Auction of World Coins

World Coins

The Casa Savoia collection is to be found under the heading “Italy” in the third part of the Gadoury catalogue – after Ancient Coins and Monaco, you get to the section of World Coins. As usual, this part contains rare gold multiples, mainly from the 19th and 20th century. But, of course, rarities from earlier periods can also be found, such as a medal of 5 ducats of the Great Elector, Frederick William of Prussia, whose provenance can be traced back to 1904.

In general, lovers of German coins should take a close look at the catalogue. There are more rarities to be found, for example a ducat of Philip William of Neuburg, Elector Palatine minted in 1654 in Düsseldorf and a 20 mark piece of the German Empire minted in 1877 in Muldenhütten for Albert of Saxony.

No. 661 - Germany / Brandenburg-Prussia. Frederick William, 1640-1688. Medal of 5 ducats by J. Höhn, minted on the occasion of the common victory of Brandenburg and Sweden over Poland at Warsaw in 1656. From the Killisch von Horn collection, Hess Auction, Frankfurt (1904), No. 1252. Very rare. About extremely fine. Estimate: 20,000 euros. 

No. 701 - Austria. Franz Joseph, 1848-1916. 1/2 korona, Venice, 1858. Only 947 specimens minted. NGC MS62. Estimate: 15,000 euros. 

Another rarity comes from Austria. It is a 1/2 korona piece of emperor Franz Joseph struck in 1858 in Venice at a mintage of only 947.

An icon of early Canadian numismatics

No. 722 - Canada. Louis XIV, 1643-1715. 15 sols, Paris, 1670. Extremely rare. NGC XF45. Estimate: 60,000 euros.

In 1670, Jean-Baptiste Colbert founded the French West India Company, which also conducted trade with Canada. In order to facilitate monetary transactions in Canada, Colbert was granted permission to mint three different coin types for the colonies: silver coins of 15 and 5 sols and copper coins.

Thus, 41,569 specimens of the 15 sols pieces featuring the portrait of Louis XIV were minted in the Monnaie de Paris. They were delivered to the West India Company on 13 September 1670, and the dies were destroyed afterwards. Then, Colbert suffered a setback. The Canadian dealers preferred barter. They melted the silver coins instead of accepting them at the official rate of 20 sols, 1 livre. That is why only 14 specimens of these 15 sols pieces are known today. This might be the reason why a piece similar to No. 722 was sold in 2016 at the price of USD 130,000. Thus, the hammer price might be even higher than the estimate of 60,000 euros!

No. 890 - France. Louis XVIII, 1815-1824. 5 francs trial piece, 1815, without mint mark. Extremely rare. Cleaning marks, otherwise FDC. Estimate: 25,000 euros. 

France, Great Britain, Spain

Also in 2019, Gadoury, specialist on French coins and publisher of the most important standard reference on this subject, offers a wide range of French coins. More than 200 lots are on offer, among them is a trial piece of the 5 francs gold piece from 1815 without mint mark.

No. 1013 - Great Britain. James II, 1685-1688. 5 guineas, 1687. Very rare. NGC MS61. Estimate: 20,000 euros. 

The catalogue contains more than 100 lots of coins and medals from Great Britain, including numerous gold multiples. Experts will notice that among them are three out of the five very popular and sought-after guinea pieces.

No. 791 - Spain. Amedeo I, 1871-1873. 100 pesetas, Madrid, 1871. 25 specimens were struck. NGC AU Details. Estimate: 100,000 euros. 

In the section of Spanish pieces, a rarity can be found that is probably equally interesting for collectors of Italian and of Spanish coins: In 1871, only 25 specimens of the 100 pesetas piece were struck in the name of King Amedeo for representational purposes. There was no time for more: Amedeo was the second son of King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy. He was elected after the fall of the Spanish Bourbons. But he was incapable of taking control over the country, which was torn apart by a civil war, and thus abdicated as early as in 1873.

No. 1272 - Italy. Genoa. 5 doppie, 1640. Very rare. NGC MS63+ (the most beautiful piece with a grade). Estimate: 30,000 euros. 

Genoa series

26 lots of coins from the city Genoa are but one highlight of the section “Italy”. Even without taking into account the large collection of the gentleman from the House of Savoy, this is with 258 lots the most extensive section of the catalogue – besides the section of ancient coins.

See the auction catalog