Strong bids for rare world and shipwreck coins surpassed $4.07 million in Daniel Frank Sedwick’s May 7, 8, & 10 Treasure Auction 29. This is a new record for the auction firm and an indicator of a robust market for collectible coins and currency.
The top-selling coin in the sale was the single finest Mexico City-struck cob 8 reales Royal dated 1730 that realized $102,000 USD on a pre-sale estimate of $35,000 and up. A numismatic rarity, the coin has an overdate 1730/28/5 plus the king’s name and ordinal reworked with PHILIPPVS V over LVDOVICS I. It was graded AU 58 by NGC, which is rare among all Spanish colonial Royals as almost all known examples were holed and some even gilded shortly after minting.
The top gold coin sold was a Bogota, Colombia gold 4 escudos dated 1826JF graded NGC MS 64 that realized $72,000. It boasts a pedigree to the Esmeralda Collection, a curated group of some of the finest early post-independence Colombian gold and silver coins, that was sold in the auction along with special NGC labels. This 1826JF 4 escudos also held pedigrees to the famous R.L. Lissner and Eliasberg collections as well.
The Esmeralda Collection also contained the single finest graded “Libertad Americana” Bogota, Colombia silver 8 reales dated 1819JF graded NGC MS 64. This scarce and desirable piece is the first “crown” coin of independent Colombia. A fight amongst several bidders ended with the coin selling for $57,000 on an estimate of $25,000 and up.
“Results for Latin American coins were outstanding and record-breaking,” said Daniel Frank Sedwick, president and founder of the company. “Given low mintages and survival rates, I believe collectors realize that their opportunity to own some of the finest examples may only come that one time during our auction – and they are bidding accordingly.”
It was not just coins that ruled the auction. A 22-1/4 karat Colombian gold bar weighing 358 grams recovered in 1985 by salvager Mel Fisher from the wreck of the Spanish galleon Atocha realized over double its start price to sell for $66,000. A similarly rare and desirable Seville, Spain gold cob 2 escudos graded PCGS AU 58 from Atocha sold for $39,000 on a $10,000 to $15,000 estimate.
Other top lots in the sale include:
- A Mexico City, Mexico, silver cob 8 reales Royal dated 1607F graded NGC XF details/holed, ex- Rudman, sold for $54,000
- A Segovia, Spain gold milled 8 escudos dated 1721/19F graded NGC AU 58+ and the finest known in the NGC census sold for $54,000
- A Mexico City cob 8 reales Royal dated 1714J and graded NGC AU details/environmental damage plus the distinction as the only known Royal 8 reales recovered from the 1715 Fleet sold for $46,500
- A Cuzco, Peru, gold cob 1 escudo, dated 1698M and graded NGC AU 58 sold for $45,000
- A Potosi, Bolivia, silver cob 2 reales, dated 1733E, with a unique heart design as made, sold for $36,000
- A Mexico City, gold cob 8 escudos, dated 1714J, graded NGC MS 62 recovered from a 1715 Fleet shipwreck, ex-Ullian, sold for $34,800
- A Lima, Peru, gold cob 8 escudos, dated 1712M, graded NGC MS 62 recovered from a 1715 Fleet shipwreck, sold for $31,200
- A Quito, Ecuador, silver 4 reales dated 1844MV-A graded NGC MS 65, finest known in the NGC census, ex-Lissner, sold for $31,200
- A United States silver Draped Bust dollar dated 1796 with small date and large letters (Bolender-4) graded NGC VF 30 sold for $7,200
The next Sedwick auction will be the November 3-5, 2021 Treasure Auction 30 held live online and in-person in Orlando, Florida. Consignments are now being accepted for that auction through August 14; interested consignors should email the company at [email protected].
