Coin Collecting News

Heritage Auction Galleries has never printed an Auction supplement for any special collection, no matter how spectacular…….Until now.Heritage is breaking with tradition, in adding the Baltimore Collection of Liberty Double Eagles to the October Sale. This multi-million dollar collection is being auctioned as an integral part of our Dallas Signature Auction, Oct. 23-25, now available online at HA.com for your viewing and bidding.

This impressive collection will be presented along  with  the anchor consignments of the Jack Lee Estate Inventory, and the Lucy Collection of Proof Liberty Nickels to make up The Dallas Signature Auction containing more than 4,500  lots of important American coins.

The astute Maryland collector who assembled the Baltimore Collection brought together more than 150 Liberty Double Eagles over a period of fifteen years. They exhibit premium quality attributes in grades that collectors covet. Many of his AU58 coins are exceptional, with the clean surfaces and eye-appeal that collectors so appreciate. Deserving of special attention — and needing no further introduction — are his 1854-O, his 1856-O, and 1870-CC.

Highlights of the Baltimore Collection of Liberty Double Eagles include: Continued

The sale includes a wide variety of material on ancient, medieval, foreign and U.S. numismatics, and features a number of rare and important works. Selected highlights include:

* The Journal of the Senate, First Session, Second Congress (1791–1792), featuring the complete text of “An Act Establishing a Mint, and Regulating the Coins of the United States,” with the discussion leading up to its passage and other important historical context: the foundation of U.S. coinage.

* Antiquarian titles dating back to the 1570s.

* An original Crosby in a Nova Constellatio binding

* A fine leather-bound set of Loubat

* A number of 19th-century American auction sales with photographic plates, including a plated copy of the 1886 Maris sale

* A plated copy of Elder’s 1908 Gschwend sale

* A plated copy of the Malcolm N. Jackson sale (US Coin Co., 1913)

* 18th-century American almanacs, newspapers and mercantile publications discussing coinage

* Important European catalogues of the 19th and 20th centuries

* A large paper copy of Hickcox on the paper money of New York

* Copy number 1 of Hough on Washingtonia, published by Woodward

A printed catalogue will be sent to established customers and to those requesting a copy. The catalogue can also be downloaded from the company’s Web site at www.fanningbooks.com. International bidders are welcome: the auction includes works in at least a dozen languages and we are pleased to conduct business with overseas customers. Contact us today to be added to the mailing list. Continued

(New Orleans, Louisiana) – The 1844-O proof Eagle, a one-of-a-kind gold coin struck at the New Orleans Mint 164 years ago, has returned “home” to the Louisiana State Museum – Old U.S. Mint with the help of New Orleans coin dealer, Paul Hollis. The unique, $10 denomination gold piece apparently was specially struck as a presentation piece, and over the decades it’s been in the famous coin collections of a former U.S. Treasury Secretary and an early 20th century Chicago beer baron.

It is certified by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation as Proof-65 Ultra Cameo, and now insured for $2.5 million for an upcoming exhibition.

“This coin is certainly among the most important Southern gold coins ever struck, combining rarity, beauty, technical quality and a fascinating story,” said Mark Salzberg, NGC Chairman.

The coin will be publicly displayed at the Louisiana State Museum’s Old U.S. Mint, 400 Esplanade Ave., New Orleans, beginning when the museum re-opens November 1, according to Greg Lambousy, Louisiana State Museum Director of Collections.

This first-ever public exhibit in Louisiana was arranged by Hollis and the anonymous Florida collector who has quietly owned the historic gold piece since acquiring it in 2006. Hollis personally carried the valuable coin from Florida to Louisiana, clutching it in his hands during the entire journey.

In a pre-arranged, secret rendezvous, he was met at Louis Armstrong International airport in New Orleans on September 23 by a state police escort for the trip to the museum where he presented the unique gold piece to officials there.

“I had goose bumps when the plane landed in New Orleans and I realized the coin I was holding in my hands was home in Louisiana for the first time in over a century and a half. I got goose bumps again when we arrived at the Old U.S. Mint. I’ve been trying to get this coin back to New Orleans for the past six years when it was owned by someone else,” said Hollis. Continued