The December Coin Galleries auction is an  immensely popular mail and internet bid sale held four times a year by the foreign department of Stack’s. Over 3,000 lots await your perusal, and span every category from ancient, medieval, and world coins, to medals, tokens, orders and decorations, and to U.S. coins and currency. Even some mineral specimens are included! The sale will close on Wednesday, December 17 at 3:00pm, so be sure to place your bids well beforehand.

Ancient coins lead the way with a healthy dose of both Greek and Roman issues. The Theban Stater depicting the infant Herakles is just one of the many rare and high quality coins offered in this section. Other highlights include the splendid Divus Augustus/Caligula dual portrait Denarius in near Extremely Fine condition, and the beautiful Nero as Caesar Aureus that appears several lots later.

Medieval issues follow ancient coins, and offer an impressive array of English issues. Chief among these is the breathtaking Henry VIII and Jane Seymour Gold Double Rose Crown graded MS-63 by NGC. This specimen combines majestic beauty with an exciting sense of history. The Tudor dynasty, so infamously represented by Henry VIII, has as of late become a great source of popular interest; the present coin is a tangible reminder of those turbulent times. Another beautiful example of medieval artistic design is the French Agnel d’or of Philippe V in Extremely Fine condition.

World coins comprise over 500 lots and present exciting opportunities to acquire significant issues. German States coinage offers several handsome Taler Klippes, as well as a very rare 1745 Ducat from Speyer. The English James I Pattern Sovereign in silver in Good Fine is an excellent chance to obtain an extremely rare coin. Other interesting opportunities include a large offering (just shy of 100 lots!) of mostly one ounce Chinese gold pandas.

The next stop on our numismatic journey is World Medals. The Hungarian Maximillian II gold medal is a beautiful highlight, designed by Antonio Abondio and struck in celebration of the Emperor’s daughter Anne to Philip II of Spain. Today, Abondio’s medals are sought after by both numismatic and fine art collectors. With few of these attractive pieces surviving, be prepared to bid liberally.

World Orders and Decorations, always intensely popular, afford some interesting choices, and are quickly followed by medals and decorations from the holdings of the Western Reserve Historical Society. U.S. medals follow in due course. The 1901 William McKinley Second Inaugural medal in silver, one of maybe ten survivors, is an immaculate and stunning piece worthy of fierce competition.

So-called dollars and U.S. tokens provide an excellent segue to the last major section of the December Coin Galleries auction sale. U.S. coins commence with Colonial and Early American issues, and begin with Massachusetts silver coins recovered from the wreck of the H.B.M.S. Feversham, many of them interesting clipped pieces. A small section of French colonial issues recovered from the wreck of Le Chameau follow the Massachusetts pieces. Notable Mousquetaires among French Colonial coins include the 1713-(D) Obverse Brockage example, attractive in Very Fine condition.

U.S. half cents lead off with an impressive 1794 C-8 example in VF-30. Only three pieces are known in Extremely Fine, firmly securing this coin’s place within the Condition Census. A respectable VG-8 1793 Vine and Bars edge Wreath cent heads up the large cent category, and will make a decent addition to any large cent or early type collection.

Minor coinage is ably represented by a gorgeously toned 1836 JR-2 dime graded MS-64 by NGC, and two lots later, by the very rare 1874-CC Arrows dime. The specimen here is graded Fair-2 and is slightly warped, but still represents a seriously rare issue, the most difficult regular issue coin to find from the entire series. Quarter dollars boast a lovely 1923-S Standing Liberty quarter in MS-64 FH (PCGS), an attractive example of a high demand issue.

Silver dollars provide a nice selection of early issues in the middle grades, like the pleasingly mark-free 1795 B-15 Centered Draped Bust example graded VF-20 by PCGS. The ever-popular Morgan series is typified by the rare 1893-S in VF-20. Though this coin was cleaned in the past, the tiny mintage makes this the undisputable key date for regular issue Morgan dollars, and therefore an issue that is popular in all grades.

Commemorative coins, always a heavily pursued area of numismatic interest, provides the neat opportunity to own a candidate for the lowest graded Lafayette dollar in existence. This smooth, golden-gray commemorative weighs in at AG-3, and judging from the absence of any heavy marks, was probably a long-time pocket piece.

U.S. gold denominations offer a decent selection of mostly mainstream coins, with several rare issues punctuating each section. Noteworthy lots are those like the scarce 1803/2 BD-4 $5 gold piece graded AU-53 or the 1859-C half eagle that is graded AU-53 details. Lightly cleaned, this coin is still a very respectable example of a low mintage Charlotte issue.

Ten dollar gold coins offer an impressive 1889-S graded MS-64 by NGC, with none graded finer, as well as a choice pair of 1903 $10 coins, both MS-63 (PCGS). Double eagles are epitomized by the bright and attractive MCMVII (1907) High Relief, Flat Rim example in MS-63 (PCGS). Sets, a small selection of patterns, errors, and coin groups pave the way toward the United States Paper Money section.

This section, while not overly large, is suitably diverse, and serves up obsolete notes and sheets, federal paper money (including large size, nationals, and small size notes), error notes, and even a few lots of world paper money. The exceedingly rare City of Paris cut “Bit” note, a Rarity-7 note with only 1 to 3 pieces known, should attract significant attention.

A handful of souvenir postcards and mineral specimens complete this extensive sale. With so much to offer in just one auction, collectors from all areas of the numismatic industry will be competing for the items for sale here. Be sure to send us your bids by U.S. mail or fax, or place your bids on our website before the sale closes at 3:00pm sharp on Wednesday, December 17, 2008. You can find us at 123 W 57th Street, New York, NY 10019 or at Box 1804, Wolfeboro, NH 03894. To contact us by phone, please use 800-566-2580 (NY) or 866-811-1804 (NH), or email us.

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