Archives International Auctions (AIA) will offer 1,450 lots of U.S. and worldwide banknotes, coins, medals, scripophily (stock and bond certificates) and security printing ephemera in a pair of auctions slated for Saturday, Oct. 25 (in New York City), and Tuesday, Nov. 4 (in New Jersey). Start times for both sales will be 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
The Oct. 25 auction will be held at the Museum of American Finance in lower Manhattan in conjunction with the Wall Street Coin, Currency, Scripophily & Collectibles Bourse. The Nov. 4 auction will be held at Archives International Auctions' offices, at 1580 Lemoine Ave. in Fort Lee, N.J. Both sales will feature live gallery bidding, phone, absentee and live Internet bidding.
"We are fortunate to offer another exceptional collection of numismatic rarities that rarely if ever cross the auction block," said Dr. Robert Schwartz of Archives International Auctions. "We expect this sale to achieve record prices, with collectors competing for rare items they might never see again in their lifetimes at auction."
Both auctions will be packed with rare and desirable banknotes, coins, medals, autographs and ephemera. The auction list includes two new-discovery Palestine Currency Board sequential 10-Pound 1939 high-grade bank notes, both possibly the finest known; an 1885 Grover Cleveland Indian peace medal, graded NGC Gem 65 and possibly the finest example known of this rare issue (one of only 30 struck in bronze); as well as hundreds of rare and desirable coins, banknotes and scripophily.
Also offered will be a circa 1849-1850s California Gold Rush-era Currier lithograph titled "The Way to Go to California" with very early aviation images. Autographs will include a historic Franklin D. Roosevelt autograph on a 1945 Yalta Conference "short snorter." There will also be more than 400 lots of scripophily, including historic mining certificates; over 170 issued and specimen railroad stocks and bonds; and foreign bonds and shares, with many rarities offered and numerous topics from navigation to automobile and finance. Some of the many highlights include a Bodie Bluff, 1879, Bodie Mining district rarity; a Mexican Estados De Tamaulipas y San Luis Potosi, 1000 Pesos, 1865, Issued and Uncancelled "2 Presidents" Bond; and Richmond and Petersburg Rail Road Company, 1870, $1000, Specimen Bond.
The balance of the Scarsdale collection of modern African banknotes will also come up for bid, as will many selections from the Hamtramck collection, assembled by a U.S. Army officer over a 40-year period, from the end of World War II to the late 1980s. The Connecticut collection of U.S. and worldwide coins and medals, with certain items unseen for over 40 years and new to the collecting community, will also be sold.
The 450-plus lots of worldwide banknotes will include a rare 1886 10-Pesos, Aguan Navigation & Improvement Company banknote; a 1973-78 Pakistan presentation book with five different specimen issues; numerous high-grade Russian State Treasury and “Gold Ruble” issues; a 1905 Danish West Indies five-Franc specimen rarity; Dominican Republic, Haiti and Ecuador issues; and countless other rare and attractive banknotes.
Also to be offered will be three rare and previously unlisted Honduras banknotes from 1848 and 1873; a large selection of Israeli and Palestinian banknotes with many rare issues; rare Mexican issues, to include two specimen Bono de Caja issues; and early proof Paraguay 1882 and 1886 issue banknotes.
U.S. banknotes will include a rare uncut pair of U.S. Treasury, Assistant Treasurer at Philadelphia, gold coin certificates, Hessler X134-F; an uncut block of Jan. 1, 1776, Delaware Colonial issues, all different denominations; three different 1934 D Federal Reserve Note specimens with zero serial numbers; and more than 50 obsolete U.S. banknotes, including numerous rare ABN proofs.
Fractional currency will feature large margin proofs and high-grade issued notes; a spectacular British American Bank Note Company advertising sheet (circa 1860s), possibly the only one in existence; an uncut sheet of six notes from the First National Bank of Alexander City (Alabama, 1929), T2, in mostly Choice to Gem condition; a 1934 A $10 inverted back error; a discovery Giori 15 subject test sheet; U.S. postal notes; and large and small type notes, including errors.
There will be over 150 lots of foreign coins and medals in both sales. Highlights include high-grade Palestine issues, Russian coins and hundreds of other coins in single to large group lots, with much of the older material purchased and off the market since the 1950s to 1970s. Also included will be close to 150 lots of U.S. coins and medals, to include commemoratives, type coins, bulk lots and a great group of medals.
Additionally, AIA is the official auctioneer for the Wall Street Coin, Currency, Scripophily & Collectibles Bourse IV, being held at the Museum of American Finance located at 48 Wall St. in New York City. The show runs from Thursday, Oct. 23, until Saturday, Oct. 25. AIA will be holding the first session of three auction sessions at the Museum of American Finance on Oct. 25, beginning at 10:30 a.m. They will offer U.S. & Worldwide Scripophily as well as the traditional "First Hour" of donated lots going to the benefit of the museum. Admission will be free to the bourse.
For more information, contact Herzog & Company at info@wallstreetbourse.com, or call 203-292-6819.
The catalog is presently online at Archives International Auctions’ website and can be viewed through Archives International Live's bidding platform or as a virtual catalog, as well as a downloadable PDF.
To learn more about the upcoming two-day, three-session sales planned for Oct. 25 and Nov. 4, visit www.ArchivesInternational.com.