As our most prestigious venue of the year, Heritage’s Platinum Night auctions consistently prove to be among the most anticipated sales in the hobby, and this year’s selections presented at the ANA World’s Fair of Money® in Rosemont, Illinois on August 15 are no exception. Along with the fantastic pieces to be sold as part of the Cape Coral Collection of German 3 Marks and the George H. Cook Collection of Canadian coinage, here is a peek at what lies in store.
Our selection of coins available from across the ancient world is truly staggering. From Greek masterpieces, like the Syracuse Decadrachm by Euainetos and Selinus Tetradrachm, both engraved in Fine Style, to the Roman Imperatorial AU-certified Labienus Denarius and the Byzantine Mint State Alexandria Solidus of Justinian I, the sheer quality, rarity, and eye appeal will make even the most advanced of collectors sit up and take notice.
Not to be missed is one of the earliest recorded coins with an inscription–the Phanes Stater from Ionia–a coin that always elicits spirited bidding when crossing the auction block.
One of the most anticipated lots of the evening will be the unpublished 4-1/2 Solidi of Constans. Gold multiples are always exciting; however, this one is made even more so by filling in a historical gap, being the companion to the known specimen for Constantius II.
The coins of both Brazil and Great Britain frequently comprise many of the core offerings in any Heritage world numismatic auction, and for Platinum Night these reach the peak of desirability.
From the period of Portuguese colonialism comes an incredibly handsome “Sabara” gold ingot dated 1814, standing as a relic of the 19th-century Minas Gerais Gold Rush.
Produced less than a decade later, Brazilian collectors will surely be thrilled to see an example of the celebrated Coronation 6400 Reis of Pedro I from 1822. The first coin struck in an independent Brazil, this giant of the series is thought to be one of only nine in private hands and is the second finest we have ever offered.
Finally, at the tail end of the country’s gold production comes an MS64 1922 10000 Reis–one of just six struck and tied for the finest known.
Perhaps the crowning jewels of our British section are two presumably unique patterns from the workshops and cabinets of two of the nation’s most famous engravers–Benedetto Pistrucci and William Wyon. Responding to the same need for a new Crown design after the Great Recoinage of 1816, both the 1817 “St. George and the Dragon” Pattern Crown and the 1817 white metal Proof Piedfort Pattern “Three Graces” Crown from George III’s reign serve as true testaments to their respective engravers’ skills, and come extremely well provenanced.
From earlier in George’s reign, we are also excited to offer an example of Tanner’s incredible 1768 Pattern 2 Guineas, graded PR64 by NGC and presently tied as the finest certified representative of this early Georgian masterpiece.
Drawing from a different sector entirely, the Allen Moretti Swiss Collection brings what is certainly the most extensive series of Swiss rarities we have ever handled, as well as an array of European gold types that not only rarely come to market but are also very seldom encountered outside of European auctions. Chief among the selections here are a massive Lucerne 1714 10 Ducat certified MS63 by NGC, a gold Sardinian 5 Doppie of 1786, and a 1694 Papal Quadrupla, along with many hammered issues from Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.
This auction will open for bidding soon at coins.HA.com!
