GADOURY NOIR OCTOBER 2026

Gadoury will hold its annual live auctions on October 16 and 17, 2026. The company will begin with the Gadoury bleu auction, featuring nine collections, which will be auctioned on October 16. Please have a look at the separate auction preview for details. Gadoury noir takes place on October 17, 2026, and offers nearly 1,000 lots spanning from antiquity to the modern era, including many rarities. We present some of these here. You will also find many interesting coins and medals for an average budget in the auction. So whatever you are collecting, make sure to take a look at the auction catalog.

Lot 667: Titus. Aureus, 75, Rome. NGC Choice XF 5/5, 4/5. Extremely Fine. Estimate: 10,000 euros. Diameter: 18,5 mm

Thirty lots of ancient coins - including five Greek, nineteen Roman, and five Byzantine pieces - are offered. All are carefully selected, and each one is of interest. Some originate from significant auctions and are in particularly attractive condition. We present two examples: First, an aureus of Titus from 75 AD. Its reverse depicts a Victoria on a Cista Mystica, an object used in the Dionysian cult and which, through its depiction on cistophores, became a symbol of the province of Asia. The aureus of Titus thus refers to a coin type of Augustus, which the first Roman emperor issued to commemorate the reconquest of the province after the end of the civil wars.

The second example is an aureus of Maximianus Herculius, probably from the year 287. The coin, with its impressive depiction of Hercules enthroned frontally, is missing from the RIC and comes from auction Hess Leu 41, which took place in 1969.

Lot 763: Germany / Nuremberg. 6 ducats, 1698, on the occasion of the Peace of Rijswijk resp. the 50th anniversary of the Peace of Westphalia. NGC MS63. Extremely fine, almost FDC. Estimate: 100,000 euros. Diameter: 43 mm

Following a selection of 29 lots featuring coins from Monaco, we come to world coins and medals. One of the highlights is a coin type from Nuremberg that is very popular on the international collectors' market. One side of the coin depicts an allegory of peace, while the other shows a magnificent cityscape of the powerful imperial city of Nuremberg. The piece is dated 1698 and was long associated with the Peace of Rijswijk, concluded on September 20, 1697, between France, the Netherlands, England, Spain, Switzerland, and Emperor Leopold. For decades, no one questioned why Nuremberg would have minted a coin to commemorate this peace. It seems far more logical to connect the coin with the 50th anniversary of the Peace of Westphalia of 1648. Nuremberg played a crucial role in negotiating the specific implementing provisions, and the grand festivities held during the negotiations were deeply ingrained in the collective memory.

Lot 811: Belgium. 100 Francs in Gold, 1853, Brussels, signed by Leopold Wiener, on the occasion of the marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Brabant. NGC PROOF 65+ CAMEO (Top Pop). Estimate: 80,000 euros. Diameter: 37 mm

On August 10, 1853, the granddaughter of the Emperor of Austria was married to the heir of the Belgian King Leopold I, to the future Leopold II. A proxy stood beside her at the altar; she would not meet her husband until shortly thereafter, upon her arrival in Brussels. There, she was welcomed with a magnificent historical procession organized by the city's guilds and artists' associations.

To mark this occasion, Leopold I commissioned the renowned medallist Leopold Wiener to create the dies for a commemorative gold coin with a weight of 100 francs; 482 specimens were minted. The example offered by Gadoury has been graded PROOF 65+ CAMEO by NGC, making it the finest specimen NGC has ever graded.

Lot 872: China. Dollar, Wuchang, ND (1912), Li Yuan Hung type, without cap. NGC MS66 (Top Pop). FDC. Estimate: 35,000 euros. Diameter: 39 mm

Gadoury is offering a small series of 28 lots featuring Chinese coins, some of them extraordinary rare. Among them are to be found two Wuchang-minted dollars of the "without cap" type showing Li Yuan Hung. With collectors, this is an extremely popular coin type. It presents the portrait of the Chinese general and politician Li Yuan Hung who served three times as President of the Republic of China. Chinese numismatics is currently debating whether this coin was minted not in 1912, as previously assumed, but after December 20, 1916. This would commemorate Li Yuan Hung's assumption of the presidency in 1916.

Lot 880: China. 10 Yuan in gold, undated (1919). Very rare. PCGS MS62. Extremely fine. Estimate: 30,000 euros. Diameter: 21,5 mm

A true icon of modern Chinese numismatics is a 10-yuan coin minted in 1919 on the orders of Finance Minister Cao Rulin. At the time, he was considering abandoning the silver standard, which he considered detrimental to the Chinese economy, in favor of the gold standard used by major economies before World War I. He planned a new series of gold coins in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 dollars or yuan, but only two types were ever produced: the 20-yuan and the 10-yuan coins, one of which Gadoury can offer. Very few coins from this issue exist because Rulin's project failed to gain traction. His approval of the transfer of a German colony to Japan at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference had rendered him politically unpopular at home. This led to violent incidents that ultimately cost him his position - at least at this moment. Consequently, no one pursued the switch to the gold standard any further.

The few gold coins that were minted for this purpose never entered circulation because collectors bought them up immediately. One of them is the one offered at Gadoury noir. By the way, the coin is dated, albeit according to the Chinese system. It bears the inscription "Year 8 of the Republic".

Lot 914: Spain. Carlos II. 8 Escudos, 1688/7, Madrid. Unique. PCGS MS62. Extremely fine. Estimate: 15,000 euros. Diameter: 28 mm

Exactly 19 lots from Spain are in Gadoury noir for sale, including a unique item historically linked to the Treaty of Lisbon on February 13, 1668. The Portuguese coat of arms is missing from the Spanish coat of arms. It had been part of the Spanish coat of arms since 1580, as the two kingdoms were united in personal union. Even though Portugal declared its independence as early as 1640, the Spanish monarchs continued to claim the title of King of Portugal until the signing of the Treaty of Lisbon. They only relinquished this claim in 1668. However, bureaucratic inertia and the continued use of old dies meant that the Portuguese coat of arms did not disappear from Spanish coin reverses so quickly. Only after the Portuguese court officially complained about this misuse in 1683 and 1685 did the Spanish gradually abandon the Portuguese coat of arms, as this 8-escudo piece demonstrates.

Lot 1035: France. Louis XVIII. Essay in Gold, 5 Francs, 1815, Paris. Extremely rare. From the collection of King Farouk. From auction Vinchon (June 30, 1978), no. 333. NGC PROOF 62 CAMEO. Extremely fine. Estimate: 100,000 euros. Diameter: 37 mm

Gadoury is the specialist for French coins. After all, the well-known and widely distributed catalogs of French coinage originate from this company. It is therefore only natural that among the 172 lots of French coins offered by Gadoury noir, some very special rarities can be found. We will show you two examples: first, a gold essay for the (silver) 5-franc piece with the portrait of Louis XVIII from 1815, minted at Paris. It comes from the collection of King Farouk and, due to its quality and historical context, is one of the most sought-after numismatic testimonies of restituted France after the Congress of Vienna.

Lot 1062: France. Napoleon III. Essay in Gold, 100 Francs, 1868, Paris. Extremely rare. NGC PROOF 62. Extremely fine. Estimate: 100,000 euros. Diameter: 35 mm

The other example dates from 1868, the final years of Napoleon III's reign. The laurel wreath as imperial headdress is not merely an aesthetic choice; it harks back to antiquity, connecting Napoleon III, during an already difficult period of his rule, to the stability of power of the Roman emperors. This portrait is considered particularly majestic and lends the emperor a different historical perspective than his earlier portraits showing the bare heads.

Lot 1147: Great Britain. Victoria. 5 Pounds, 1887, London. Only 797 specimens struck. PCGS PROOF 64 DEEP CAMEO. Estimate: 50,000 euros. Diameter: 36 mm

This coin, minted in the 50th year of Queen Victoria's reign and of which only 797 were made, depicts the monarch in a way she started to dress after the death of her husband, Albert. Its perfect condition - PCGS graded the coin PROOF 64 DEEP CAMEO - allows us to see all the details and compare them to reality. Victoria wears a white widow's veil over her black gown, secured by the small diamond crown she had commissioned for this purpose. She was to wear it until her death and pass it on to the wives of her descendants, until Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon - better known as "Queen Mum" - had it placed in the Tower of London after her husband's death, where it can be viewed as part of the Crown Jewels.

Lot 1185: Hungary. Gold medal weighing 7 ducats, undated (after 1820), by KW Becker. NGC MS67. FDC. Estimate: 20,000 euros. Diameter: 44 mm

An extremely rare Hungarian medal weighing seven ducats depicts St. George slaying the dragon on the obverse. The reverse shows a ship, symbolizing the Christian community, sailing across the stormy sea. The design of this piece is based on the Hungarian St. George's Thalers, which were often worn as an amulet. This medal was an alternative to these thalers which became difficult to be found. Consequently, comparable pieces are often in much worse condition than this example.

Lot 1374: Italy. Umberto I. 100 Lire, 1883, Rome. Only 4219 specimens struck. NGC MS64 (Top Pop). FDC. Estimate: 15,000 euros. Diameter: 35 mm

Only 4,219 examples of this 100 Lire coin featuring the portrait of Umberto I were minted in 1883. Gadoury is auctioning the best NGC has graded to date.

Lot 1477: Transylvania. Maria Theresa. 5 ducats, 1759, Gyula Fehervar (= Karlsburg). NGC MS62. Extremely fine. Estimate: 90,000 euros. Diameter: 41 mm

Of the greatest rarity is the 5-ducat coin from 1759 bearing the portrait of Maria Theresa, minted at the mint of Karlsburg - today Alba Iulia, Romania, at the time the metropolis of Transylvania - using the dies of the Thaler. NGC graded this rarity MS62.

Lot 1504: Russia. Silver pattern in half-ruble size, undated (1804), dies produced by the Soho Mint. From the Silberstein Collection. PCGS SPECIMEN 64. FDC. Very rare. The only specimen graded by PCGS. Estimate: 10,000 euros. Diameter: 27 mm

Gadoury is offering an extremely rare pattern coin from the Silberstein collection - a piece that is a testimony for the transition from traditional minting to industrialized mass production. Matthew Boulton, an ingenious engineer and the founder of the Soho Mint, earned his living not only by minting coins but also by selling modern turn-key minting facilities. He was commissioned to build one such facility in Russia and sent a team of British craftsmen to St. Petersburg for the project. To train the Russian specialists in operating the era's most advanced machinery - which they would use to mint coins once the facility was completed - the Birmingham headquarters sent a package containing not only dies but also sample strikes, illustrating the intended appearance of the finished product. These samples served as models, enabling the craftsmen to correctly set up the machinery. While it is unknown whether the pattern coin offered by Gadoury was produced in Birmingham or St. Petersburg, it stands as an exceptionally rare testament to the modernization of Russian coinage.

Lot 1514: Russia. Family 1 1/2 Ruble, 1836, St. Petersburg. Only 50 specimens struck. From the Silberstein Collection. PCGS MS63. FDC. Extremely Fine. Estimate: 100,000 euros. Diameter: 40 mm

Let's conclude our preview of Gadoury noir with the second variant of the Russian family ruble. Need we say more? We all know that family rubles are among the icons of Russian numismatics. On this piece from the Silberstein collection, graded MS63 by PCGS, the full name of the artist is written on the Tsar's neck section; the double chin of Zar Nicholas' wife, which he had so disliked so much on the first dies that he rejected the issue, has been removed here.

You can order the catalogue from Gadoury Auctions Sarl, 57, rue Grimaldi, 98000 Monaco; Tel: +377 93 25 12 96; email: contact@gadoury.com.

You can find this catalogue online at www.gadouryauctions.com and www.numisbids.com. Of course, live bidding is also possible via www.biddr.ch

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