Nearly 1,800 lots of world coin and banknote rarities cross the auction block next month, presented by Stack’s Bowers Galleries in their Nov. 5 to 9 sale held in conjunction with the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Winter Expo at the Baltimore Convention Center.
The major auction events and times include:
- Session A, the live World coin portion, begins at 10:00 AM on Thursday, Nov. 5.
- Session B, the live portion offering Ancient coins, begins at 10:00 AM Friday, Nov. 6.
- Session C, the live sale of World paper money, begins right after Session B.
- The Internet only sessions begin at 10:00 AM on Monday, Nov. 9.
Leading the sale is one of the finest known 1926 Albanian 5 Franga Ari coins, graded MS-66 by NGC. Pedigreed to the John J. Pittman Collection and designed by Giuseppe Romagnoli, it is perhaps the most beautiful surviving example. The rarity is just one of over a dozen Albanian coins to be sold, a quantity that includes multiple gold 100 Franga Ari coins and rare PROVA issues.
Gold Spanish Colonial coinage will be well represented with 8 Escudos pieces from Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. Other notable gold coins include a rare 1869-R Guatemala 16 Peso coin graded by NGC as MS-61, an almost impossible coin to locate especially in high grade, as well as a massive 1688 Great Britain 5 Guinea struck for James II.
Two gold coins worthy of mention include a Scottish gold Rider (1475-83) struck for James III in VF-30 and without impairment, as well as a 1742-MF Mexico 4 Escudos, graded MS-61 by NGC and the only example ever seen at the grading services.
In the Napoleonic era, French rarities to cross the block include an 1813-W Napoleon 20 Franc piece in MS-65, an 1800 Cisalpine Republic Scudo of 6 Lire in MS-64PL and an 1801 Piedmont Republic 5 Francs in MS-63.
Lot viewing begins the week of Oct. 14 to 21 at the Stack’s Bowers Santa Ana office and continues at the firm’s New York office from Oct. 27 to 31 before ending the week of the show. For more information, visit Stack’s Bowers Galleries online at www.StacksBowers.com.
