Tag Archives: numismatics

Unique Declaration of Independence medal leads record $4.27 million Sedwick auction

11 Nov

A unique American silver medal depicting the presentation of the Declaration of Independence set a new record during Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC’s Nov. 3 & 4 Treasure Auction 32.

The live online and floor auction was itself a record sale for the firm with over $4.27 million sold across 1,622 lots.

The large proof silver medal was created in 1851 by artist Charles Cushing Wright. It was the only example he struck in silver and has been called Wright’s masterpiece.

On one side, the medal depicts the presentation of the draft of the Declaration of Independence to the Continental Congress on June 28th, 1776. Founding Fathers John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin along with Richard Sherman and Robert R. Livingston on the drafting committee are shown presenting the draft Declaration to the president of Congress, John Hancock. Of the 47 men present in the entire scene set at Independence Hall, 42 of them were signers of the Declaration of Independence. The design is based heavily upon the famous 1818 painting by John Trumbull that currently hangs in the US Capitol rotunda.

The other side of the medal presents a highlight of formative American historical events from the “DISCOVERY OF NORTH AMERICA BY THE ENGLISH.JLY.3.1497” to “ASSAULT ON QUEBEC BY AMERICANS.DEC.31.1775.” A vignette of Europeans landing on America’s shores as a Native American awaits graces the top of the reverse design. The bottom scene depicts a developed, busy American harbor.

The entire ownership pedigree for this unique medal can be traced dating back to Charles Ira Bushnell (Chapman auction of June 1882, lot 1274), the Garrett Estate (Bowers & Ruddy auction of April 1981, lot 1910), Julian Leidman (Bowers & Merena auction of April 1986, lot 4126), and Charles A. Warton (Stack’s Bowers auction of March 2014, lot 2077), subsequently purchased by numismatist John Adams in the Stack’s Bowers auction of August 2018 (lot 46).

NGC graded the medal as MS 62 though a specimen designation is more appropriate to describe this unique piece.

The pre-sale estimate for the lot was $25,000 and up. After spirited bidding, both online and via phone, the medal sold for $168,000. Thus, another pedigree for this unique medal has been added – as part of the Resolute Americana Collection.

“We were honored to offer this uniquely American medal at auction and see it sell so well,” said Daniel Frank Sedwick, president and founder of Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC. “It’s really fitting that the prior owner, John Adams, is himself related to Founding Father John Adams depicted on this medal.”

Shipwreck treasure also saw considerable interest during the auction with many lots surpassing their high estimates.

A unique gold bar recovered from the “Corrigan’s” wreck site of a 1715 Fleet treasure ship at Vero Beach, Florida attracted heavy bidding.

The gold ingot, weighing 915 grams and marked with a fineness of 22k, was made in Colombia before being shipped to Spain in the ill-fated fleet. It bears the royal tax stamp as well as a decorated assayer/foundry stamp (B)ARBACO(A)S indicating its origin from the important Colombian gold mining town, Barbacoas. Salvors recovered the bar in 1983 and, soon after, it went into the collection of 1715 Fleet investor Don Anderson.

With an estimate of $60,000 to $90,000, considerable bidding led to a final sale price of $132,000 for the 1715 Fleet gold bar.

The highest selling coin lot in the auction was an extremely rare gold Venezuela essai 5 venezolanos dated 1875-A in its first auction appearance ever.

The coin, graded by NGC as Proof 62 Cameo, is one of ten struck by the by the Paris Mint for the nation of Venezuela. Only five examples, including this piece, are in private hands. Another four are in museums like the Banco Central in Caracas, Venezuela. The tenth example is buried in the cornerstone of the Simon Bolivar statue by Adamo Tadolini in Plaza Bolivar also in Caracas.

The rarity and importance of this coin in Latin American numismatics sparked a bidding war. The coin ultimately sold for $78,000 on a pre-sale estimate of $30,000 to $45,000.

Other top lots in the sale include:

  • Lima, Peru (State of North Peru), gold 4 escudos, 1838 M, extremely rare, graded NGC AU 53, finest known in NGC census, ex-Hammel, ex-Goodman (lot 1040) sold for $66,000.
  • Philippines (under Spain), silver 8 reales, crowned Isabel II “Y.II” countermark (Type VI, 1834-37) on an Argentina (River Plate Provinces), 8 soles, 1815 FL, Potosi mint, graded NGC AU 53, c/s AU standard (lot 1048) sold for $45,000.
  • Venezuela (struck at the Paris Mint by Barre), silver essai 1/2 real, 1863 E, graded NGC SP 61 (lot 1114) sold for $45,000.
  • Lima, Peru, gold bust 8 escudos, Ferdinand VI, 1758 JP, graded NGC MS 63, ex-Karon, ex-Segarra (lot 1020) sold for $33,600.
  • Guanajuato, Mexico, gold 20 pesos, 1872 S, NGC MS 66, finest known in NGC census (lot 1008) sold for $31,200.
  • Segovia, Spain, gold 4 excelentes, Ferdinand-Isabel, mintmark at top, denomination Arabic 4 above K at bottom between busts, rare, NGC AU 53 (lot 1065) sold for $26,400.
  • Potosi, Bolivia, cob 8 reales Royal (galano), Louis I, 1727 Y, very rare, graded NGC AU details / holed (lot 485) sold for $24,000.
  • Seville, Spain, gold milled 8 escudos, Philip V, 1701 M, florets flanking fleece, 8-S-8-M in tressure-dimples, graded NGC MS 65, finest known in NGC census (lot 1080) sold for $22,800.
  • Panama, proof silver 25 centimos, 1904, very rare, graded NGC PF 64 (lot 1015) sold for $21,000.
  • To see these and other highlights sold at auction click here

Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC’s next Treasure Auction will be held in May 3-4, 2023. Interested consignors should contact the company by email at office@sedwickcoins.com or phone +407.975.3325 (deadline February 10, 2023). Full auction results are available at auction.sedwickcoins.com.

Tags: , , ,

400-year-old twist of fate uniting Cartagena, Colombia, and Florida Keys history to be celebrated

15 Sep

When the primary cultural deposit – the motherlode – of the 1622 fleet galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha was discovered by divers working for treasure hunter Mel Fisher near Key West, Florida in 1985, among its riches was a vast cargo of silver coins the likes of which had never been seen before. The discovery also delivered a bombshell surprise of evidence for historians: confirmation that hand-struck silver coins were produced in the Nuevo Reino de Granada – today’s Colombia – as early as 1621, a fact that some had suspected, but none had proof to substantiate.

This year, from December 1 to December 5, 2021, 400 years after the conflict-ridden establishment of minting houses in both Cartagena and Santa Fe de Bogota, coin experts and history enthusiasts from all over the world – including six from Florida – will gather in Colombia’s romantic sea-port city for “Cartagena MMXXI – the 3rd International Convention of Historians and Numismatists” where they will examine and celebrate this fascinating point in time along with other key moments in numismatic history.

Noted Colombian historian, numismatist and San José shipwreck expert Jorge Becerra de Leon, left, and historic research expert/numismatist Jorge Proctor, in period costume, address an audience at a previous conference. Both will be featured speakers at Cartagena MMXXI – the 3rd International Convention of Historians and Numismatists, taking place December 1-5, 2021, in Cartagena, Colombia. (Photo by Carol Tedesco)

Open to the public, the convention features presentations by some of the world’s leading experts, including Florida’s Jorge Proctor of Pompano Beach, an archival research expert, numismatist and head of the convention’s academic committee; noted marine archaeologist, anthropologist, author and retired professor Dr. R. Duncan Mathewson III of Little Torch Key, who led the Atocha’s archaeological recovery process; Orlando-based professional numismatist and convention V.P. of North American relations, Augi Garcia; Orlando-based professional numismatist and author Daniel Frank Sedwick, Tampa-based professional numismatist Colin M. Blyth, and Key West and Gainesville-based shipwreck coin curation expert, author and International Conventions founding member Carol Tedesco.

Though researchers reported that coins were minted in Colombia as early as 1622, until the discovery of the Atocha, none dated earlier than 1625 were known to exist. Archival records documented that in 1620 a military engineer by the name of Don Alonso Turrillo de Yebra had been authorized by King Philip III of Spain to establish a mint in what was then known as the Nuevo Reino de Granada – the New Kingdom of Granada. Documents also revealed that the undertaking, which included a mint in Santa Fe de Bogota and an ancillary one in Cartagena, was fraught with beauracratic complications and delays. Nonetheless, Turrillo persisted, and in a letter to the King he confirms that at some point prior to the sailing of the 1622 fleet he had indeed struck coins, of “much more perfection than that which is styled in some of the other mints,” and he lamented that some of these “were on one of the galleons which were flooded.” Yet the question remained, were coins also struck in Nuevo Reino de Granada in 1621 as some documents seemed to imply? The answer was eventually revealed among recoveries from the Atocha and another ship of the fleet.

Reverse and obverse sides of a partially dated 1621 silver coin, struck at the Cartagena, Colombia mint that went down on the galleon Atocha near Key West, Florida in 1622, and is one of a small group of coins that altered the known numismatic history of Colombia. A December 1-5, 2021 event in Cartagena will celebrate the 400 year anniversary of the opening of that mint. Events recognizing the 400 year anniversary of the Atocha’s sinking will take place in Key West in 2022. (Photo provided by Bill Pearson)

A Cartagena MMXXI conference presentation by Turrillo authority Proctor, titled “Alonso Turrillo – hero or villain?” will address key questions as well as examine some of the shenanigans undertaken over the course of years by the wiley and resourceful “entrepreneur.” Other notable experts from Colombia, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Panama, Puerto Rico, Spain, the U.S., and Venezuela will offer a combination of live and virtual presentations as well as book presentations on a variety of historic numismatic themes.

Of particular interest to sunken shipwreck historians and enthusiasts will be updates and discussions on Colombia’s famous San José shipwreck, which was sunk by British Naval forces in 1708, taking hundreds of people and a cargo of New World produced wealth estimated in the billions to a resting place in nearly 2000 feet/600 meters of sea water from Cartagena. Under discussion will be prospects for recovery of the vessel, and establishment of a museum to house and display its artifacts.

For registration and other conference information, including a gala, ceremonies, social events, and a commercial numismatic component for collectors and sellers, visit cartagena2021.com. The website is in Spanish but offers an English translation feature and English language registration guide. English/Spanish translation for all presentations will be provided. Covid-19 safety protocols will be in place for the duration of the conference; scheduling may be subject to change. Attendees are encouraged to check the website regularly for updates. For in-person guests and participants, facemasks and proof of vaccination will be required, and social distancing will be observed.

A painting by Samuel Scott (1702-1772) depicts the destruction in 1708 of the treasure galleon San José off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia. Prospects for recovery of the vessel and establishment of a museum to house and display its artifacts is to be one of the topics under discussion at Cartagena MMXXI – the 3rd International Convention of Historians and Numismatists. (Image source: Wikimedia Commons)

##

Press contact: Augi Garcia / prensa@cartagena2020.com

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Treasure, World, U.S. Coin and Paper Money Auction 27 Coming Soon!

16 Feb

(pre-registration now open)

We’re starting off 2020 with something new: our first Live Floor Spring Treasure Auction! We’ve heard from consignors and bidders alike about how much they enjoy our Fall Floor Auctions, both for the lively in-person bidding as well as the chance to look at the lots in person. This year’s Spring Treasure Auction will be held April 29-30 at an historic art-based venue: the Germaine Marvel Building* at the Maitland Art Center, just minutes from Orlando, FL. Whether as a consignor or a bidder (or both), please attend and take part in the outstanding opportunities this event offers:

– Lot viewing for all lots the day before and during the live auction

– Live bidding in our state-of-the-art auction room with our popular auctioneer Sal Guttuso

Image result for at the Maitland Art Center is located at

f you need assistance scheduling your trip, please let us know and we will suggest the best options for your needs. Even if you can’t join us live, there are numerous ways for you to bid and participate remotely. Join phone and Internet bidders who will be given our usual expert attention and guidance by our staff.  Watch live video and audio feeds during the auction so you can see all the bidding action.

Interested in selling your collection or individual pieces? Want to start buying again and receive our announcements and catalogs? Now is a great time to buy or sell thanks to a robust market, our expertise and unwavering integrity in Spanish colonial and shipwreck coinage in over a decade of auctions. Every item in our auction is well researched, cataloged, professionally photographed, and presented in beautiful printed catalogs that become important references. We take auction lots to coin shows around the country for viewing, send out promotional literature, and personally get in touch with important collectors around the world.

Consignment deadline for this auction is February 29.

¡Hablamos su idioma! Our multilingual staff deals with the most important Latin American bidders and buyers in the market. We are able to travel and talk to all our bidders and consignors in Spain and Latin America, which creates a level of comfort that draws even the most cautious participants to our venue.

We offer cash advances for qualified consignments. Many consignors also enjoy being able to trade their proceeds against purchases within the same sale. Our personalized attention makes it possible to accommodate many special needs.

Contact us now to place your items next to these features already consigned to our Auction #27:

The Nueva Granada Collection of Colombian rarities

An extensive date collection of the finest and rarest Lima 8 escudos recovered from the 1715 Fleet

Ingots and artifacts from the Spanish Fleets of 1622 (Atocha and Santa Margarita) and 1715

Large variety of important Spanish colonial cobs and Latin American coins

Come see us at the following shows to consign to this auction or to view auction lots:

– Long Beach Coin & Collectibles Expo in Long Beach, CA, February 20-22: We are walking the show, so please make an appointment to meet with one of us to consign.

     – ANA’s National Money Show in Atlanta, GA, February 27-29: Come see us at our booth #215 to meet a big part of our staff in person to consign.

      – Central States Numismatic Society Show in Schaumburg, IL, April 22-25: Come see us at our booth #1909 to meet a big part of our staff and view lots in person.

Our auctions are known worldwide as the best place to buy and sell the kinds of coins and artifacts you love to collect or sell! We look forward to hearing from you soon to help you with your collecting or selling needs

Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC | P.O. Box 1964 | Winter Park, FL 32790 | office@sedwickcoins.comPhone: 407.975.3325 / Fax: 407.975.3327 / Whatsapp: 14079753325

Tags: , , , , ,

Time to Sell in Sedwick’s next Treasure, World, U.S. Coin & Paper Money Auction

29 Jul

banner_online_whydah

Looking to consign? Contact us today! Email us at office@sedwickcoins.com or call our office at 407.975.3325 (Consignment deadline August 20, 2018)

Our sixth live floor auction (Treasure, World, U.S. Coins & Paper Money Auction #24) will take place on November 2-3, 2018 at the DoubleTree Suites Hotel at Disney Springs, just minutes from Walt Disney World. We invite you to attend and take part in the outstanding opportunities this event offers, whether as a consignor or a bidder:

  • Educational presentations the day before the auction (November 1) by numismatic and shipwreck experts from around the world, including: Barry Clifford, underwater explorer and discoverer of the pirate treasure ship Whydah (1717); Dr. Kris E. Lane, Tulane University professor of colonial Latin American history and researcher on the colonial history of the Andes, mining, piracy, and global trade; and Emilio M. Ortiz, professional numismatist, researcher and author.
  • Networking with other collectors and dealers at our pre-auction dinner (November 1)
  • Lot viewing for all lots the day before and during the live auction right next to the auction room in the hotel
  • Live bidding in our state-of-the-art auction room

The special room rate will be available until October 9th or until the group block is sold out, whichever comes first. Booking a reservation is simple: Just click here to receive our preferred group rate: “Book a Room“

If you prefer to make your reservation by phone, please call 1-800-222-TREE(8733) and specify group code “SED”. Hotel address and details as follows: DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando – Disney Spring Area | 2305 Hotel Plaza | Lake Buena Vista, Orlando, Florida – USA 32830 – Tel: +1-407.934.1000 | Fax: +1-407.934.1015

Interested in selling your collection or individual pieces? Take advantage of this unique opportunity to consign to our Fall Floor Auction. Now is a great time to buy or sell thanks to a robust market, our expertise and integrity in Spanish colonial and shipwreck coinage, and our exhaustive marketing efforts. Every item in our auctions is well researched, cataloged and photographed, and presented in professionally printed catalogs that become important references. We take auction lots to coin shows around the country for viewing, send out promotional literature, and personally get in touch with important collectors around the world.

¡Hablamos su idioma! Our multilingual staff deals with the most important Latin American bidders and buyers on the market. We are able to travel and talk to all our Hispanic bidders and consignors, which creates a level of comfort that draws even the most private participants to our venue.

  Contact us now to place your items in our upcoming sale! Here is what we are seeking:

•  Choice and important Spanish colonial cobs from Mexico, Lima and Potosí
•  Collections of Latin American coins, particularly Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, and Peru
•  Gold bars and artifacts from the Spanish Fleets of 1622 (Atocha and Santa Margarita)
•  US coins and world paper money

Please come see us at the following show to consign to our auction:
• August 14-18, 2018: ANA World’s Fair of Money (booth #1333), Philadelphia, PA

And at the following shows to view the auction lots:
•  October 11-13, 2018: U.S. Mexican Numismatic Association Convention, Scottsdale, AZ
•  October 25-27, 2018: Whitman Baltimore Winter Expo, Baltimore, MD

Our auctions are known worldwide as the best place to buy and sell the kinds of coins and artifacts you love to collect or sell! We look forward to hearing from you soon to help you with your collecting or selling needs, and we hope to see you at one of our upcoming shows AND in Orlando in November for our live floor auction.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Historical regulated $15 gold coin to appear in Sedwick auction

13 Mar

In the early years of the United States of America, a lack of gold coinage forced citizens to utilize an unusual but practical source. Known as regulated gold, these were foreign gold coins adjusted by respected goldsmiths to weights compatible with US dollars. One such piece, an NGC-graded XF 40 Lima, Peru, cob 8 escudos dated 1741 struck during the reign of Philip V of Spain and regulated by Boston goldsmith Joseph Edwards, Jr. (1737-1783) to $15 in circulating value, will cross the auction block in Daniel Frank Sedwick’s Treasure Auction 23. The sale will be held online at auction.sedwickcoins.com on May 15-16, 2018. The auction firm’s estimate for this coin is $100,000 and up.

regulated

An NGC-graded XF 40 $15 regulated gold piece made from a Lima, Peru, cob 8 escudos dated 1741 by Boston goldsmith Joseph Edwards, Jr., ca. late 1700s.

“This is a very important piece for both the Spanish colonial coin collector as well as the US collector,” said company president Daniel Sedwick. “Never before have we offered such a significant gold coin; the dual-nation history it represents goes far beyond a simple countermark.”

The lot represents the only known gold piece regulated by Joseph Edwards, Jr. Edwards was a third-generation goldsmith from a prominent Boston family. He learned his craft from one of his uncles, Thomas or Samuel, and became a prosperous metalworker himself. The coin is also unique with a US dollar-denominated regulation on a Spanish colonial 8 escudos cob. Furthermore, it is pedigreed to the Julius L. Brown collection and was sold in the S.H. Chapman auction of 1911 as lot 343.

Also appearing in Sedwick’s auction is a group of ingots recovered from seven different shipwrecks. The top ingot lots are three large silver bars recovered from the Atocha, sunk in 1622 in the Gulf of Mexico. The finest one is a Class Factor 1.0-graded bar (the highest grade attainable for bars from the wreck) weighing in at 88 troy pounds, 3.84 troy ounces and dated 1621. It has an estimate of $30,000 and up. The other two large bars, with Class Factors 0.7 and 0.9, are estimated at $20,000 to $30,000 each. Another Atocha ingot of note in this auction is a rare cylindrical “piña” weighing 4,312 grams, estimated at $15,000 and up.

9879833_1

Tax stamps in the name of King Philip III of Spain and fineness markings can be seen on the top of this unique “piña” ingot from the Atocha (1622).

Other top lots include:

  • A Lima, Peru, gold cob 8 escudos dated 1712 recovered from the 1715 Fleet and graded by NGC as MS 62, estimated at $12,500.
  • Half of a gold “finger” bar weighing 439 grams recovered from the “Golden Fleece wreck,” sunk ca. 1550 in the northern Caribbean, estimated at $17,500 and up.
  • A Costa Rica 8 reales 1846JB counterstamp on a Guatemala cob 8 reales dated 1739, estimated at $7,000 to $10,000.
  • An 1856-S Coronet Head Liberty $20 graded by NGC as UNC Details / sea salvaged from the “Fort Capron treasure,” estimated at $3,000 to $4,500.
  • A Puerto Rico 20 pesos specimen bank note circa 1889 graded by PMG as Gem UNC 65 EPQ (the finest and only known example in the PMG census), estimated at $1,500 and up.
  • Selections from the Richard Stuart collection mainly focusing on Honduras and Nicaragua provisional issues.
  • The James Bevill collection of Mexican coins and paper money, including several plated in his Texas history book The Paper Republic.
  • The Ricardo Muñiz collection of Mexico City, Mexico, pillar 1 reales.

Bidders can register for the auction at www.auction.sedwickcoins.com. The auction catalog will be available mid-April at www.sedwickcoins.com. For more details, please contact Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC at office@sedwickcoins.com.

Tags: , , , , ,

← Older Entries

%d bloggers like this: