Heritage Auctions will offer several exceptional pieces of South African gold Sept. 17-22, 2015, at the Long Beach Expo; featuring the Read Collection of Z.A.R. Coinage, one of the finest collections of South African coinage to ever come to auction
A very rare 1898 South African Republic “Tickey” 3 Pence, struck in gold at the urging of South African industrialist and financier Sammy Marks – expected to bring US$50,000+ – hailing from the Read Collection of South African Coins, is expected to be the top lot in Heritage Auctions’ Sept. 17-22 Long Beach Expo World & Ancients Coins Signature® Auction.
“Long Beach is a long-time, exceptional venue for Heritage’s World & Ancient coins,” said Cristiano Bierrenbach, “and this offering lives up to the long tradition of outstanding auctions.”
The auction features more than 1,400 lots in its World & Ancient coins Floor Sessions, with an additional 2,400+ lots of World coins offered in the Internet-Only sessions. Adding in the rest of the Ancient coins offered in the non-floor sessions, a total of more than 4,400 lots will cross the block, more than 90% offered without reserve.
Another key offering from The Read Collection is a 1902 Republic gold Veld Pond MS64 NGC, an emergency issue struck during the Boer War, fought between South Africa and Great Britain. This type was produced from 24-kt gold to pay soldiers, and as the story is generally recounted, was literally coined at a makeshift mint in close proximity to the Pilgram’s Rest battlefield. The result is one of crudest and yet most charming types of the 20th century. It is expected to bring $40,000+.
A 1758 British Colony – Jamaica Authority of November gold Doubloon XF45 NGC, a recent discovery piece and only the second known example – and the finest – of this iconic Jamaican doubloon atop a Spanish 8 Escudos, estimated at $30,000+, is expected to draw significant collector attention.
An extremely rare, and massive (struck in 23 ducat weight) medal struck to celebrate the birth of Archduke Leopold in 1716 Choice AU – possibly unique in private hands – carries a $20,000+ pre-auction estimate, while a mint state Joao V gold 20000 Reis 1724-M MS61 NGC, a key date of this ever popular type, matches that same $20,000+ pre-auction estimate.
Further highlights include a rare Paul I Albertus Rouble 1796 БM AU50 NGC, an extremely rare, short-lived type, struck to conform to the Albertus Taler standard (estimated at $15,000+) and a Confederation gold 100 Francs 1925-B MS65 NGC, a one-year type that is sought for its beautiful design and extremely popular among collectors of world gold (estimate: $12,500+).
The Ancients portion of the Long Beach auction comprises nearly 600 lots, including a particularly strong run of early electrum coinage from Asia Minor and an important offering of Judaean coins from the first century CE.
Individual highlights include an attractive Athenian “owl” tetradrachm of Starr Group V (estimate: $6,500+), a remarkably Ptolemaic portrait bronze of Cleopatra VII (estimate: $8,000+), and a high-grade Roman gold aureus of Aelius Caesar (estimate: $12,000+).
