Dallas, TX. One of only three known gold Wilson dollars struck in 1920 is being offered at auction in Rosemont, Illinois on April 16-18. The “so-called” Wilson Dollar was struck to commemorate the July 16, 1920 opening of the Manila Mint, which remains the only U.S. branch mint to ever operate outside of the continental United States. It is included in the catalog for the Official Auction of the Central States Numismatic Society convention, being held in Rosemont, Illinois on April 17-19; the catalog is now posted by Heritage Auction Galleries on their HA.com/Currency website.

“The Philippines became a U.S. territory in 1899,” noted Heritage specialist Harvey Gamer, “following the 1898 Spanish-American War. Between 1903 and 1919, the coins of the Philippines were struck at the Philadelphia and San Francisco Mints. Filipino coins were struck at the Manila Mint between 1920 and 1942, when the Islands were occupied by the Japanese during World War II. The Philippines became an independent republic in 1946.” (more…)

(Dallas, Texas) – Fifteen $20 Federal Reserve Notes from the infamous 1971 “D. B. Cooper” skyjacking will be offered to the public for the first time in June by Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas, Texas (www.HA.com). The notes are owned by Brian Ingram, 36, of Mena, Arkansas who was eight years old in 1980 when he found the only ransom money ever discovered from the still-unsolved skyjacking.

“Some of these notes have the initials of investigators who examined the recovered money after Ingram found it along the banks of the Columbia River near Vancouver, Washington in February 1980,” said Steve Ivy, Co-Chairman of Heritage and a long-time paper money collector.

“The serial numbers all match the FBI’s list of $20 bills given to the skyjacker known as ‘D.B. Cooper’ who parachuted from a jetliner with the cash somewhere between Seattle Washington and Reno, Nevada during a rainstorm on November 24, 1971. The 15 pieces consigned by Ingram include two Series 1963-A and four Series 1969 Federal Reserve Notes.”

The D.B. Cooper cash will be offered as part of a big auction of Americana memorabilia in Dallas and online, June 13 and 14. (more…)

Dallas, TX. A piece of rare and never-circulated Hawaiian paper money – a $500 note that was to be issued in 1879 – is being offered at auction in Rosemont, Illinois on April 16-18. The $500 note, which exists only as a set of proof printings of the face and back plates, is so incredibly rare that it remains unpriced in the standard currency reference guides. The pair of proof printings is one of only two known as well. This pair of proofs is included in the catalog for the Official Auction of the Central States Numismatic Society convention, being held in Rosemont, Illinois on April 17-19. The catalog for the auction is now posted by Heritage Auction Galleries on their HA.com/Currency website.

“With only two such sets known to exist,” explained Heritage currency expert Allen Mincho, “it is understandable that they are unpriced in the Krause reference guide. This set made its public debut at the 1990 auction of the archives of the American Bank Note Printing Company. Designed for the Kingdom of Hawaii, they are printed on proof paper which has been mounted on card stock, as was the custom for ABNCo file copies. The face proof has a folded registry stub as produced which extends over the edge of the card stock.”

“The face of the note,” continued Mincho, “also bears vignettes of King Kamehameha, sailing vessels, a locomotive, and sugar cane harvesting. The obligation clause reads ‘five hundred dollars in silver coin payable to the bearer on demand.’ This design only exists as these proof printings. They have been awarded classification as Pick #5 in that reference guide.” (more…)

The Boot of Cortez, which, at 389.4 troy ounces, is the largest surviving natural gold nugget ever found in the Western Hemisphere. It  measures a stunning 10 3/4 inches in height and 7 1/4 inches in width. There is literally ‘no-thing’ like it.

The austere and forbidding Sonoran Desert of the United States and Mexico regularly experiences some of the most extreme weather in the Western Hemisphere. Daytime temperatures often exceed 125 degrees in the shade even as blast-furnace winds swiftly strip life-sustaining water from the few men and animals tough enough and wily enough to make a living in this land of stark, unforgiving beauty. Yet life not only goes on here; it sometimes succeeds in ways that cannot be foreseen even in our wildest dreams. Myths and tales of lost treasure seem to spring into being from out of nowhere. Virtually every remote village has its legends of lost mines and treasure: the Oro de Moctezuma, Tayopa, El Naranjal. Every story is different yet all are the same: A rich deposit of gold or silver is found, and then lost through calamity, treachery or political upheaval. The saga of the “Boot of Cortez” is very much in keeping with all of these tales of discovery and loss – with one exception: This tale is true.

The story begins in 1989 in the area around Caborca, near the Gran Desierto de Altar in the Mexican state of Sonora. The nearest surface water is the Sea of Cortez; some 60 miles to the west. Arizona is 70 miles to the north. Ranching is the chief occupation, but there are a number of mines in the area along with placer gold deposits in some of the canyons. It is within these dry canyons that a local man began his quest to find hidden treasure in the form of placer nuggets. Some finds of nuggets had been made in the past, and fired with optimistic enthusiasm; our gold-seeker grew determined to find his share. At this point, our latter-day prospector did something very much at odds with tradition: visiting a Radio Shack store – he purchased a metal detector. Practicing on buried coins and other metal objects, he learned how to operate it, and then he set out for an area that was reported to have produced nuggets. (more…)