Winter Park, Florida — Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC held their 6th overall and 2nd fully live internet auction of numismatic and shipwreck treasures on October 15-16, 2009, realizing a record price of over $1.6 million* in 2082 lots. Featured in the sale were coins and artifacts and printed materials from around the world, including the prestigious collections of Mark Bir, Louis Hudson, Herman Blanton and Thomas Sebring.

"This was by far our best auction, and the feedback from both consignors and bidders has been overwhelmingly positive. We greatly exceeded our goal of $1 million, and over 94% of the lots sold," said Daniel Sedwick, company principal and founder.

"We were honored to present for sale several great collections of coins and artifacts, including a few significant coins that are rarely offered at auction. This is proof that our relatively new and rapidly growing Treasure Auctions are a competitive specialized option for consignors, with an unparalleled level of personalized service from beginning to end for both bidders and consignors alike."

Setting the tone for the sale was lot 1, a Mexican cob 8 escudos fully dated 1709, which found a home with a private collector for a record price of $46,000*. Some 70+ gold cobs followed thereafter. Read the rest of this entry »

Specialists in world coins and treasure items Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC has released their sixth and largest Treasure Auction, available immediately for viewing on their website, www.sedwickcoins.com.

This auction features well over $1 million in coins, ingots, artifacts and books, almost all of it opening at very reasonable levels. Because of the size of the auction this time, Sedwick has split this sale into three sessions, all closing LIVE on www.iCollector.com/sedwick.

"After our first live Internet auction last time, we decided to hold our Treasure Auction #6 in three sessions to provide breaks and avoid bidders having to monitor the auction all day long to bid live on the lots they want," says Sedwick. "Also there is no more confusion about the buyer’s fee, which is set at 18% for everyone (discounted to 15% for check or cash)."

Session I

Starting off Session I (Thursday, October 15, 11:00 am EDT) is a unique Mexican cob 8 escudos (possible) Royal 1709 (estimated at $35,000-$50,000), one of more than 70 gold cobs in this sale, mostly from the 1715 Fleet, including also an extremely rare Lima cob 8 escudos 1702 (estimated at $20,000-$30,000). Read the rest of this entry »

June 11: Four numismatic news or coin blog articles are referenced on CoinNews every Tuesday and Thursday. These articles are not authored by us, but we recommend coin collectors read them for their unusual or interesting content. Here are today’s coin articles:

Treat Collecting as Recreation, Not Investment
Steve Album | World Coin News

World Coin News, and just about every other numismatic publication, feasts on reporting the highest prices fetched at auctions, the fabulous increases of coin values, the frenzy to buy this or that coin for investment. Thus, coin collecting becomes associated with coin investing, eventually to the point that gaining a profit subsumes the joy of collecting, and the coin purchaser no longer…

Go to story »

Read the rest of this entry »

Deep seas, adventure, mystery, suspense and a battle over who owns a sunken treasure… they are the trappings of an action-adventure blockbuster that could make hundreds of millions. But this is no movie plot. The treasure is real — possibly worth some $500 million — and a battle over its ownership wages on, but now at another level.

500 million Colonial-era gold and silver coins belonged to the sunken Spanish warship Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes and should be returned to Spain, a U.S. judge said this week.

Odyssey Marine Exploration, a deep-sea treasure-hunting firm based in Tampa, Florida, discovered the shipwrecked treasure in international waters about 100 miles west of the Straits of Gibraltar — a site Odyssey code-named "Black Swan." Soon after the March 2007 discovery, Spain laid claim to the 17-ton coin hoard, demanding its return and sparking a near two-year legal battle. A page in that battle has been turned. Read the rest of this entry »

A wealthy Nebraska father who didn’t trust banks and believed an American collapse was just around the corner, hid nearly two tons of silver and gold coins "under our beds, in the kitchen cupboards, up in the attics, in the bottom of dresser drawers, in holes in the ground," writes daughter Alison Johnson.

Alison tells her true life story in a book called "The Eleventh Hour Can’t Last Forever."

She recounts how her father hid more than $1.5 million worth of coins and how "his blind absorption in amassing wealth" created an array of family problems.

A glimpse into her father’s obsession is gleaned in listening to Alison talk to Nebraska’s 6 News. Read the rest of this entry »

A dig site where 22 ancient coins inscribed with Cleopatra’s name, an alabaster mask fragment resembling Mark Antony, and 10 mummies were discovered suggest Cleopatra’s lost tomb may be within reach, according to Egypt’s chief archeologist, Zahi Hawass.

Archaeologist found the coins and mask last year when excavating a 2,300 year-old temple built by Ptolemy II. The recent cemetery discoveries led to underground radar revealing three “important anomalies.”

The evidence has convinced Hawass that someone important is buried within temple, and possibly the famous lovers.

"We think this is really a perfect place for Cleopatra and Mark Antony to be hidden," Hawass said.

Read the rest of this entry »

The April 16 edition of the Coin Chat Radio program features a couple of interesting interviews that cover three centuries: from sunken steamships filled with coin treasure of the mid 1800’s to the grand opening of an online numismatic store.

Central States Numismatic Society Educational Director Ray Lockwood is interviewed by Numismatic News Editor Dave Harper. The discussion centers around the upcoming CSNS 70th Annual Convention in Cincinnati Ohio that starts on Wednesday, April 29th with PNG day and then opens to the general public on the 30th. An estimated 250 dealer tables will be available along with the many speakers and seminars.

A post convention highlight is a seminar by feature speaker Bob Evans, who was the chief scientist of the S.S. Central America Project. The S.S. Central America was a steamer ship loaded with treasure that went down off the coast of the coast of North Carolina in 1857. According to Lockwood, Evans will be "talking about preservation and conservation of the gold coins, the silver coins, and the gold bullion that was brought up from the bottom of the ocean," along with many other subjects in relation to the ship. Read the rest of this entry »

The Odyssey discovery of the "Black Swan" 17-ton gold and and silver coin treasure, its recovery and legal battle with Spain over it will air Thursday, April 2, on the Discovery Channel’s "Treasure Quest."

The episode is likely to be the most fascinating of the season, and on Tuesday, excellent background and a preview of what to expect was provided by the TODAY show.

In May 2007, Florida-based deep-sea shipwreck exploration firm Odyssey Marine Exploration recovered the discovered treasure trove at a site the company code-named the "Black Swan." Soon after, a legal battle erupted in Federal court over the ownership of the Colonial-era coins. Read the rest of this entry »

The latest Treasure Auction (#5) by Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC will take place on April 9, 2009. Lots are now available for viewing on their website at www.sedwickcoins.com. Sedwick’s newest sale is his biggest ever. Says Sedwick:

"When we began our Treasure Auctions two years ago, we had no idea how quickly the concept would grow. Just compare our first sale of around 400 lots to almost 1800 lots now, more than a fourfold increase!"

This is also Sedwick’s first auction to offer live Internet bidding via iCollector.com. Read the rest of this entry »

News is abound with Odyssey Marine Exploration’s claim to have discovered HMS Victory, the legendary British warship that disappeared in the English Channel following a 1744 storm.

Odyssey, a deep-sea exploration and treasure-hunting firm, announced their findings last Monday in London. The warship may have been carrying up to 100,000 gold coins weighing four tons before it sank to the sea-floor.

"The money is not as important as the cultural and historical significance of the discovery," Greg Stemm, chief executive officer of Florida-based Odyssey Marine Exploration said.

"HMS Victory was the mightiest vessel of the 18th Century and the eclectic mix of guns we found on the site will prove essential in further refining our understanding of naval weaponry used during the era."

Read the rest of this entry »