Classics of American coinage ready for Heritage’s final Signature® Numismatic Auction of the year in Houston on Dec. 3

DALLAS, TX — A rare and highly desirable branch mint proof 1884-CC Morgan dollar, graded PR66 Cameo by NGC, leads the list of highlights for Heritage Auctions’ December 2009 Signature® U.S. Coin Auction, to be held in Houston, TX. It is estimated at $140,000+.

Though the Carson City Mint had neither the personnel nor the resources to strike proof coins on a par with those produced at the main Philadelphia Mint, it did turn out a small number of special pieces, or branch mint proofs.

"In the second half of the 19th century Philadelphia struck virtually all proof coins," said Greg Rohan, President of Heritage Auctions. "Only a handful of proofs were struck at branch mints such as Carson City — some with official authorization and some without. While this branch mint proof dollar does not appear in any official records, it is clearly unlike any Morgan dollar struck for circulation."

Read the rest of this entry »

1879 Flowing Hair stella leads the way with $161,000; strong prices signal optimism in the market

DALLAS, TX — With a sell-through rate of 90% by lot and 88% by dollar value, and almost 3300 bidders, Heritage Auctions’ Oct. 23-24 Dallas Signature® U.S. Coin Auction soared to $8.7 million total. All prices include a 15% Buyer’s Premium.

The impressive tally is a good sign for the coin market and provides strong momentum as the numismatic world prepares for the January FUN auctions, long a solid indicator of the overall strength of the business and a benchmark by which to judge the coming year.

"We saw some very strong prices in some unexpected areas," said Greg Rohan, President of Heritage Auctions. "The rare coin market seems to be almost fully recovered in many areas, and perhaps even headed for record price levels next year."

A stunning 1879 Flowing Hair stella struck in gold, Judd-1635, Pollock-1833, PR65 NGC was the top lot of the Heritage Auctions event, with a price realized of $161,000 for this international trade coinage pattern, which bears a Flowing Hair portrait of Liberty by Charles Barber. Demand for the issue is far greater than the supply; only a few hundred of the gold 1879 Flowing Hair stellas were minted and distributed, mainly to interested members of Congress. Read the rest of this entry »

DALLAS, TX — The last numismatic blast of the summer of 2009 went off with an $18.4 million flourish in Heritage Auctions’ combined Long Beach U.S. Coin, Currency and World Coin events, Sept. 10-13.

The successful trio of auctions further heartened erudite collectors as the world reflects on a year ago as financial markets buckled. U.S. Coins saw solid results with a total of more than $9.4 million, while U.S. Currency’s strong showing amounted to more than $5.7 total, and World Coins continued its robust climb with more than $3.2 million in prices realized.

"We’re very satisfied with the results across the board," said Greg Rohan, President of Heritage. "As always, quality sells, and the top lots in each category certainly bore that out.

Bidding was spirited, more than 9,200 bidders participated and the overall results show us that the state of the numismatic market is quite sound; perhaps on its way to a full recovery, and beyond."

The first among equals at Long Beach was a stunning Read the rest of this entry »

The Vegas Collection also offered, featuring later-date Saint-Gaudens double eagles, Sept. 10-13

DALLAS, TX — One of the most popular American pattern coins, a spectacular 1879 Flowing Hair stella in gold, Judd-1635, graded PR67 by NGC, is the anchor lot at Heritage Auction Galleries’ Sept. 10-13 Long Beach, CA Signature® U.S. Coin Auction.

The auction action will take place at the Long Beach Convention Center, 100 S. Pine Avenue, in Long Beach.

"The various gold stella patterns have been immensely popular with collectors almost since their creation," said Greg Rohan, President of Heritage,

"and the 1879 stella with Flowing Hair portrait, with its relatively higher mintage and relatively greater availability to numismatists, has become the most popular of all. We expect this coin to bring $250,000 or more."

At the PR67 grade level, the 1879 Flowing Hair stella is a condition rarity; in fact, there is only one numerically finer example in NGC’s Census Report. Read the rest of this entry »

Connect with Heritage via Facebook, Twitter and The Heritage Blog, now at Heritage’s new Social Media Page

DALLAS, TX — With the launch of www.HA.com/Connect Heritage Auction Galleries has now placed its bidder-members and followers right in the middle of the world Social Media boom.

The recent additions of a Heritage Auction Galleries page on Facebook, where all the latest press releases and pertinent announcements from the company are posted, complimented with frequent updates from Heritage on Twitter.com and daily postings on The Heritage Blog, make it easy for Heritage users to follow the day-to-day media happenings at Heritage Auction Galleries. Read the rest of this entry »

Heritage to present 2,800-lot survey of global coinage, ancient and antique, Sept. 10-13 in Long beach, CA

DALLAS, TX — An auction event featuring numismatic treasures spanning the four hemispheres of globe is set to take place at Heritage’s Sept. 10-13 Long Beach, CA Signature® World Coin Auction, at the Long Beach Convention Center, 100 S. Pine Avenue, Long Beach, CA.

"We’ve put together a very strong, marvelously focused auction," said Warren Tucker, Director of World Coins at Heritage Auction Galleries."

After spending a great amount of time gathering and cataloging these coins it’s very gratifying to see the great auction quality we’ve produced for this event. Even better, there are coins in here for collectors of all types and all levels."

Leading the way for world coin aficionados is a classic and extremely rare Chinese coin, a Read the rest of this entry »

Heritage Auction Galleries will be the official auctioneer for the two 2010 American Numismatic Association shows, the Boston World’s Fair of Money® and the Fort Worth National Money Show™, ANA Executive Director Larry Shepherd has announced.

"This partnership makes perfect sense for both parties," said Shepherd. "Heritage has done many things to build our membership and support our educational efforts in the past, and we are looking forward to working with them to ensure a successful relationship in 2010."

Read the rest of this entry »

Heritage to Present 3400+ Lot Signature® Currency event, Sept. 9-13

Dallas, TX — One of the largest offerings of Continental currency and Colonial paper money to be auctioned off in decades will highlight the Official Currency Auction of the September 2009 Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectibles Expo conducted by Heritage-Currency Auctions of America, Sept. 9-13, at the Long Beach Convention Center, 100 S. Pine Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90802.

The auction will consist of four floor sessions along with one online-only session. The lot viewing will take place in Room 104A and the auction itself will be held in Room 103C.

"We have four fine collections anchoring this auction," said Dustin Johnston, Currency Consignment Director at Heritage, "all of which, taken together, offer an excellent survey of American Currency from the Colonial era through current Federal Issues. We’re quite excited to offer these great examples."

The Midnight Ride Collection includes an extensive quantity and variety of Colonial material, including many rare pieces. Read the rest of this entry »

DALLAS, TX — Heritage Auction Galleries has announced that it recently secured a new $35 million line of credit from Wells Fargo Business Credit, a division of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., to be used in support of its auction and sales operations. This comes as the holder of Heritage’s previous line of credit, Sovereign Precious Metals LLC, a subsidiary of Sovereign Bank, disbanded in the wake of new ownership.

"We believe this new relationship with Wells Fargo speaks to the financial stability of Heritage’s business operations – a stability that goes back to our inception more than 35 years ago," said Steve Ivy, Co-Chairman of Heritage. "This new line of credit further strengthens Heritage’s already very strong balance sheet."

Ivy further pointed out how crucial financial dependability is when potential clients weigh the various auction options before them. Read the rest of this entry »

Kern-Carter 1880 Coiled Hair Stella leads July 31-Aug.2 event with $546,250

DALLAS, TX — An 1880 $4 Coiled Hair Stella, Judd-1660, Pollock-1860, Low R.7, PR62 NGC — a gorgeous example of the timeless design of George Morgan — realized $546,250 at Heritage Auction Galleries’ July 31-Aug. 2 Los Angeles U.S. Coin Auction, leading the almost $25 million event. All prices include 15% Buyer’s Premium.

"We’re certainly pleased with the outcome of this auction," said Greg Rohan, President of Heritage.

"Our three day event was a blockbuster. It brought in more than the top grossing movie of the weekend, which earned a little more than $22 million total.

If you factor in that we did it with almost 4,000 bidders, and sold more than 90% of all lots, the figure is even more impressive."

In past auctions Heritage has only been able to account for eight different examples of the 1880 $4 Coiled Hair stella, but the firm has recently established that the Dallas Bank Collection example makes a ninth distinct survivor. Read the rest of this entry »