Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2019 i World Coin News

On Sept. 17 the London auction house of Dix Noonan Webb will offer a rare Roman gold solidus of Emperor Constantine I. It was found earlier this year in a field at Wanstrow in Somerset by a metal dectorist. The high grade 4.43 g coin is an example of the new denomination introduced by Constantine in 310. It was struck at Trier, the capital of Gaul, c. 313-315 CE (Calicó –; RIC 36). The obverse shows a laureate bust of the emperor while the reverse shows him galloping on horseback with lance and shield trampling two opponents beneath. The find is historically important. The coin commemorates Constantine’s significant victory over the usurper Maxentius at Milvian Bridge outside Rome in October 312. It was on this occasion that Constantine adopted a…

On Saturday, Oct. 5 Roxburys’ Auction House in sunny Queensland will feature an example of Australia’s rarest circulation coin: a 1916 mule halfpenny (KM-30). Importantly this is not one of the previously known examples. It is a discovery coin found recently in a tin in a shed on a deceased estate. The coin has been verified as genuine by PCGS who have certified it as VF35 Gold Shield. This ranks it among the finer known examples. Less than ten examples of the 1916 mule were known before the new discovery. This makes the mule far rarer than the sought-after Australian 1923 halfpennies, 1930 pennies or 1921/22 over-date threepences. To quote Australia’s Andrew Crellin: “no other [Australian] circulating coin comes even close to it in terms of population rarity.” It is…

The world coin market is in a state of extraordinary good health. The results from Heritage Auctions’ Platinum Night sale make this abundantly clear. The 1,085 lots realized a total of $11,041,293 or over $10,000 a lot. Of these, 19 took in excess of $100,000 while a further 234 fetched between $10,000 and $99,999. The catalog was blessed by several outstanding collections. These included the Cape Coral 3 marks, Allen Moretti’s Swiss collection, and George Cook’s Canadian coins. It was coins from the latter collection that occupied the three top spots. Heading the field by a substantial margin was the sole George V specimen pattern Canadian dollar of 1911 in private hands. It is one of only two known examples (KM-Pn15, DC-6). As the Heritage catalog points out, “If the…

In mid-July, New Zealand released its first ever home-grown sovereign. Prior to WWI gold sovereigns circulated in New Zealand but despite the country having its own gold fields, all these coins had been struck overseas. The reason given for production of the new coin is as simple as it is appropriate: the 200th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s birth. She was the reigning monarch when British sovereignty was proclaimed over New Zealand and also when the country freed itself from the apron strings of New South Wales. Seven different New Zealand dollar proof denominations have been struck in .917 fine gold all based on the specifications of the classic gold coin of yesteryear: The reverse of each of the six coins from quarter to twenty sovereigns shows a different effigy of…

Tucked away in southern Western Australia is the Fimiston Open Pit known to locals as ‘Super Pit’. Up until 2016 it was Australia’s largest open cut gold mine. It is over two miles long, a mile across and over 2,000 feet deep. Each year it produces some 700,000 troy ounces of gold. The Perth Mint has celebrated this mighty hole-in-the-ground with issues of two bullion coins: a 40.60 mm, 31.107 g (1 oz) .9999 fine silver $1 and a 3.60 mm, 31.107 g (1 oz) .9999 fine gold $100. The latter coin is struck in gold sourced directly from the Super Pit mine. Mintages are 100,000 (silver) and 15,000 (gold). The reverses of both coins display a depiction of Super Pit by Lucas Bowers. Each coin includes a micro-laser engraved…

On Tuesday, Sept. 24, Spink will put ‘The Waterbird Collection of English Rarities’ up for sale in their London auction rooms. This collection comprises 65 lots of English numismatic rarities ranging from medieval gold nobles through to what the Spink media release describes as one of “the holy grails of 20th century numismatics”, an Edward VIII pattern proof penny. All Edward VIII patterns are of the highest rarity. Few are available to collectors. A detailed summary is given in Joseph S. Giordano’s treatise “Portraits of a Prince”. They were struck for thirteen denominations as both brilliant and matt proofs. Excluding the trial strikes for the nickel-brass threepence, no more than two of any denomination is in private hands but for half the denominations there is just one. Of these a…

I’ll start with Christianity. I don’t think I can write about Islam without talking about Christianity, and I can’t talk about Syria without talking about Islam. Syria was a Roman province, mostly, before Islam, some fluidity on the eastern borders by the Persians, Today Antakya is a small city in southern Anatolia in Turkey, but in ancient times it was Antioch and considered the emporium of the east. It was the capital of the Roman province of Syria. Syria was the economic base of the Roman Empire in the east, confronting the other superpower of the period, which was then called Persia, and is now called Iran. Human governance apparently started with physically strong, charismatic males doing whatever they pleased and could get away with, sometimes everyone else was lucky,…

Heritage’s sale of the Morris Collection of Roman Imperial coins continued with a further monthly online auction in August. Prices realized were no doubt helped by the coins being available for viewing at ANA. The upshot saw the total realize $223,878 against a high pre-auction estimate of $158,575. Leaving aside one large group lot which took the top price of $13,200, the three best individual performers were led by a posthumous Diva Julia Maesa bronze sestertius (RIC IV.II). This is an extremely rare coin and just one other example has been offered for sale in the past 15 years. The obverse shows a draped bust of Diva Julia Maesa, the reverse a four tiered ustrinum (a funeral construction for cremating the deceased). Graded NGC Choice Fine 4/5-2/5 the coin had…

Seventy-five years ago, from Sept. 17 to 25, the largest airborne operation in history up to that point took place in the Netherlands: Operation Market. It was coupled with a large-scale ground attack to create a salient: Operation Garden. Together the two are known as Operation Market Garden. It was the brainchild of Field Marshal Montgomery, planned and executed by Generals Brereton and Williams of the USAAF. The airborne operation was undertaken by the First Allied Airborne Army with the land assault being the responsibility of the XXX Corps of the British Second Army. The operation succeeded in liberating the Dutch cities of Eindhoven and Nijmegen plus a large number of towns to create a 60 mile (97 km) salient in German-held territory. While this significantly reduced the number of…

From Oct. 7-11, 2019, four auction sales will be held by auction house Künker in Osnabrück. From ancient to modern times, there is something for every collector. Moreover, this October there will be once again an auction with orders and decorations. In four auction catalogues, Künker presents a wide range of exciting coins and medals – from special collections of ancient to those of modern coins and medals. The Dr. W. R. Collection, the Phoibos Collection and the collection of a North German friend of ancient coins contain beautiful ancient coins of historical importance and extremely fine grades. Friedrich Popken, Dr. Rolf Löns, Eberhard Link and Kyler Liechty – these are only some of all the collectors that entrusted auction house Künker with their treasures for the two catalogues of…

Since 2016 Monnaie de Paris has been celebrating Trésors de Paris [Treasures of Paris] with an annual gold & silver coin issue. The 2019 coins were released in late July and celebrate the 130th birthday of the Eiffel Tower. The Tower is a wrought-iron lattice structure on the Champ de Mars in Paris, named after engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built it to serve as the entrance to the 1889 World’s Fair. Today the 1,063 ft. (324 m) tower has become the most-visited paid monument in the world. Over 7 million people ascend it annually. It is the international symbol of France. And this year it is being celebrated in gold & silver. Four coins have been released: a 37 mm, 22.2 g .900 fine silver €10; a…

For several decades Poland has devoted considerable time and resources to remind the international community of the “all too many” civilian atrocities committed in and around the country during WWII. In August, Narodowy Bank Polski [National Bank of Poland] issued a proof 10 zł recalling the horrific events of the night of Aug. 2, 1944. This was the culmination, but sadly not the end, of the Romani & Sinti Genocide. The Romani are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group living in Europe and the Americas that originated from northern India. Traditionally they are itinerant. The Sinti are a similar but smaller group. For centuries both groups had been subject to persecution and humiliation throughout Europe. Laws stigmatizing them were in effect when Hitler came to power in 1933. A supplementary decree to…