Long Beach Show January 2015

5 Feb

Dan and Augi recently returned from a successful show in Long Beach, California, the Long Beach Expo, brimming with consignments for Treasure Auction #17. While the show was mostly wholesale with sparse attendance by the general public, it didn’t hamper them from transacting business to ensure a successful upcoming auction. Was the low attendance due to the massive winter snowstorm on the east coast that hindered dealers from flying to the west coast? Maybe, maybe not. Still, you see the ripple effects of bad weather everywhere you look.

Long Beach, CA Coin Show

Long Beach, CA Coin Show

Dan at the table at the Long Beach show

Dan at the table at the Long Beach show

Thinking of bad weather, how many shipwrecks would never have happened had those ships sailed at a different time and not Augibecome ensnared in a hurricane? If hurricanes weren’t a part of life in the Caribbean, would we ever know as much as we know about coins and artifacts from colonial Spanish America? Something to think about.

Back to Long Beach: despite a lower public turnout, Dan and Augi made good use of their time there by sampling the great variety and quality of restaurants! Since Augi is Argentinian, he especially enjoyed a place called the Gaucho Grill (what a clever name!) at 200 North Pine Avenue in Long Beach. [Gaucho Grill is the most traditional Argentine restaurant in Long Beach. They serve the best Argentinian favorites in generous dishes balanced with the best Californian cuisine.]

Dan and Augi with some dealer friends at Gaucho Grill

Dan and Augi (taking pic) with Mexican Coin Company Staff (Max, Cory and Eric), at Gaucho Grill

Their fav foods were Lomo Argentino (filet mignon), Asado de Costillas (ribeye), and Bife de Chorizo (NY steak). And who knew that in California you can bring your own wine to dinner with you? What meal isn’t complete without Fernet, a digestif? Google it. Wikipedia says that people describe it as a “black licorice-flavored Listerine.” That’s about right.

And finally, even if you have a bad show, you can go back to your hotel and relax at the end of the day. Sometimes, you even have a world-class view. Sometimes you don’t!

Long Beach Table January 2015

Long Beach “Hotel View” January 2015

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Knowledge is Power: Online Numismatic Archive Resources

27 Jan

the-vaultIt’s an old adage that seems somewhat quaint, but the notion of equating power with knowledge is an enduring theme and a lesson that many people fail to learn. In the Internet age, there’s no reason for people not to have power through knowledge and thus make sound business decisions. This holds true for building your hobby as well. Why collect something you don’t know much about? When you learn more about it, your future purchases will be smarter. If you can’t get answers from the person from whom you’re thinking of buying something, where can you turn to increase your knowledge? As it turns out, lots of places!

Search engines for all types of coins are freely available on the Internet. One of my favorites is Coin Archives although we use the “pro” version in our office, and it’s not free. Still, the free version is quite powerful. This site tracks coins sold at many auction houses, including ours. As you enter the site, you can choose between looking up ancients or world coins. From there, you can type in some basic information, cob royal for example, or click on “see search tips” to help you narrow your search better. You can also click on “list of auctions available” and “contributing firms” so you know what the parameters of your results will be. Coin Archives will give you a list of 100 results (from most recent backward), but you can expand this number if you find a coin similar to one you’re interested in buying by clicking on “show lots similar to this one.”

The information you’ll glean can be invaluable. You’ll see a description of the coin, the auction date and estimate, the price realized, and a description of the coin including its pedigree and scholarly references if known (this is especially helpful with ancients). So, if you are interested in buying a coin similar to the one you’ve found here, you’ll now be able to make a more informed decision.

Another powerful search engine is acsearch. Many of the same auction houses that post their sales on Coin Archives also post them here and it’s completely free. There is a short, helpful tutorial on the front page which will guide you through the process of searching for coins, but it’s basically very similar to Coin Archives. Your search will be divided between ancient and modern coins. While you will need to create an account in order to see estimates and prices realized, it’s worth doing. You may find some information here that you don’t find elsewhere.

If you are interested in ancient coins, you need to check out Wildwinds which is a free reference website for ancient Greek and Roman coins as well as other ancient types. Once on the homepage, there is a drop-down menu allowing you to search via Sear numbers (a iconic reference for ancients) or by other means such as by city or ruler. When your search has returned results, be sure to click on the “browse with thumbnail images” before moving on. The amount of information here is staggering and the website creators should be lauded for their efforts. If you like ancient coins, you’ll love this website!
bookofcobsThe bastion of knowledge, your local library, can provide you with many of the expensive reference works that a dealer has spent a lifetime accumulating. First, go to WorldCat, a world card catalog of library books, and type in the name of the reference book you’d like to borrow. When I typed in “Practical Book of Cobs,” I was pleased to see that all the library systems within 100 miles of us have our book on their shelves. This is the first step of the process. From here, you will need to visit the reference librarian at your local library and fill out a form to have the book sent to your library, after which, you’ll have one to two weeks to pick up the book, take it home and use it, and then return it to your library. This process may seem a little cumbersome; however, it’s free and more important, for some reference books (particularly references for ancients), it may be the only place you’ll be able to find the book.

Don’t forget the Sedwick auction archive as a resource as well! Here you can browse through all of our catalogs and view prices realized for coins and artifacts. If you receive our catalogs, you know what a great resource they are. And speaking of catalogs, they are a good way to help you start your reference library. Even though you can research coins online all day long, you will still want a library which will contain books you can’t find online or in your library.

One caveat about auctions: you don’t always know why a coin sold for the price it did, especially if it’s so far out of line with an auction estimate. Sometimes it’s simply a matter of two people needing (or wanting) the same coin for their collection.

You can’t have power without some luck too, so that’s why we always have our lucky bamboo plant in the office!Lucky Bamboo

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Assayer P Coins minted under Charles and Joanna from the Mexico City Mint

21 Jan

Did you know that the Banco de Mexico has photos of almost all of their Charles and Joanna coin holdings online? A friend pointed me to the site last year, and I have been slowly incorporating these coins into my census database of both early and late series Charles and Joanna coins of all denominations. I’ll share more surprises from the Banco de Mexico’s large and beautiful trove of coins in later blogs, but for now I want to tell you something about Assayer P coins.

It finally dawned on me that there is a distinction between earlier and later coins minted under Assayer P, and you can tell this in several ways, but the most distinguishing characteristic can be found in the pillars-side legend. If you have any of these coins, take a look. Does the legend begin with HISPANIE or HISPANIARVM? If it’s HISPANIE, then you have a coin of the earlier variety.

To confuse matters more, there are a couple of varieties of HISPANIE.

Lot 251, Sedwick Treasure Auction #15, May 2014

Lot 251, Sedwick Treasure Auction #15, May 2014

I’m not sure which coins were made before the others, but one variety (pictured above) is KIS : PANIE (note the K instead of H) and the other is simply HISPANIE. You can even see that the KIS : PANIE variety is followed by INDIAR : AM instead of INDIARVM! Below is an example of HISPANIE with no funny letters.

Lot 252, Sedwick Treasure Auction #15, May 2014

Lot 252, Sedwick Treasure Auction #15, May 2014

The later varieties (see below) all use HISPANIARVM ET INDIARVM. It doesn’t matter which way the rhomboid panel points–left or right–or what sort of ornaments were used as stops between words.

Lot 253, Sedwick Treasure Auction #15, May 2014

Lot 253, Sedwick Treasure Auction #15, May 2014

Why were coins with HISPANIE minted before coins with HISPANIARVM? You have to go back to Assayer R, the predecessor to Assayer P and look at his coins. He used HISPANIE (with often a retrograde N), and it stands to reason that when Assayer P took over at the mint, he started with HISPANIE before settling on the more common HISPANIARVM.

You can also see the HISPANIE vs. HISPANIARVM varieties on 1 and 2 reales denominations.

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First coin shows of 2015: FUN and NYINC

20 Jan

Cori Downing SedwickHello!  My name is Cori Sedwick Downing, and I’ve started this blog because I enjoy writing about Spanish colonial coins and shipwreck coins and artifacts. My specialty is researching so-called Charles and Joanna coins from the first mint in the New World at Mexico City from roughly 1536 to 1572, but my interests are wide ranging so I’ll cover much more than those coins. I have been working for my brother, Dan, at Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC for about six years.  Before that, I have had as many lives as a cat (of which, by the way, I do have one).  I’ve been a high school teacher, a real estate agent, a photographer, and a travel agent. In my spare time I am obsessed with genealogy, DNA research and playing sports, mainly running and cycling. Now that I’m closer to 60 than 50, most people don’t know that I used to be a pretty good runner in my 20s. I took up cycling in my 40s due to an injury that sidelined me from running and once set the state time trial record in my age group at the Florida State Games (50-54 age group). I also won the duathlon national championship in my age group one year.

Enough about me! I’d love to hear from YOU. Is there anything you’d like me to cover or do you have anything to contribute? Please feel free to subscribe.

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As for the first coin shows of 2015, if overflowing parking lots and garages at the Orange County (Florida) Convention Center for the FUN (Florida United Numismatists) show in January 8-11, 2015 are any indication of a healthy economy, we’re in for a banner year.  Although the concurrent Surf Expo was the source of much of the parking snafu, there was still a steady stream of visitors to our table by old friends and new acquaintances who bought, sold or consigned coins and artifacts. As a result we already have some interesting auction items lined up and I’ll tell you about some of them in future posts.

Augi Garcia Barneche helping a customer at FUN 2015

Augi Garcia-Barneche at FUN 2015

The FUN show is one of the largest coin shows in the US for good reason: there’s something for everyone. Your children can pan for gold in a working sluice box, the treasurer of the United States is on hand to sign bills purchased from the BEP (Bureau of Engraving and Printing) booth, and this year the State of Florida presented an interesting display of coins and artifacts from their holdings specifically related to the 1715 Fleet discoveries off the coast of Florida. Don’t forget that this year is the 300th anniversary of that Fleet and we will feature coins and artifacts from the wreck in our Treasure Auction #17 in April 2015. There’s even a 1715 Fleet Society to help raise awareness of and promote ongoing research about the Fleet.

The NYINC (New York International Numismatic Convention) is the largest US coin show featuring ancient and world coins exclusively, and we always have a table there. Unfortunately it is also concurrent with the FUN show. While it is a much more subdued atmosphere, it’s a good place for our northern clientele to visit us. The temperature differential this year between NY and FL was about 80 degrees.

Stardust Room at the Waldorf Astoria in NYC

Stardust Room at the Waldorf Astoria in NYC

The show is always held in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, a grand old lady who makes you want to stand up a little straighter and put on your best manners when you walk in the door. Where else can you spend a night in the Marilyn Monroe suite? While we’re crammed in like sardines in a tin, we love the atmosphere and excitement of New York!

Back in Florida now, we’re looking forward to a few more shows before January ends. You can find us at the Vero Beach, Florida Treasure Coast Coin and Currency Show on January 24-25 and at the Long Beach (California) Expo on January 29-31. We hope to see you at one of these shows!

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Sedwick’s Second Floor Auction #16: A Growing Success

21 Mar

As our second floor sale (with simultaneous interactive LIVE Internet bidding), our 16th live auction was a new milestone for our growing company. Serious bidders and top numismatists from around the world came to the November 6 auction in five consecutive sessions at the DoubleTree Hotel in the Walt Disney World Resort. The Floor auctioneer was Shaunda Fry and Internet bidding was handled by Dan Sedwick, with phone and book bids manned by Augi Garcia. At the same time lot viewing kept going in the adjacent room monitored by Cori Sedwick Downing and the auction staff. Live video and audio feeds gave remote attendees extra insight into what was happening and added interest.

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The day prior to the auction, the auction room warmed up with educational presentations by experts from all over the world: 1) Ben Costello (director of the 1715 Fleet Society), “The 1715 Fleet 300th Anniversary”; 2) Jose Manuel Henriquez (president of Dominican Republic Numismatic Association), “La Numismatica Dominicana”; 3) Roberto Mastalir (Ecuadorian researcher-writer), “Potosi Cobs: Transitional period”; 4) Jorge Emilio Restrepo (Colombian researcher-writer), “Coins Issued during Colombian Independence”; 5) Cori Sedwick Downing and Jorge Proctor (researchers-writers), with guest speaker Angel Valtierra Matus (Casa de Moneda de Mexico and National Mexican Numismatic Museum), “Mexican Charles and Joanna Coinage.”

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Michelle, Cori and Jessica

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The auction room was filled with 50 to 75 people the whole time, most of whom also attended the previous night’s welcome dinner, Argentinean gaucho style with live tango dancers, and enjoyed continuous socializing and networking with more than 100 people from all around the world. About the same amount of bidders online at the same time created a level of participation never reached before, not counting hundreds of “watchers” witnessing the event. It was wonderful to see-a veritable “coin party” like nothing the field has seen in a long time!

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Daniel Sedwick and Jorge Emilio Restrepo

Prices realized (including buyer’s fees) surpassed the $2 million mark. Many lots sold for record prices, reflecting how our specialized attention and worldwide visibility have brought top collectors old and new to our auctions. We continue to grow, and attendees from the prior year already noticed the improvements. We will keep offering a unique combination of high-class material, top-tier educational presentations, serious bidders and entertaining social affairs, and now we invite you to consign and take advantage of the opportunity to be a part of it.

Some of the highlights in the auction that sold for strong prices (including 17.5% buyer’s fee):

26 Lima, Peru, cob 8 escudos, 1702H, rare, from the 1715 Fleet. $17,625
29 Lima, Peru, cob 8 escudos, 1711M, from the 1715 Fleet, encapsulated NGC MS 61. $15,275
367 Mexico City, Mexico, cob 8 reales, 1715J, from the 1715 Fleet $22,325
404 Mexico City, Mexico, 8 reales, Charles-Joanna, “Early Series,” assayer Rincon. $587,500
492 Lima, Peru, cob 8 reales presentation strike, 1659V, “Star of Lima” $21,150
496 Lima, Peru, cob 4 reales, 1659V, “Star of Lima” type, mintmark LIMA, extremely rare. $9,980
505 Lima, Peru, cob 2 reales, 1660V, “Star of Lima” type (Series III), extremely rare. $9,560
597 Potosi, Bolivia, cob 1/4 real, Philip II, assayer R (Rincon), finest know. $9,400
752 Bogota, Colombia, pillar 8 reales, Charles III, 1770VJ, encapsulated NGC MS 64. $61,600
968 Quito, Ecuador, oval uniface silver military decoration, Liberation of Quito in 1822. $11,750
1043 Dutch bronze “six-pounder” cannon with Amsterdam proofmark. From 1733 Fleet. $23,000
1038 Gold And Red-Coral Rosary, Complete from the 1715 Fleet. 30,000

Prices realized: You can find a complete list of prices realized by clicking here.

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Jorge Proctor and Augi Garcia Barneche

What’s next? Now is not too early to consign to our Treasure and World Coin Auction #17, tentatively scheduled for the last week of April, 2015 (more details coming soon). In fact, the deadline will be here before you know it, so please contact us soon. At the moment we are looking for significant collections of cobs and choice Latin American coins. We will be on hand to collect consignments in person at FUN, Vero Beach, NYINC and Long Beach during the month of January.
We are also looking forward to another great live floor event next year, now a must-attend event for fellow numismatists and collectors, tentatively set for October 27-30, 2015. Watch for details next summer, but we invite collectors now to make arrangements for this event ahead of time. Just save the date! Finally we thank our consignors and bidders for making this event a success and we look forward to working with both in the year to come.

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