Colonial Column: September 2021

August of 2021 was a very eventful and numismatically significant period, most notably with the American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money held in Rosemont, Illinois from the 10th to 14th of August. Several industry leading auction companies offered an immense and dazzling display of numismatic rarities; of note, Heritage Auctions and Stack’s Bowers Galleries each held several Signature Sales within a fortnight of the ANA show, and both companies showcased an immense quantity of the highest of quality. To offer you a perspective, Heritage Auctions held their ANA US Coins Sale from the 18th to 22nd, offering just over 1900 lots that realized a total of US$48,741,942 from 4001 individual bidders, and concurrently to this their ANA World Coins sale, held from the 19th to 20th, offered a similar number of lots and realized US$19,318,594 from 3821 individual bidders. An exciting time to be in America!

Highlights of September 2021:

The month began strong for the numismatic community of Australia which saw a great showing from the Sydney-based Noble Numismatics Auction 127, being held from the 31st of August to the 2nd of September. A notable highlight of the sale was the great offering of Anglo-Saxon pieces, as well as the German New Guinea 1895A 20 Mark which realized AU$69,000 – a world record price. Several weeks later, the world-wide numismatic community saw the American auction company Classical Numismatic Group’s Signature sale 118, hosting an astounding range of ancient Greek, ancient Roman and world coins. In particular, highlights for me were an Oxford mint Declaration type Gold Triple Unite of King Charles I (Spink-2724 / Brooker-834 same dies), hammering for US$40,000, an Aureus of Pertinax in exceptional preservation, hammering for US$32,000, and finally a silver Denarius of Tiberius, the famous Pontif Maxim series, which hammered for a staggering US$3,000 – a record price, or possibly a one off outlier? Following the world record prices achieved in the United States, on the 25th and 26th of September saw the famous London CoinEx show weekend. Although we are told by many of our friends that the physical show attendence numbers were quite low, as well as the unfortunate news of the 500,000 GBP hotel room robbery, CoinEx 2021 was certainly not all bad news – the many England-based auction companies carried the mantle in creating some of the most memorable sales for the world-wide numismatic community. Foremost, the Christopher Comber Collection Part II was offered by our friends at St James’s Auctions on the 23rd, offering another 250 lots of Elizabeth I rarities – of note, many great Elizabethan hammered gold pieces, as well as another set of the famous East India Company Portcullis series. Five days later, Spink held a very significant sale on the 28th – the ‘Horace Hird Collection’, a newly discovered selection of 52 Tudor, Stuart and Commonwealth gold coins and patterns from the famous Hird collection thought to have been all sold prior to his passing in 1973. The entire sale certainly deserves to be highlighted, although one must note the rare “Spur Ryal” of King James I, realizing 260,000 GBP, and the pattern, possibly for a Groat, in gold of Elizabeth I, realizing 400,000 GBP; this small sale of only 52 lots demonstrates the power of combing the highest quality, great rarities, and famous provenance.

Colonial Coins and Medals, a small selection of commercial highlights of September 2021

Hawaii, King Kalākaua I (1874-1891), Silver Dollar (26.54g, 38mm) dated 1883, San Francisco mint. Obverse: Bare Head of Kalākaua I facing right, legend around, “KALAKAUA I KING OF HAWAII”. Reverse: Coat of Arms of Hawaii flanked by denomination “1 D”, legend around, “UA MAU KE EA O KA AINA I KA PONO AKAHI DALA”. KM-7. Minor grazes to obverse, particularly in field to right of portrait, otherwise nicely toned and evenly worn. Very Fine.

Antoninus Pius, Roman Emperor from 138-161 AD, Silver Denarius (3.15g, 18mm), struck at Rome 145-161 AD. Obverse: Laureate Head of Antoninus Pius facing right, legend around, “ΛNTONINVS ΛVG PIVS PP”. Reverse: Lightning bolt placed upon draped altar, legend around, “COS IIII”. RIC-137. Very minor edge crack at 8h, otherwise a lovely round flan showcasing quite attractive style portraiture. Extremely Fine / near Extremely Fine.

Divis Faustina I ‘the Elder’, Roman Empress through marriage to Antoninus Pius from 138-140 AD, Silver Denarius (3.34g, 18mm), struck at Rome circa 147-161 AD under Antoninus Pius. Obverse: Draped Bust of Faustina I facing right, her hair waved and coiled, “DIVA FAVSTINA”. Reverse: Ceres stands facing left, veiled and holding long torch in her right hand, her left arm by her side with drapery fold falling over it, “AVGVSTA”. S.4584; RSC.104. A very attractive coin struck under Antoninus Pius to deify his late wife – an extensive series that spanned all denominations. Good Extremely Fine / Extremely Fine.

Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom 1901-1910 AD, Gold Matte-Proof Two Pounds (15.98g, 28.5mm) dated 1902. Obverse: Bare Head of Edward VII facing right, legend around, “EDWARDVS VII DEI GRA: BRITT: OMN: REX FID: DEF: IND: IMP:”. Reverse: Figure of Saint George on horseback to right, wielding sword and wearing plumed helmet and billowing cloak, slaying the Dragon which falls to right, date “1902” in exergue. Edge: Milled. Spink-3968. Minor graze across Edward VII’s face. Near FDC.

Aksumite Empire, Christian Kings of Aksum, Ousanas II, Aksumite King of Kings circa 430-460 AD, Gold Unit (1.62g). Obverse: Crowned and draped Bust of Ousanas II (?) facing right holding fly-whisk, bust flanked by grain ears, legend around, “+ OYCΛNΛ BΛCIVЄYC”. Reverse: Bare Headed and draped Bust facing right holding fly-whisk, bust flanked by grain ears, legend around, “+ BEVVIΛ BYΛΛVIC” (?). A nice, problem free example of an uncommon type and king. About Extremely Fine to Extremely Fine. 

Brazil, John V ‘the Magnanimous’, King of Portugal 1706-1750 AD, Gold 12800 Reis or ‘Johanna’ (28.42g, 39mm) dated 1731 M, minted at Minas Gerais, Brazil. Obverse: Laureate Bust of John V of Portugal facing right, “IOANNES. V. D.G. PORT. ET. ALG. REX. 1731. M.” (“John V, by the Grace of God, King of Portugal and Algarve, 1750 B”). Reverse: Crowned, ornate Shield of Arms of Portugal. KM-139. A nice, problem free example. Extremely Fine or better. 

Attica, Athens, Silver Tetradrachm (17.18g, 25mm, Attic Standard), struck circa 454-404 BC. Obverse: High relief Head of Athena facing right, wearing crested Attic helmet ornamented with three olive leaves above visor and spiral palmette on bowl, round earring with central boss and pearl necklace; her hair flows in parallel lines. Reverse: Athenian Owl stands right facing forward in an upright, less elongated posture, olive sprig and crescent to top left, “AOE” (‘AꙨENAION’) to right. Kroll-8; Dewing 1591-8; SNG Copenhagen-31. An attractive Athenian Tetradrachm, the reverse struck with a decent incuse square which frames an archetypical 454-404 period owl. Near Extremely Fine.

Portuguese Empire, Brazil, King John VI of Portugal (1816-1825 AD), Silver 960 reis dated 1821 R, struck at Rio de Janeiro. Obverse: Royal Crown above laurel wreath, denomination and date “960 1821 R” within, legend around, “JOANNES∙ VI∙ D∙G∙ PORT∙ BRAS∙ ET ∙ ALG∙ REX∙”. Reverse: Shield of Arms of Portugal over Globe bound by cross pattée, legend around, “SUBQ’ SIGN. NATA STAB.”. KM-326.1. A highly attractive, superb Gem of a coin with lovely, flawless satiny surfaces complimented with a veneer of golden, amber toning which certainly furthers desirability. Nearly all of the design elements of the host have been obliterated save for minor detail of the reverse shield of arms, which is commonly remains for the type. Its beauty is perhaps a double edged sword as no attributing elements, such as the mint or assayer’s name, remains to identify the host coin. Mint State 

Sallustia Orbiana, as Augusta through marriage to Severus Alexander from 225-227 AD, Silver Denarius (2.41g, 21mm), struck at Rome 225 AD. Obverse: Diademed and draped Bust of Sallustia Orbiana facing to right, legend around, “SALL BARBIA ORBIANA AVG”. Reverse: Draped figure of Concordia seated facing to left, holding patera and double cornucopiae, legend around, “CONCORDIA AVGG”. Sear-8191; RIC-319; RSC-1. Slightly rough / granular surfaces, particularly on reverse, otherwise a semi scarce type – struck on a broad flan. Near Very Fine.

We look forward to another exciting month for numismatics in October 2021!

The Colonial Column is new monthly sub-section of our Blog, the Colonial Gazette, which offers numismatic news and highlights of the month, as well as a small showcase of items we have sold through our retail shop or the retail website.