STACK’S BOWERS 2016 ANA COIN AUCTION

Stack’s Bowers Galleries is pleased to announce details of their upcoming World Coin, Ancient Coin & World Paper Money Auction, to be held in conjunction with the 2016 ANA World’s Fair of Money between August 9 and 13. The sale will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center, located at 800 West Katella Avenue in Anaheim, California. The Ancient Coin and World Coin sale will be split between two days, with Session A commencing on Wednesday morning August 10, at 9:00 AM sharp at the convention center. Session B will start two days later at 9:00 AM on Friday morning. Session C, featuring World Paper Money, is scheduled to begin at 6:00 PM that same evening.

There will be something for everyone in this year’s ANA sale. With nearly twice as many ancient coins as last year, Session A will kick off the sale with a number of extraordinary pieces that are sure to captivate bidders. One of the early stars in the auction will be a stunning Agathocles electrum 100 Litrae in Fine Style, grading Choice Almost Uncirculated with 5/5 Strike and 5/5 Surfaces. Among Roman Empire issues, lot 20156 offers a magnificent gold Aureus of Domitian also in Fine Style and also grading Choice Almost Uncirculated. Collectors of ancient coins will certainly want to see a very rare Septimius Severus Family Aureus several lots later. Grading a solid Extremely Fine, the piece is sure to generate much excitement.

Moving on to world coins, the breadth of material presented will be astonishing. Beginning with an Albanian 1926 Specimen striking of the Skanderbeg 20 Franga in SP-64+ and ending with a 46.4-pound stone Fei from Yap Island, the live auction lots represent some of the most diverse and desirable world coinage available. Along the way, countless rarities will pique the curiosity of collectors, with specialists sure to find irresistible pieces.

There are too many highlights in the Stack’s Bowers Galleries official ANA auction to mention them all here. But to give bidders some idea of what is in store, consider lot 20354, a large gold 1934 Czechoslovakia Kremnica Mines 10 Dukaten with an affinity for the number 68. It is not only from a mintage of just 68 pieces, but it is also graded MS-68 by NGC! More than 100 times rarer than the Duke Wenceslas on horseback issue, the coin is the finest graded by a three-point margin at the grading services.

Also in gold, and also of substantial size, lot 20502 will present an important Portugaloser (10 Ducat) dated 1689. Issued for the German State of Hamburg, the piece depicts a fantastic cityscape view. Graded MS-63 by NGC it is as one of the finest extant for this rare issue.

With well over 100 lots attributed to Great Britain, it is a formidable challenge to narrow the list to just one or two sensational coins. Instead, we note that no fewer than 28 different rulers are represented, beginning with a Kings of Wessex Penny struck for Alfred The Great in Almost Uncirculated-Details and continuing to a fabulously rare 1958 Elizabeth II proof set, one of fewer than 20 made and including the gold Sovereign in PCGS PROOF-64 DEEP CAMEO. Also from this same realm, will be a group of Isle of Man coinage (including patterns) that collectively make up one of the most comprehensive offerings in recent memory.

Leaving Britain, and after solid offerings from India, Iran and especially Italy, bidders will land 12,964 nautical miles away in Japan and find lot 21127, a large nearly Mint State Presentation Oban dating to the early 1860s that retains a nearly full ink signature. Continuing eastward to Mexico, the next great rarity is found in lot 21153, an imaginary bust gold 8 Escudos dated 1747 and struck for Ferdinand VI prior to the arrival of a portrait punch from Spain. Graded AU-55 by PCGS, it ranks as one of the finest surviving examples. Also from the Spanish Colonial Empire is a must-see lot from Peru, the only Pillars Over Waves 8 Reales produced under assayer Alonso de Rincon and dating to ca. 1568-71. Graded EF-Details it is one of only a handful known.

Meanwhile, back in Europe, the Romanian offerings will spur dinner conversation at many tables after the end of the sale. Few collectors who specialize in Romanian coinage have ever seen the concentration of rarities seen here. A total of 35 lots representing page after page of rarities make up the Stambuliu catalog and include patterns, pieforts, and off-metal strikings. Lot 21377 will give some idea of what awaits: A 1940 gold 12 Ducat, one of 348 made and graded MS-63+ by PCGS!

Heading eastward yet again, the next stop is 18th century Moldavia & Wallachia. From the E.E. Clain- Stefanelli Collection (as are many of the Romanian rarities), a group of exceedingly rare Russian struck occupation issues dating to the First Russo-Turkish War will be sold. These are all fantastic coins, the greatest of which is the 1773 Pattern 2 Para/3 Kopeks struck in silver. Very likely the finest extant, it combines every attribute a collector could ask for: Rarity, condition, and a great story of hardship overcome in the pursuit of producing coinage.

As Friday afternoon draws to a close, some of the most spectacular fireworks of all will be launched. The Russian section includes multiple great rarities, a significant number of which have been sequestered in an advanced collection since the early 1980s. Many of these are coins most collectors can only dream of seeing, much less owning. Yet here they are, some of the greatest Russian numismatic treasures offered in many years. Think for a moment about rare Russian Imperial coins. Then think about gold. Then think about proofs. Then think about all of these traits combined into the finest known of Russian Imperial gold proof coins! You now have a general idea of what to expect.

Multiple denominations and dates of Alexander III proof gold coinage lead the way to the Nicholas II gold proofs, including a magnificent 1902 large 37-1/2 Ruble in PCGS PROOF-62. This will be followed by the finest graded 1908 Nicholas II 25 Ruble graded PCGS PROOF-65. From a mintage of 150 and struck for the Tsar’s 40th birthday, it is conceivable they were handed out by Nicholas II himself as party favors in May of 1908. The opportunity for research on these Russian rarities is almost limitless, with the story behind these coins still not fully told more than a century later.

As the live sale winds down, more exceptionally desirable lots will cross the block. The Swiss section will feature not just one but two 1925-B Switzerland 100 Francs coins, both in magnificent MS-65 condition. And everyone will want to stay to the very end to see which bidder hauls away the Yap stone. Measuring 17 inches across, it is the near-ideal size for display in an office or home.

On Monday, beginning at 9:00 AM PT, the Internet-Only Session D will begin, with the World Paper Money Session E commencing at 12:00 noon the following day. Much like the live sale, this year’s Internet sessions are considerably larger than last year’s. With world coins from over 100 different countries offered, and with heavy concentrations in Canada, Great Britain, German States, Mexico and South Africa, the session will provide a panorama of world coinage, many with attractive opening price points.

Lot viewing prior to the sale will be available by appointment only at the Stack’s Bowers Galleries Santa Ana office July 15-21, by appointment only at their New York store July 27 – August 1, and without appointment starting Tuesday, August 9 at the Anaheim Convention Center the week of the sale.

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