By Greg Reynolds for CoinLink

On Nov. 14, the firm of Robert Siegel, operated by Scott Trepel, auctioned an ‘Inverted Jenny’ 24¢ U.S. airmail stamp, of 1918, at the firm’s galleries in midtown Manhattan. It is an error of the first official U.S. airmail stamp. The airplane in the center was mistakenly printed upside down.

This stamp has been independently authenticated, but it was not independently graded. Trepel grades it as ‘Extremely Fine’ with “only a trace of a hinge.”

Trepel was also the auctioneer when the Siegel firm set the auction record for a philatelic item, something relating to postage, a little more than two years ago. On Oct. 19, 2005, the only existing plate numbered block of four ‘Inverted Jenny’ stamps sold for $2,970,000.

In September, Jay Parrino, a famous coin dealer, sold a different ‘Inverted Jenny’ privately for exactly $1 million. It has Very Fine grade centering along with a never hinged original gum on the reverse. Parrino sold it to a Hollywood movie mogul who started buying stamps from Jay when they were both kids. He has also collected coins.

On Nov. 14, the bidding action was intense. As the price realized includes a 15% buyer’s fee, the same as at coin auctions, it makes logical sense to adjust all bids to incorporate the ‘buyer’s fee.’

Bidding started at around $335,000. More than five bidders, at least one by telephone, were involved as the level rose to above $400,000.

I was glad to see another coin expert at the event. Greg Rohan, President of Heritage Auction Galleries, came to bid on this ‘Inverted Jenny.’ Rohan’s first bid was $460,000.

A telephone bidder came back with a bid of about $490,000. Rohan then pushed the level well above $500,000. A New York City stamp dealer, who asked that his name not be mentioned, waved himself in at nearly $550,000 ($475k+15% = $546,250).

The phone bidder returned with a $575,000 bid. This amount almost tied the previous auction record for a single ‘Inverted Jenny’ when the Siegel firm auctioned a different single on June 3, 2005, for $577,500. In the original sheet, the ‘Inverted Jenny’ (in position #57) that was auctioned in June 2005 was right next to the one that was auctioned on Nov. 14, 2007, at position #58. Long ago, a dealer who owned the whole sheet noted the position numbers of each of the one hundred ‘Inverted Jenny’ stamps. (more…)

Over 4,000 Lots Crossed the Block to Realize Bowers and Merena’s Highest Baltimore Sales Record in Years

IRVINE, Calif. – Bowers and Merena Auctions, America’s leading rare coin auction house, was once again the Official Auctioneer of the Baltimore Coin and Currency Convention last week, November 14 to 17, 2007, at the Baltimore Convention Center. Offering more than 3,000 coin lots and over 1,000 currency lots, the auction was the largest ever by number of lots for Bowers and Merena and realized a total of $9,465,252, Bowers and Merena’s highest sales record for a Baltimore auction in years. This was Bowers and Merena’s third official Baltimore auction for 2007; the March and June Baltimore auctions together realized more than $11.5 million. Bowers and Merena will continue to serve as Official Auctioneer of the Baltimore Coin and Currency Convention in 2008, with the next auction scheduled for February 27 to March 2, 2008.

“I can hardly find words to say how happy we are with the outcome of this auction,” said Steve Deeds, President of Bowers and Merena. “We offered more lots than in any of our previous auctions, each of the four sessions was filled with very active bidding, and we were able to offer some truly amazing coins and currency. It was by far our best Baltimore showing and I am really looking forward to what the 2008 Baltimore auctions will bring. We also especially want to acknowledge and thank Mary Counts, David Crenshaw and the entire Whitman team for their support and production of a first-class convention where Bowers and Merena is proud to be the official auctioneer.”

Photos used with permission and courtesy of Bowers and Merena

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By Jeff Starck COIN WORLD Staff

In determining whether a given coin has “eye appeal,” it all depends on the person you ask. To some, it’s a simple matter of taste, but to others, it’s so obvious as to have specific requirements and characteristics that a coin must meet.

The fact is, eye appeal is neither that loosely defined nor that strictly determined. The truth lies somewhere in the middle.

A definition

Without getting too far ahead of ourselves, simply put, in determining a coin’s grade, eye appeal is the element that “grabs” the viewer. Eye appeal is the overall look of a coin, according to a “coin lingo” guide at the Professional Coin Grading Service Web site.

Coin World columnist Q. David Bowers wrote in an April 9 column this year that, “eye appeal is a matter of opinion, but if a coin appears to be beautiful to your eyes, chances are good that when your collection is sold someday, buyers will feel likewise.”

In an earlier column, in the Feb. 5 issue, Bowers provides some questions to ask about a coin to determine its eye appeal. “Is the coin richly lustrous, or is it grainy or ‘greasy’ in appearance? Are there stains or spots? Is it dull gray, brown or even black? In a word, is it beautiful? Does it beckon, saying to you, ‘Buy me!’ ” Read Full Article

A PIECE of gold treasure found by a man with a metal detector dates back to the 17th century and is a unique find for Wales.
The gold touch-piece of James II is almost certainly the only one of its kind to be found in Wales after being discovered by Philip Richard Jones on his land at Overton.

Yesterday the item was declared treasure by North East Wales coroner John Hughes at an inquest at Flint magistrates court.

The inquest heard how the coin-like piece dating from between 1685 to 1688 was unearthed in July and transferred to the National Museum in August.

The touch-piece has a sailing ship on one side and St Michael and the dragon on the other, is punctured by a small hole and is made of gold “of a high fineness”.

Touch pieces form part of the ceremony of touching for “the King’s evil”, a complaint called scrofula. Dating back to the time of Edward IV in 1465, there was a belief that the King’s touch cured the condition and patients were touched by the King by a coin called the angel or angel-noble.

Angel-nobles were coins of the realm and the last one was minted by Charles I who reigned between 1625 and 1649. (more…)