IRVINE, Calif. – Teletrade, America’s largest fully automated Internet auction company for certified coins and currency, will auction “The Green Holder Collection” on Sunday, June 1, 2008, in online Auction #2536. The auction will be live at www.teletrade.com from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. eastern time and will include more than 1,500 certified coin lots. The complete catalog will be viewable on the Teletrade website beginning Friday, May 23. Highlights from “The Green Holder Collection” will be on display at the Long Beach Expo May 29-31 at table 427.

“The Green Holder Collection” is the result of the combined efforts of two California collectors and consists of more than 250 coins in classic PCGS “green holders,” including an interesting selection of first generation “rattlers.” These early generation PCGS holders characterized by their green labels were used throughout the 80s and 90s, dating back to the very first days of PCGS, and are coveted by a large segment of numismatic enthusiasts who appreciate the history of not only the coin but also the holder that encases it.

“It is unusual to see such an impressive hoard of early generation PCGS holders, and many have not been on the market since they were initially acquired by these collectors in the 80s and 90s,” said Ian Russell, president of Teletrade. “The coins tell the history of the country, and these holders speak to the history of coin collecting, which makes this collection even more fascinating and desirable to enthusiasts.”

“The Green Holder Collection” will be auctioned in individual lots. Highlights include: (more…)

The American Numismatic Association’s School of Numismatics will offer its Fundamentals of Grading United States Coins, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 8-9 during Coinfest in Stamford, Conn.

Students will learn and understand how U.S. coins should be graded according to the latest ANA and market standards during this highly enriched two-day seminar. Participants will gain confidence in evaluating surface marks, strike, luster and eye appeal through interactive discussions, group activities and individual study of hundreds of coins from the ANA grading set.

“A well-rounded education is the foundation of any successful collector,” said ANA Executive Director Larry Shepherd. “Courses like Fundamentals of Grading United States Coins can teach hobbyists skills and information that will save them thousands on the bourse floor.”

Summer Seminar instructor Lane J. Brunner, Ph.D., will teach the course. Tuition is $345 for ANA members and $445 for all others. Become an ANA member at www.money.org. To register for Fundamentals of Grading United States Coins, call 719-482-9857 or visit www.money.org and select “School of Numismatics” from the “Numismatic Events” drop- down menu.

Dallas, TX. A pair of 1794 silver dollars and three Continental dollars are among the rarities included in the catalog for the Official Auction of the May 2008 Long Beach Coin Expo. The auction, being held in California May 28-30, is now posted by Heritage Auction Galleries on their HA.com website. Signature catalogs for the auctions of both U.S. and World Coins & Ancients have been posted.

“The strong market is continuing to bring great rarities onto the Heritage auction block,” commented Heritage President Greg Rohan, “including the Col. Steven Ellsworth Collection of U.S. Half Cents, Part Three of the Liberty Collection of U.S. Colonial Coins, and the Silbermünzen Collection. Among the other rarities included are: an 1891-O Quarter dollar Specimen MS65 NGC; 1796 15 Stars Half Dollar, O-101, AU55 NGC; 1800 Dotted Date $1, B-14, BB-194, R.3 MS66 NGC; 1808 $2.50 MS61 NGC, Breen-6125, BD-1, R.4; 1907 $10 Wire Rim, Periods, MS67 NGC, Judd-1901 (formerly J-1774); an 1855 $50 Wass Molitor, MS61 NGC. CAC. K-9, R.5; and a (1797) New York Theatre Penny Token, D&H-Middlesex-167, Rulau-E-NY-892, PR64 Brown PCGS. This auction contains a wide range of material!”

“In addition to the Ellsworth and Liberty Collections,” continued Rohan, “Long Beach contains rarities from Part Three of the Mario Eller Collection, the Northwest Collection, Part One of the Estate of Robert R. Rollins Collection, Part One of the Estate of Francis A. Sullivan, Jr., Part Two of the Leroy Van Allen Collection, and Part Two of the Yoder Family Collection. Altogether, more than 650 consignors are participating in our May Long Beach auctions. With a wide range of rarities from Colonials through double eagles, this will be an incredible event!”

Highlights from Heritage’s Long Beach Signature Auction:

Lot 799: 1794 Dollar VG10 PCGS.
Of the mere 1,758 pieces struck, approximately 125 individual examples have been traced today, making this first dollar an essential rarity. Ex: John N. Brooks Collection (United States Coin Co., 12/1914), lot 17. From The Northwest Collection.

Lot 800: 1794 Dollar VF30 PCGS.
Struck on the initial day of the production of silver coinage, October 15, 1794, this rarity is a historic relic of America’s earliest attempt to produce large size silver coinage that would compare favorably in weight to the widely circulated Spanish (Carolus) dollars.
Ex: George C. Slawson (Stack’s, 4/1970), lot 840; 1991 ANA (Bowers and Merena, 8/1991), lot 436. (more…)

Reno coin dealer and Carson City coin specialist Rusty Goe captured the NGC-graded MS-64 1871-CC gold double eagle for $414,000 in Heritage’s Central States sale held in Chicago, IL on April 17. Goe, the author of two books on the Carson City Mint, and the president and founder of the Carson City Coin Collectors of America, reported that his purchase established a new price record for this specimen.

Goe said that he unsuccessfully bid on this coin at Heritage’s Pittsburgh ANA (American Numismatic Association) sale in August 2004. At that time, the coin was in an NGC MS-63 holder, designating that its grade (or condition) rated 63 out of a possible 70 points. Thirteen months later, in September 2005, at an Ira and Larry Goldberg Pre-Long Beach (Calif.) auction, this same coin (now upgraded to 64 points on the grading scale by NGC) failed to meet the consignor’s reserve price of approximately $400,000.

Market conditions have radically changed in the two-and-a-half-year period between the Goldberg’s sale in 2005 and now, said Goe. “Carson City gold coins are on more want lists than ever,” says Goe, “especially low-population examples.”

The 1871-CC (mintage: 17,387) is the second rarest date in the “CC” gold double eagle series, and Goe estimates that no more than 260 - 270 examples (not including damaged pieces) have survived. The combined population in all grades (number of coins professionally certified) between PCGS and NGC is 264, although Goe points out that resubmissions (repeat submissions) of the same coins account for a least a small percentage of that total. Only the 1870-CC date (only 3,789 struck) is scarcer. Goe says that no more than 65 to 70 examples of the 1870-CC date exist, and that the minimum price for a low-grade piece is $225,000.

In Mint State (or Uncirculated) condition the 1871-CC is extremely scarce, with none in this range graded by PCGS, and only five specimens listed in NGC’s census report. Of NGC’s Mint State total, two are listed as MS-60; two are MS-61, and one is MS-64. (more…)

Winter Park, FL – The latest mail-bid Treasure Auction from Daniel Frank Sedwick will close at 5 pm Eastern Time on Thursday, May 29, 2008. Printed catalogs (are available for $25 each, free to bidders) Also lots can be seen online at www.SedwickCoins.com Featured in this Treasure Auction #3 there are dozens of choice gold cobs (mostly from the Spanish 1715 Fleet, sunk off the east coast of Florida).

A second offering of gold nuggets from a 1558 Portuguese wreck off Africa; thirteen “tumbaga” silver bars from a 1520s shipwreck in the Bahamas; an extremely rare ca.-1580 bronze astrolabe in coral, a collection of Spanish colonial 8 reales from cobs through busts; scores of perfectly preserved Chinese porcelains from wrecks off the Philippines; the latest selection of silver cobs from the Consolación wreck of 1681; and the first-ever auction offering of silver coins from the ca.-1810 “Coconut wreck” from deep in the Atlantic.

Many more coins and artifacts are also offered, over 1165 lots in all, with a pre-auction estimate of $625,000 to $900,000 total.

All lots in this auction are available for viewing at Daniel Sedwick’s private office in Winter Park by appointment only. Please contact us at info@sedwickcoins.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or by phone at (407) 975-3325 or by mail at P.O. Box 1964, Winter Park, FL, 32790, for more information and to sign up to receive the catalog for this auction and become a bidder.