Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC held their 6th overall and 2nd fully live internet auction of numismatic and shipwreck treasures on October 15-16, 2009, realizing a record price of over $1.6 million* in 2082 lots. Featured in the sale were coins and artifacts and printed materials from around the world, including the prestigious collections of Mark Bir, Louis Hudson, Herman Blanton and Thomas Sebring.

“This was by far our best auction, and the feedback from both consignors and bidders has been overwhelmingly positive. We greatly exceeded our goal of $1 million, and over 94% of the lots sold,” said Daniel Sedwick, company principal and founder.
“We were honored to present for sale several great collections of coins and artifacts, including a few significant coins that are rarely offered at auction. This is proof that our relatively new and rapidly growing Treasure Auctions are a competitive specialized option for consignors, with an unparalleled level of personalized service from beginning to end for both bidders and consignors alike.”

Setting the tone for the sale was lot 1, a Mexican cob 8 escudos fully dated 1709, which found a home with a private collector for a record price of $46,000*. Some 70+ gold cobs followed thereafter.

A couple of exceptional Panama cobs also set records: Lot 1176, the finest known 4 reales, sold for an impressive $22,425*, and lot 1178, a choice half real, sold for $19,550*, both to significant private collections.

Aggressive prices were also encountered in the Louis Hudson Collection of Potosi Countermarked Coins, over 70 lots of the rarest examples of a short-lived and controversial period in the colonial coinage of Potosi (1649-51). Also heavily contested were many dated shield-type minors of the early 1600s. A large selection of silver cobs from the Atocha (1622), including several from the famous Research Collection, saw spirited bidding as well. (more…)

Specialists in world coins and treasure items Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC has released their sixth and largest Treasure Auction, available immediately for viewing on their website, www.sedwickcoins.com. This auction features well over $1 million in coins, ingots, artifacts and books, almost all of it opening at very reasonable levels. Because of the size of the auction this time, Sedwick has split this sale into three sessions, all closing LIVE on www.iCollector.com/sedwick.

“After our first live Internet auction last time, we decided to hold our Treasure Auction #6 in three sessions to provide breaks and avoid bidders having to monitor the auction all day long to bid live on the lots they want,” says Sedwick. “Also there is no more confusion about the buyer’s fee, which is set at 18% for everyone (discounted to 15% for check or cash).”

Starting off Session I (Thursday, October 15, 11:00 am EDT) is a unique Mexican cob 8 escudos (possible) Royal 1709 (estimated at $35,000-$50,000), one of more than 70 gold cobs in this sale, mostly from the 1715 Fleet, including also an extremely rare Lima cob 8 escudos 1702 (estimated at $20,000-$30,000). World gold coins feature a Mexican bust 8 escudos 1733 PCGS AU-58 ($15,000-up) and a Paraguayan cut 4 pesos fuertes (1866-9) ($12,500-up), one of only two known. In the shipwreck silver section you will find a Cartagena cob 8 reales 1621 ($16,000-$25,000), first date of issue and one of three known, plus the Louis Hudson collection of Potosí countermarks 1649-52, as well as selections from the Atocha (1622) Research Collection and a newly formed “Coconut wreck” (ca. 1810) Research Collection.

The four silver-cob sections in Session II (Thursday, October 15, 4:30 pm EDT) feature a La Plata cob 1 real (estimated at $700-$1,000), the first ever offered at auction; a unique Potosí cob 2 reales specially struck on a zoomorphic planchet in the form of a double-headed condor ($25,000-up); the finest-known Panama cob 4 reales (estimated at $5,000-$7,500); and Part I of the extensive collection of late world-coins dealer Mark Bir. The world silver coins section, which is becoming larger and more advanced in Latin American coins with every auction, features several key rarities as well as Part I of the Colombian Republic collection of Herman Blanton.
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The latest Treasure Auction (#5) by Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC will take place on April 9, 2009. Lots are now available for viewing on their website at www.sedwickcoins.com. Sedwick’s newest sale is his biggest ever.

“When we began our Treasure Auctions two years ago, we had no idea how quickly the concept would grow. Just compare our first sale of around 400 lots to almost 1800 lots now, more than a fourfold increase!” Says Sedwick:

This is also Sedwick’s first auction to offer live Internet bidding via iCollector.com.

“While we hope to offer fully live auctions in person some day, we feel we offer the next best thing with live bidding on the Internet combined with full descriptions and photos, both in this catalog and on our website, and our long-standing reputation for accuracy and fairness” .

This latest auction features extreme-size coins, from immense Swedish copper “plate money” to tiny silver cuartillos (¼ reales) from Spanish colonial mints, literally hundreds of which appear in this sale from a collection of “mini-coins” assembled over the course of 40 years. Also featured is what the catalogers believe to be the largest Potosí cob 8 reales (“Great Module”) ever made. Even the shipwreck bullion section offers the extremes of huge silver and copper ingots and to tiny flakes of gold dust and nuggets.

Sedwick’s primary area of concentration, Spanish colonial cobs, is well represented this time by a collection of mostly 8 reales. (more…)