Santa Monica Collection and Ed’s Treasure at Heritage

November 21 will be the closing date for the Heritage Santa Monica Collection of World and Ancient Coins in Showcase Auction #61237. While ancient coinage is abundant in this sale, there are also some great world coins to capture our attention.

Among the nearly 300 coins in this sale, about 200 are ancients, with nearly 100 world coins ripe for the picking. Included with the world coins is a good selection of what you might call early 20th century gold bullion types. Many of these have become quite collectible by date. For instance, the popular Czechoslovakian Dukat KM8, struck from 1923 through 1939, with one last strike produced in 1951.

The Santa Monica Collection offers six Czech KM8’s in five dates, all of exceptional quality, including two dates grading MS64, which is very unusual. In circulated grades the KM8 Dukat trades just a small percentage above melt, but mint state examples bring a huge premium of more than twelve times melt.

Similarly there is a nice selection of fifteen Umayyad Dynasty gold dinars, all of high quality and available at reasonable prices, as time of writing. There are a few Ottoman, Abbasid and Kakwayhid pieces here too, which round out the Islamic offerings.

The Grand Duchy of Finland under Nicholas II of Russia produced 10 and 20 Markkaa gold bullion coins for a number of years across the 19^th to 20^th century period before independence came at the end of 1917. There are just over a dozen 10 and 20 Markkaa pieces in this auction and all are carrying very modest bids less than a week before closing.

Two weeks after the close of the Santa Monica Collection, Heritage will sell the Ed’s Treasures Collection of Ancient Coins in Showcase Auction #61238. Still plenty of time to look through the 254 coin collection and discover which of Ed’s Treasures might pique your interest. 

There are 70 Byzantine pieces, 63 Greek coins, just two Judean items and 119 Roman selections from Imperial, Provincial and Republic. Quality is excellent and prices range widely, giving advanced collectors an opportunity to gain some very scarce coins, while beginners can zero in on a few solid pieces to move their collecting further along. 

While we are still twenty days from the close of Ed’s Treasures, I note that at this time there are over 100 lots carrying bids below $10, so register, search the sale and jump in for some holiday bidding now to be sure you don’t miss out.

Check these two upcoming sales out at www.coins.ha.com and look ahead to the coming months for more opportunities to snag some choice material for your collection and give yourself extra study pieces for the long winter months ahead.