PRESS RELEASE May 25, 2021
Rare world, shipwreck coins
set record Sedwick Auction
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 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 by NGC as AU 58 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 the 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 auction firm’s next sale
will be the Nov. 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 14th; interested
consignors should email the company at
office@sedwickcoins.com or call 407.975.3325.
We can travel to you to you or
you can consign in person at these upcoming Coin
Shows:
July 7-10, 2021 FUN
Summer Coin Show - Orlando, Florida
August 10-14, 2021 ANA World's
Fair of Money, Rosemont, Illinois.
