Ponterio & Associates, Inc., the world and ancients auction division of Bowers and Merena Auctions, will conduct its Baltimore Auction of World and Ancient Coins and Paper Money as part of Bowers and Merena’s Official Auction of the June 2010 Whitman Coin & Collectibles Baltimore Expo.

The two-session sale will be conducted June 18 and 19 at the Baltimore Convention Center. More than 2,300 lots will be offered, including approximately 1,500 lots of Ancient and foreign coins and 825 lots of world paper money.

Executive vice president, Rick Ponterio states, “Our June 2010 Baltimore Auction is sure to see strong bidder participation—and competition—among specialists in many areas of foreign coins and paper money. Featured among the coin offerings in this sale are important rarities from many periods of history, ranging from Ancient Greece to the modern era.”

Continued Ponterio: “An example of the diversity in this sale can be found in two of the more important highlights. The first is a very rare Zeugitana, Carthage AV Trihemistater, or 1 ½ Shekel, that dates to the early period of the First Punic War (ca. 264-260 BC). The coin is attributed alternatively as Jenkins & Lewis Group IX Pl.18#392 (same dies) and Muller-Pg.86#66, and has been certified by NGC as AU, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 3/5.”

“We will also present a Yuan Dynasty Zhi Yuan 50 Tael Sycee Ingot that is extremely rare and historically significant,” Ponterio added. “It is dated the 14th year of the Zhìyuán era (1273 A.D.), inscribed with the denomination at upper left and the ruler’s name and date at lower center, Khubilai Khan, the fifth Great Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan (1260-94). It is among the earliest known Chinese 50 Tael Sycee ingot.”

MORE THAN 825 LOTS OF WORLD PAPER MONEY TO BE OFFERED

“We have received a wide array of important world paper money consignments for this sale,” stated Bowers and Merena’s director of currency auctions, Matthew Quinn. “A splendid selection of Iranian notes from the 1920s and 1930s figure prominently among the highlights in this auction, and they include a stunning Choice Uncirculated 1 Toman note dated 1.6.1920 and attributed as P-1b. Also of note is a China, Republic, 5 Yuan dated 4.10.1914 and attributed as P-34. The note grades Very Fine and is significant because examples of this type are usually seen only in remainder form without signatures and perforated ‘canceled,’ which is a fate this note escaped. We anticipate strong bidder competition for these and other important world paper money lots in this sale.” (more…)

By Doug Winter – RareGoldCoins.com

One of the more interesting (and lesser known) gold coin auctions that I’ve attended was the sale of the Stetson Collection which was conducted by the old Bowers and Merena in May, 1993. This was an instance where the back story (or stories in this case) was nearly as interesting as the coins themselves.

Beginning in 1992, an amazing hoard of gold coins started to quietly enter the market. This hoard consisted of tens of thousands of coins dated from the late 1830’s through, I believe, the 1920’s. It included large quantities of semi-key St. Gaudens double eagles, extensive runs of Carson City eagles and double eagles, large quantities of New Orleans eagles from the 1880’s through the early 1900’s, sizable quantities of San Francisco rarities and much, much more. It has never been revealed where these coins came from (although it is widely rumored that they came from an Eastern European central bank; given the time they were sold it would suggest that they were dispersed by a former Soviet bloc country in an attempt to infuse some Western capital).

This incredible hoard was dispersed over a number of years in a quiet, orderly fashion. Some of the coins went to dealers who sold them to marketers or specialists. Other coins were sold at auction. The first group of these coins to sell at auction was at the aforementioned Bowers and Merena sale and I can remember being extremely excited to have the chance to purchase some very important and very fresh coins.

Before I discuss the sale (and some events leading up to it) I’d like to discuss the appearance of the coins themselves. Because of the massive size of this hoard (and the intelligence of the individual who was masterminding its dispersal) these coins were, for the most part, kept original and dirty. Many of them had the prototypical “euro-Grime” appearance which I describe as follows: extremely deep almost brassy orange-gold toning with a noticeable two-ton e appearance from blackish grime or dirt on the high spots. This appearance was almost certainly the result of the environmental conditions in which these coins were kept. On some coins, the look was very attractive. On others, it was pretty ugly and the coins needed to be dipped (or washed with soap and water at the very least).

When I learned about the sale I thought it was important enough to fly up to Wolfeboro, New Hampshire to view them in person. I made the flight arrangements, booked a room at the Wolfeboro Inn and set off to the Granite State. My flight from Dallas wound up getting into Boston late and I missed my connection to Manchester, New Hampshire so I wound up renting a car and driving. As I made my way up I-93 to New Hampshire it started to get extremely foggy and by the time I was within an hour of Wolfeboro, it was dark and almost impossible to see more than ten feet ahead of me. (more…)

Bowers & Merena U.S. Coin and Currency Sales Exceed $7 Million

Record-setting Sale of 1901-S Barber Quarter

Bowers and Merena Auctions, America’s leading rare coin and currency auction house, continues its long-standing and successful partnership with the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Baltimore Expo. As Official Auctioneer of the March 2010 expo, Bowers and Merena realized more than $8.5 million in U.S. and foreign, coin and currency sales. Prices realized for U.S. coins exceeded $5.5 million while U.S. currency accounted for a further $1.3 million of the total, for a combined U.S. prices realized of more than $7 million.

“We conducted a highly successful auction in Baltimore with strong bidder participation in all sessions,” concluded Bowers and Merena president Steve Deeds. “A trio of fresh, original rarities led the way by bringing particularly strong prices. Offered as lot 737, the finest PCGS-certified 1901-S Barber Quarter in MS-68 went to the winning bidder at a record-setting $327,750. Part of the same consignment, a very rare proof striking of the 1879-O Morgan Dollar (lot 3104, PCGS Proof-64, OGH–First Generation) sold for $184,000 and a beautiful, premium-quality 1915-S Pan-Pac $50 Round in PCGS MS-66 traded for $281,750. The Pan-Pac $50 is a pop 1/0 coin and was featured as lot 3473 in our catalog.”

Continued Deeds: “The Cuyahoga Collection of Charlotte and Dahlonega Mint Gold also performed very well in our March Baltimore Auction. Important rarities from this high-ranked NGC Registry Set include lot 3739, an 1839-C Liberty Half Eagle in NGC MS-63 that realized $126,500 and lot 3609, an 1849-C Liberty Quarter Eagle certified MS-65 by NGC that changed hands at $103,500.”

“Bowers and Merena’s sale of U.S. currency at the March 2010 Baltimore Expo was also impressive,” noted director of currency auctions Matthew Quinn. “Noteworthy prices were realized by lot 1379, a Fr. 282* 1923 $5 Silver Certificate Star Note graded Superb Gem Uncirculated 67 EPQ by PMG that went for $41,688 and lot 1982, a spectacular ‘$15’ double-denomination error on a Fr. 1960-D 1934D $5 Federal Reserve Note certified Very Choice New 64 PPQ by PCGS that traded hands for $21,850.”

Additional highlights from the Bowers and Merena March 2010 Baltimore Auction include:
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