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 »

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. — 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 »

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 »

DLRC Internet Auction #412 is now accepting bids for the over 1,100 lots offered in the Summer Sunset Collection.

This sale will run for two weeks with the bidding ending the evening of Monday, September 21 between 8-11 pm EST. DLRC Auctions has special financing available and welcomes trade-ins.

This massive collection contains many copper and silver series. A strong run of Liberty Seated, Barber and Standing Liberty Quarters as well as a great run of Bust, Liberty Seated and Barber Halves. 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 »

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 »

Armen R. Vartian, the attorney for Steven L. Contursi and Donald H. Kagin, has filed a Motion to Dismiss a lawsuit filed against them by William Swoger who seeks damages in the amount of $465,000 over a Brasher Doubloon.

Swoger’s lawsuit claims he is owed money for information he provided Contursi and Kagin that would increase the value of the legendary American gold coin owned by the pair.

Struck in 1787 by Ephraim Brasher, a New York City silversmith and goldsmith, the Brasher Doubloons are "among the rarest and most desirable of all United States coins," according to CoinFacts.com. Seven are known to exist. One is most unique, featuring the "EB" countermark punched over the shield on the eagle’s breast instead of atop the eagle’s wings as in the other six coins.

It is this exceptionally rare coin and its pedigree that is a focal point for the lawsuit. The coin had a value of some $15 at the time of issue. Contursi and Kagin purchased it for $2.99 million during the Heritage Auction Galleries Gold Rush Collection auction on Jan. 12, 2005. In today’s market, its value is likely much, much more. 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 »

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 »