Stacks’ most recent auction, a mail and internet bid only sale run by Coin Galleries (the foreign department of the auction powerhouse), represented a veritable melting pot for the numismatic community to dip into. The highly eclectic offering featured over 3,000 lots of coins, medals, tokens, orders and decorations, and paper money and highlighted several specialized collections that catered to a wide spectrum of numismatic interests.

Up first was the Bay State Collection, an interesting and wide-ranging collection of ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine coinage formed primarily in the 1930s and 40s and focusing on historical importance and rarity. The collection as a whole performed solidly, with consistent prices across the board. A superb Ulysses Denarius struck in 82 B.C. secured a total of $3,565 in bids when the lot closed. Immediately following was a healthy section of ancient coins that hailed from several different collections, and showcased a wide array of scarcer issues and several important rarities. Of particular note was a very pleasing Athenian Archaic Tetradrachm (or “Owl,” so called because of the reverse portrait of a standing owl) that saw strong bidding and sold for $18,400. Roman issues also boasted some rarities of their own, with a very rare Denarius of Gnaeus Pompey Junior as Imperator topping out at $8,625.

Following Ancient coins, the sale moved into World coins, where collectors had the chance to delve into two highly specialized collections. The first was one of the largest offerings of Axumite coinage (plus later patterns and Ethiopian medals) that Coin Galleries has ever offered in the past, and the second was a special offering of coins, medals, tokens, and paper money from Denmark and her former possessions, most notably Greenland and the Danish West Indies. An extremely rare, high grade, and complete set of Øresund tokens (probably the finest known of its kind) stole the limelight and garnered $8,050 worth of bids.

World Coins were punctuated by several impressive performances from the English, German, and Polish camps. Included among these was an elegant, well struck James I English Rose-ryal that sold for $13,800, and a lovely Russo-Polish 50 Z?oytch from Tsar Alexander I that was highly sought after and brought a remarkable $12,075.

The following section, Russian coins and medals, was heavily pounced on by the thriving and robust Russian coin market. This portion of the sale was marked by fine runs of Rubles and gold and a healthy dose of Peter the Great, Anna, and Elizabeth issues. Worthy of special mention is a Peter the Great 1718 Red Mint 2 Rubles that sold for a whopping $28,750 and a Catherine II, the Great, 10 Rubles that clambered to a hefty $31,050. A pair of Paul I 5 Rubles soared through the roof, bringing in $54,050 and $73,600 respectively, and the very rare Nicholas I 1841 “Marriage Ruble” in gold held its own at $46,000. No opportunity was missed-not only did the serious rarities realize stunning prices, but the more common Russian coinage also performed extremely well, with prices exceeding the estimates two- and threefold.

An extensive selection of World medals and Orders and Decorations followed, led off by a neat group of architectural and cathedral medals by Jacques Weiner; also included was a small but pleasing assortment of Martin Luther medals for those collectors interested in the Reformation. One of the highlights of this section was undeniably the 1849 Pistrucci Waterloo Medal-a massive medal originally conceived in 1819 to commemorate the longed-for peace treaty but whose dies remained unfinished until 1849. At that point, with nearly all of the potential recipients dead and the artist not far behind them, the Mint ordered twenty electrotypes prepared; no medals in the original diameter were ever struck. This piece, housed in its contemporary hinged case, sold for $7,762.50, coveted for its artistic as well as historic import.

The U.S. medals were laden with a generous smattering of Vernon and Betts medals, Washingtoniana, and Bryan money, along with other U.S. medals and tokens of note. Prominent here was one of the life-saving medals of Frank Upton, a very rare Sea Gallantry Medal struck in gold. This piece brought $6,037.50 in bids before it was awarded to its new owner.

Capping off this incredible sale was a selection of more than 900 lots of U.S. coins. Generally geared towards collectable, somewhat mainstream coins, this segment did offer some scarcer types and higher quality examples mixed in. For e xample, a heavily circulated, though not altogether unappealing, 1776 Continental dollar graded Fine-15 closed at $8,625, and an attractive 1820 North West Company token in VF-25 sold for $6,900.

Among Federal coinage, a coveted 1797 16 Stars dime debuted in Fine-15 and brought $4,025 and a few lots later, an 1804 13 Star dime graded VG-10 sold for $4,715. Some 200 lots later, a very appealing 1875-CC double eagle graded MS-62 by PCGS (a scarcity at this grade level) sold for $9,775.

A small offering of U.S. and World paper money put the finishing touches on the September 2008 Coin Galleries Sale. An extraordinarily diverse offering of numismatic material, the auction realized an incredible $1,943,785. The odds are good that, with such a numismatic smorgasbord at your fingertips, you were able to find something to add to your collection!

For further information on participating in or consigning to an upcoming Stack’s or Coin Galleries auction, contact Stack’s at 123 W 57th Street, NY, NY 10019 or Stack’s at Box 1804, Wolfeboro, NH, 03894. By phone please use 800-566-1580 or 866-811-1804. Full sales results from the September 2008 Coin Galleries Mail and Internet Bid Sale, as well as full photos and text from previous sales, are available online.