IRVINE, Calif. — Ponterio & Associates, Inc., the world and ancients auction division of Bowers and Merena Auctions, is thrilled to announce a very full auction schedule for 2010, which includes a trip to New York and three visits to Baltimore, Md.

Things get off to an early start for Ponterio & Associates as an Official Auctioneer of the New York International Numismatic Convention, in New York, N.Y., followed by a steady pace presenting world auctions in Baltimore in conjunction with Bowers and Merena’s Official Auction of the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Baltimore Expo: Read the rest of this entry »

Bowers and Merena’s Official Auction of the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Baltimore Expo Features The Dr. Alfred R. Globus Collection Including Gem Example High Condition Census 1830 BD-1 Half Eagle

IRVINE, Calif. – Bowers and Merena Auctions, America’s leading rare coin and currency auction house, will bring more than 6,000 lots of fine coins and currency to Baltimore, Md., for the Official Auction of the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Baltimore Expo scheduled for November 10-14, 2009.

There are nearly 2,600 U.S. lots and close to 3,500 World lots. The auction will take place at the Baltimore Convention Center and begins with lot viewing Tuesday, November 10, through Saturday, November 14, coinciding with the seven-session auction on Thursday, November 12, through Saturday, November 14. Read the rest of this entry »

IRVINE, Calif. — Ponterio & Associates, a division of Bowers and Merena Auctions, will bring 1,250 lots of world paper money to Baltimore, Md., as part Bowers and Merena’s Official Auction of the Whitman Coin and Collectibles Baltimore Expo scheduled for November 10-14, 2009.

The auction will take place at the Baltimore Convention Center and includes an impressive world catalog presented in four sessions.

Currency highlights include more notes from the popular "East Bay Collection" set to cross the auction block. One of the notable countries with an impressive variety is Iran, which will be illustrated by many Imperial Bank of Persia issues, always sure to garner considerable attention. One of the highlights of the Iranian notes is a 20 Tomans 1925 Pick-15 in a strikingly original Very Fine grade. Read the rest of this entry »

IRVINE, Calif. — Bowers and Merena Auctions, America’s leading rare coin and currency auction house, presented the Official Pre-show Auction of the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Philadelphia Expo on September 22, 2009. The two-session auction realized $2,520,460.

"Philadelphia was a wonderful choice for this Whitman show and Bowers and Merena’s pre-show auction," said Steve Deeds, president of Bowers and Merena.

"The city is so rich in American history which lends itself to the real nature of what we do in numismatics, and we were very fortunate to be able to present an extensive selection of rare Colonial and Early Federal Era coinage that was very much in keeping with this historic theme. The turnout was great and we are very pleased with our results."

A highpoint of the day came early with lot 15, an undated (circa 1659) Lord Baltimore Shilling graded MS-61 by PCGS, the Eliasberg Specimen, which realized an impressive $57,500. Read the rest of this entry »

Auction Spotlights Remarkable 1652 Massachusetts Bay Colony Willow Tree Shilling

IRVINE, Calif. – Bowers and Merena Auctions, America’s leading rare coin and currency auction house, will bring nearly 1,500 lots of fine coins to Philadelphia, Pa.., for the Official Pre-show Auction of the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Philadelphia Expo set for September 21-22, 2009.

The auction will take place at the Pennsylvania Convention Center and begins with lot viewing Monday, September 21, and Tuesday, September 22, followed by the two-session auction on Tuesday at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. EDT.  

"Bowers and Merena has had the privilege for many years to present the Official Baltimore Auction with Whitman, so we are very pleased for this opportunity to work with them in Philadelphia as the Official Pre-show Auctioneer," said Steve Deeds, president of Bowers and Merena. "Whitman produces excellent coin shows. And Philadelphia is rich in history and tradition, really two of the cornerstones of numismatics." 

The auction will present an important selection of rare Colonial and Early Federal Era coinage. Read the rest of this entry »

IRVINE, Calif. – Bowers and Merena Auctions, America’s leading rare coin and currency auction house, today announced that it has named Matthew Quinn as director of currency auctions. Quinn will work alongside notable currency specialist, Kevin Foley, consignment director and senior numismatist for rare currency for Bowers and Merena.

The announcement comes on the heels of Bowers and Merena’s highly successful Official Auction of the American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money in Los Angeles in early August, which presented more than 500 U.S. and world banknotes, including a Rare 1870 Fr. 1162 $100 California Gold Bank Note that realized an extraordinary $207,000.  

Quinn comes to Bowers and Merena from sister company Spectrum Currency where he worked at dealing banknotes, cataloging, auction processing, and enhancing dealer relationships. Read the rest of this entry »

IRVINE, Calif. – Bowers and Merena Auctions, America’s leading rare coin and currency auction house, conducted its second of two official American Numismatic Association auctions for 2009 over five live sessions last week at the Los Angeles Convention Center as the Official Auctioneer of the ANA World’s Fair of Money.

Teletrade Certified Coin & Currency Auctions, sister company to Bowers and Merena, served as the official online auctioneer for the show, conducting auctions on Sunday and Monday, August 9-10. Together they realized a total in excess of $15 million.

"It has been a tremendous opportunity to work with the ANA over this past year, first in Portland and especially now in our own backyard of Los Angeles. The ANA consistently presents a first rate show and it was a privilege to play such an important role in this event as the only official auctioneer," said Steve Deeds, president of Bowers and Merena.

"We are very pleased with the results of the auction. This was our second largest auction in the past five years by both value and number of lots, and under the present economy I think that speaks volumes."

Read the rest of this entry »

Bowers and Merena’s Official Auction of the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Baltimore Expo Will Feature Collection of the Late Dr. Alfred R. Globus

IRVINE, Calif. – Bowers and Merena Auctions, America’s leading rare coin and currency auction house, returns to Baltimore, Md., for the Official Auction of the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Expo scheduled for November 10-14, 2009.

The auction will feature the collection of U.S. and world coins assembled by one of America’s most renowned numismatic collectors, Dr. Alfred R. Globus.

Dr. Alfred R. Globus was born July 1, 1920, in Brooklyn, New York. He received his Doctor of Science degree from Hanover College in Indiana and for a short time served as professor of biochemistry at Fairleigh Dickinson University.

He licensed his first chemical process at age 20 for the electrolytic recovery of iron from iron ore, and just two years after that he formed the company that would later become United-Guardian, Inc.

In 1943, he built a commercial plant for the production of vitally needed tungsten concentrates, and served as a consultant to the War Production Board during World War II. Dr. Globus served as the chief executive officer of United-Guardian for more than 60 years.

Over those years he was granted at least 35 patents for the many products and processes that he developed. Dr. Globus passed away in April of 2009 at age 88. Read the rest of this entry »

(Irvine, California) – A 1907 Rolled Edge Indian Eagle, a gorgeous and conditionally rare representative of this classic issue in the 20th century gold series, will be offered in Bowers and Merena’s Official Auction of the American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money® at the Los Angeles Convention Center and online, August 5-8, 2009, with lot viewing August 1- 8.

The auction will also spotlight one of the most important California Gold Rush-era coins produced in San Francisco, the unique Kellogg and Company specimen $20 territorial gold piece personally owned by former U.S. Assayer Augustus Humbert.

Listed in the auction catalog as 1907 Judd-1903 (Judd-1775), Pollock-1997, Rarity-5, Rolled Edge, it is described as "a bright, satiny piece" with a strike that is "characteristic of the issue, meaning that it is bold-to-sharp elsewhere yet noticeably soft in the center of the obverse." The example boasts a Condition Census MS-67 Grade from NGC with a combined PCGS and NGC Population of just 6, 0 finer. Read the rest of this entry »

Legendary 1876-CC Twenty-Cent Piece with Five-Generation History Realizes $207,000

IRVINE, Calif. — Bowers and Merena Auctions, America’s leading rare coin and currency auction house, returned to Baltimore for the second time in 2009 to present the Official Auction of the Baltimore Coin and Currency Convention at the Baltimore Convention Center June 10-13.

The auction of the nearly 2,500 lots realized a total of $4,225,995 over three live sessions, plus the inaugural online session of the official Baltimore auction.

The standout highlight of the auction was lot 757, an 1876-CC Twenty-Cent Piece in PCGS AU-58 with a fascinating history, which realized $207,000. Believed to be one of perhaps just 12 to 20 examples known, this specimen was acquired in Virginia City, Nev., by Gold Rush "Forty-Niner" John Seagraves Pick and has been kept in the Pick/Jurgensen family for the last 133 years. Read the rest of this entry »