Lot # 

Picture (click to enlarge)

 Lot title and description

Estimate (low-high)

38. Potosí, bust 8 escudos, Charles IV, 1798PP. CT-92, KM-81; 27.0 grams. Beautifully red-toned and problem-free XF with slightly weak bust. Pedigreed to the Coin Galleries auction of July, 2004, with lot tag. Estimate: $1,000-$1,500

39. Santiago, bust 8 escudos, Charles IV (bust of Charles III), 1799DA. CT-136, KM-54; 26.9 grams. Lustrous XF+, once lightly cleaned, with minute adjustment marks on shield, no big problems (like laminations or edge-nicks). Pedigreed to the Coin Galleries auction of December, 2004, with lot tag. Estimate: $1,000-$1,500

40. Bogotá, bust 8 escudos, Charles IV, 1801JJ. CT-116, KM-62.1; 27.0 grams. Highly lustrous AXF, very slightly crude in strike (as usual). Pedigreed to the Stack’s auction of December, 2001, with lot tag. Estimate: $800-$1,100

41. Popayán, bust 8 escudos, Charles IV, 1806JF. CT-79, KM-62.2; 27.0 grams. Lustrous and well-struck XF with red toning in legends, slightly irregular edge (as made). Pedigreed to the Coin Galleries auction of July, 2004, with lot tag. Estimate: $900-$1,200

42. Rouen, ecu d’or, Charles IX, 1565, highly important as officially the earliest example of a gold coin used and lost in North America. Fr-378; 3.3 grams. Typically thin planchet with all details clear, XF or better, with hints of red toning. In the early to mid-1560s the French king Charles IX enlisted Captain Jean Ribualt and a crew of Huguenots to journey to Florida and stake a claim there for France, ahead of the Spanish. The French colony, technically the first European settlement in what is now the continental United States, was situated on the banks of the St. Johns River near the east coast of Florida. (The Spanish city of St. Augustine, which went on to become the oldest permanent settlement in the United States, was to the north). The Spanish, under Admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles, immediately took action to remove the interlopers and ended up massacring the French and destroying their hopes for a foothold in Florida. There is ample reference material on the history (in particular the book French Castaways at Old Cape Canaveral by Douglas R. Armstrong), but significant to us is the mention that Ribault’s men offered Menendez a payoff of “fifty thousand ducats of gold” to allow them to escape, which was refused. The gold was never found. In 1971, however, a party of treasure-hunters (including Bill Sauerwalt and Lou Ullian) found some remains of the 16th-century French presence in Florida, including a few French gold coins, effectively the first gold coins ever used in America. With John DeBry photo-certificate and Armstrong book and Numismatic News issue of 12/6/05 that contains a brief article about and photo of this coin. Estimate: $5,000-$7,000

43. London, England, sovereign, Victoria (young head), 1861. Sp-3852D, KM-736.1; 8.0 grams. Typical Mint State (or thereabouts) with minor contact marks, somewhat lustrous. From the Douro, sunk in 1882 off Cape Finisterre, Spain. Estimate: $275-$350

44. London, England, sovereign, Victoria (young head), 1865. Sp-3853, KM-736.2; 8.0 grams. Typical Mint State (or thereabouts) with minor contact marks, somewhat lustrous. From the Douro, sunk in 1882 off Cape Finisterre, Spain. Estimate: $275-$350

45. London, England, sovereign, Victoria (young head), 1871. Sp-3853B, KM-752; 8.0 grams. Typical Mint State (or thereabouts) with minor contact marks, somewhat lustrous. From the Douro, sunk in 1882 off Cape Finisterre, Spain. Estimate: $275-$350

46. London, England, sovereign, Victoria (young head), 1872. Sp-3853B, KM-752, 8.0 grams. Typical Mint State (or thereabouts) with minor contact marks, somewhat lustrous. From the Douro, sunk in 1882 off Cape Finisterre, Spain. Estimate: $275-$350

47. London, England, sovereign, Edward VII, 1910. Sp-3969; 8.0 grams. Lustrous AU+ (just a few trivial marks) with a curious spot of orange encrustation on reverse, but more valuable for its original promotional packaging from 1932, a later-date (and different king) specimen of which sold in our last auction for $850! From the Egypt, sunk in 1922 off Ushant, France, with custom leather box and enclosed small certificate dated 30th June, 1932, hand-signed by the Chairman of Lloyd’s of London. Estimate: $500-$750

48. Mexico City, bust 8 escudos, Charles IV, 1805TH, XF/AU. CT-55. KM-159; 27.0 grams. Lustrous XF+ or even AU with weak centers, no problems, hint of red toning. Pedigreed to the Richard A. Long auction of April 15, 2002. Estimate: $1,000-$1,500

49. Seville, double excelente, Ferdinand-Isabel (1474-1504), mintmark ermine. CT-64, Cay-2923a; 6.9 grams. Nice portraits and shield and eagle’s head, broad planchet with lots of legend (albeit doubled on the obverse), XF with sediment in crevices. Estimate: $1,500-$2,000

50. Madrid, bust 4 escudos, Ferdinand VII, 1820GJ, in gold necklace bezel. CT-105, Cay-16350; 17.1 grams (with bezel). Polished VF, undamaged except for where the bezel meets the edge, scarce issue. Estimate: $350-$500