Rare Japanese Gold Coin Featured in Upcoming Sale

A rare gold coin from the birth of the Japanese yen is among over 1,700 world coins that are being offered in a Heritage Auctions sale. Bidding is underway for the World & Ancient Coins auction, which will be held on August 25-28, 2022.

The auction’s top coin is a Japan (1870) Meiji Year 3 Gold Pattern 10 Yen graded NGC MS 66 (lot 34307). The Japanese yen was born in the early 1870s amid a rapid modernization of that country’s economy. Gold patterns like this one are very rare, and this example is notable for its high grade. It has an estimate of $500,000 - $700,000.

Another noteworthy coin in the sale is a Great Britain 1893 Una and the Lion Gold 5 Sovereign graded NGC PF 63 Ultra Cameo (lot 34252). Inspired by Edmund Spenser’s “The Faerie Queen,” the coin’s reverse depicts Una (representing the young Queen Victoria) guiding a lion (representing Great Britain). It is generally regarded as the pinnacle of British numismatics, and this example has an estimate of $200,000 - $300,000.

The auction also features a great rarity struck in the name of another famous English queen: an England (1595-98) Pound graded NGC MS 66★ (lot 34199). This coin was struck in the later years of Elizabeth I’s reign and ranks as one of the best surviving coins from its mintage. It has an estimate of $80,000 - $120,000.