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Treasure Coins, Gold Artifacts Brighten Sedwick’s November Auction

Treasure Auction 22 - Daniel Frank Sedwick

Unique gold coins and artifacts will draw attention to Daniel Frank Sedwick’s Treasure, World, U.S. Coin and Paper Money Auction 22. Over 2,340 lots will be up for bidding in the combined floor and live online auction held next week on November 2-3.

Online lot viewing and bidding is hosted at www.auction.sedwickcoins.com.

One impressive artifact from the sale is lot 213: a large gold disk weighing over 1.4 kilograms recovered from the Luz shipwreck, sunk in 1752 off Montevideo, Uruguay. The Luz was carrying large gold holdings owned by the King of Spain as well as Jesuit missionaries when it was smashed upon the coastline during a storm.

Gold Ingot LuzAlthough contemporary salvage efforts recovered some of the Luz’s cargo, it wasn’t until 1992 that large amounts of gold escudos as well as gold ingots were found. After the disk’s discovery, it traded from collection to collection. It originally appeared in a 1993 Sotheby’s auction and once again in a 1997 Ponterio auction where it was the pictured on the back cover of the catalog. In Sedwick’s sale, the gold disk is estimated at $80,000 to $120,000 USD.

Another unique treasure item in the auction is lot 1473: a beautiful gold-and-pearl “Madonna” brooch recovered from the “Rio Mar” site of the 1715 Fleet, sunk in 1715 off the east coast of Florida. The large and ornate pendant features a crowned female figure surrounded by ornate framework decorated with many pearls. The pendant is suspended from a moving crown featuring more intricate goldwork and pearl settings. While the female figure has led to a popular reference as a “Madonna” brooch, the female appears to be Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The brooch is an impressive survivor from the wreck, given the ornate gold design that somehow survived 274 years underwater. It was discovered by the famous Mel Fisher salvaging company in 1989 and later pictured in the book Dreamweaver: The Story of Mel Fisher (1996) by Bob Weller. It will be offered with an estimate of $15,000 and up.

Daniel Frank Sedwick Shipwreck Artifacts from Auction 22

Other artifacts from the 1715 Fleet will be offered in the sale including lot 1474: a set of pearl earrings similar in style to the Madonna brooch found at the Cabin wreck site, estimated at $6,000 to $9,000. Also, a set of 1715- and 1716-dated London, England Post Boy newspapers reporting on the 1715 Fleet disaster and subsequent recovery efforts is lot 1460 and estimated at $4,000 to $6,000.

Beyond shipwreck treasures, a number of very rare coins will appear in the auction. Notably, a unique 1750/48 Guatemala bust-type gold 1 escudo will be offered as lot 130 with an estimate of $25,000 and up. The coin features the bust of Ferdinand VI and was struck by hand using a design intended for machine-struck coins. The hammered gold coins of Guatemala are the rarest of all Spanish colonial gold coins with only four 1 escudos known. Only one, the coin being offered, is dated 1750. It is pedigreed to the Richard Stuart collection and is plated on page 183 in Historia de la Casa de Moneda de Guatemala (2010) by Carlos Jara.

The auction will feature the largest offering ever of Panama cobs, Nicaragua and Honduras imitation cobs, and Admiral Vernon medals, pedigreed to the Richard Stuart collection. A rare, unlisted pairing of a Costa Rican 8 reales with an 1846JB 2 reales counterstamp on a Potosí, Bolivia cob 8 reales dated 1771 is lot 838 with an estimate of $8,000 to $12,000.

Another rarity also from the Richard Stuart collection being offered is lot 744: a Panama Philip II cob 4 reales with the mintmark AP above an error “III” denomination. It is a plate coin in both Spain, Portugal and the New World (2002) by Chet Krause and Clifford Mishler as well as The Forgotten Mint of Colonial Panama (2005) by Jorge Proctor. The coin has an estimate of $10,000 and up.

Other top lots in the auction include:

  • Lots 144, 145 and 146: A group of first year type, Mexico City-minted 1732 gold 4, 2 and 1 escudos, all graded by NGC and the finest known in the NGC census, estimated at $20,000 and up (for the 4 escudos) as well as $15,000 and up (for 2 and 1 escudos).
  • Lot 160: An 1822, assayer JM, Mexican 8 escudos featuring Iturbide with the corrected “Augustin” spelling variety, graded NGC MS 62, estimated at $20,000 to $30,000.
  • Lot 13: A 1701, assayer H, Lima, Peru cob 4 escudos recovered from the 1715 Fleet, graded NGC MS 64, estimated at $20,000 and up.
  • Lots 216 and 217: Two large, 89-pound silver bars recovered from the Atocha (sunk in 1622), each estimated at $25,000 and up.
  • Lot 493: An 1857-S Liberty Head $20 double eagle recovered from the SS Central America (sunk in 1857), graded PCGS MS 64, estimated at $10,000 to $15,000.
  • Lot 1334: A 1916 Standing Liberty quarter, graded NGC VG 10, estimated at $3,500 to $5,000.
  • Lot 1364: A unique 1861 Banco de Santiago 100 pesos bank note, estimated at $10,000 and up.
  • Lot 1381: A 1921 Costa Rican 2 colones bank note, the finest known in the PMG census, estimated at $2,500 to $3,750.

An internet-only session will be held Monday, November 6 featuring selected items from all sessions. Bidders can register for the auction at www.auction.sedwickcoins.com. For more details, please contact Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC at [email protected].

Daniel Frank Sedwick
Daniel Frank Sedwickhttps://www.sedwickcoins.com/
Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC is one of the world’s premier specialist companies in the colonial coinage of Spanish America, shipwreck coins, and artifacts of all nations. Their auctions offer live bidding on the dedicated website auction.sedwickcoins.com, with live video feed for floor auctions, lot-closing alerts, secure payment, and more.

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