of Australia were not unified into a country until some five years after the uniting of the C.T.A.'s, marking these tokens as some of the most interesting and affordable early Australian numismatic items available in the coin market.
Auction Lot of the Week | Lots You'll Like | News You Can Use
Thursday, July 19, 2007 8:32:22 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, June 29, 2007
Indore Silver Rupee Pattern on the market
Posted by Tom
Exceptional Pattern From Indian Princely State of Indore
Indian and Islamic coinage expert Steve Album released his fixed price list 225 this week. Looking it over, I noticed a most interesting silver Rupee from the Indian Princely State of Indore. This particular piece has never been listed in our Standard Catalog of World Coins, as it is exceptionally rare with only two examples having been traced. It is a machine-struck pattern of Shivaji Rao dated VS1943 (1865) with an attractive sun face and rulers titles on obverse and standard design on the reverse.
Steve has it offered at a fixed price of $2,400 and you can see a nice blown-up image at his website,www.stevealbum.com
Focus Country | Lots You'll Like
Friday, June 29, 2007 1:40:44 AM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Triple Play Coin Hits France, Spain & Philippines
Posted by Tom
One more from Stack's sale Features Bouvet Designs
One of the oddest and most unusual pieces I've seen in quite a while is crossing the auction block in the Stack's Coin Galleries sale of July 18th. The coin is a mule of two pattern obverses from two different countries. The obverse displays the typical portrait of Napoleon III by Bouvet, while the revers, or should I say other obverse, is graced with a Bouvet design of a younger Isabel II.
Cataloging of the original coins from which these mules are derived ties this piece to three countries: France, Spain and the Spanish colonial issues of the Philippines. A wonderful item for the right collector and well worth it's large estimate of $7500-$10,000. The starting bid is set at $4500 though, so there may be a nice opportunity for the interested collector of these crossed fields to pick up a most unusual addition to their 19th Century monarchs, one which might in fact be unique.
Auction Lot of the Week | Lots You'll Like
Friday, June 29, 2007 1:32:08 AM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Sieze that Siege Coinage!
Posted by Tom
Auction Alert - Siege Coinage
In the Stack's Coin Galleries auction, set to close July 18th, there is a nice sized offering of Siege Coinage. There are more than 20 lots of Siege coins listed, some are multiple coin lots. most types are seldom seen, while a few are quite scarce. The Palma Nova 50 Centisimi of Venice is a very lovely example, nicer than most we have seen over the last few years and the Tournai 8 Sols from the Spanish Netherland is a pleasant example for this seldom seen type.
This collection also sports one of the rare Cattaro Siege pieces, from Montenegro. These coins were issued by the French defenders of this port city during the Montenegrin and British siege of 1813. The French cast silver coins during the siege in denominations of one, five and 10 Francs. The piece offered in the Stack's sale is a one Franc, Km#1, graded extremely fine and estimated conservatively at $300-400. It wouldn't shock me if the closing price was double that.
If you are inetrested in starting a Siege Coin collection, this might be a good time to get your feet wet with this attractive selection at Stack's.
Auction Lot of the Week | Lots You'll Like
Friday, June 29, 2007 1:23:30 AM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Simon Bolivar - The Great Liberator
Posted by Tom
Auction Lot of the Week
Bolivar Proves to be Liberating!
In looking through the Stack's Coin Galleries auction set for July 18th I noticed a dazzling Bolivar medal listed as lot number 2155. Collecting Simon Bolivar medals is a nice hobby for many South and Central American numismatists. Bolivar was such an influential man in 19th Century Latin American politics that he has been honored on more medals and coins than any other single figure from that time period, making his image a vast collecting field.
This particular medal has a spectacular design with a bold portrait of Bolivar on the obverse and a glorious Condor on the reverse. The dates below Bolivar’s bust are his birth and death dates, 1783 to 1830 and on the reverse the Arms of Spain are overshadowed by all things Bolivar as the legend declares him the LIBERTADOR of Venezuela, Colombia, Equador and Bolivia.
The Great Liberator had a huge effect on the world as we currently know it and that is why he has been honored so often on coins and medals. Check out this medal at Stack's website and perhaps you will be bitten by the Bolivar collecting bug as well.
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Friday, June 29, 2007 12:32:53 AM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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