Change of Date - Sale 124

Sale 124 will now be held on Tuesday 28^th to Thursday 30^th July from 9:30AM AEST every day, each with three sessions. Consignments can still be received until the end of May.

Highlights in this sale:

Important Ancient Greek coins from the Robert Tonner Collection, including a wonderfully provenanced silver decadrachm of Syracuse by Euainetos c405BC, ex Subhi Pacha (Sotheby 1878) and Sandeman (Sotheby 1911), R.Ratto (1912) and Ars Classica Sale XVI (1933) and Triton X (2007), good very fine est. $40,000. A Rhodes tetradrachm in splendid late classical style c360BC est. $20,000; a Kaulonia silver stater c510BC, extremely fine est. $30,000; a Bruttium, Rhegium tetradrachm c420BC, ex R.C.Lockett and Moretti collections, earlier Sir Hermann Weber Collection and Ars Classica Sale IV, est. $10,000; a Macedonian Terone silver tetradrachm c470BC, ex Pozzi and R.C.Lockett Collection, est.$10,000; a Sicily Leontini silver tetradrachm c425BC, extremely fine, est. $10,000; an Egypt, Ptolemy III gold octodrachm, commemorative struck by Ptolemy IV c210BC, est. $20,000; a choice Oliver Cromwell silver crown, 1658, est. $10,000; a date set of Commonwealth silver crowns, 1651 to 1656, est. $3,000 to $5,000 each; a Newark siege halfcrown 1646 ex Tom May Collection, est. $2,000.

From a collector there is a selection of sixteen interesting high quality and very rare ancient Greek coins, highlighted by an archaic Athens owl, est.$15,500 from Triton Sale XV (lot 1163); an electrum stater est. $8,000 from Triton XXL (lot 441), an attractive Syracuse tetradrachm est. $5,000; a Cyprus Lapethos silver stater 500-480BC, est. $4,000 ex Triton XV (lot 1262). From another collector several high grade Roman gold aureii including Nero Claudius Drusus (est. $9,000), Tiberius, Vespasian, Domitian, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Faustina Senior. In Roman silver, there are issues of Domitila, Marciana, Gordian II, Pupienus, Balbinus.

The third part of the Mark E. Freehill Collection includes British East India Company issues of the Presidencies; British Africa issues of Sierra Leone, Gold Coast and Saint Helena; all European issues as in Pridmore Volume 1 except for Cyprus; British South East Asia including Penang, Singapore and Ceylon, many are from the Pridmore, R.J.Ford and Wodak collections. There is also a wide range of numismatic literature. Highlights are the Isle of Man crown and halfcrown 1811 est. $5,000 and $4,000 respectively; Sierra Leone dollar 1791 est. $4,000, Gold Coast ackey 1796 and 1818 est. $4,000 and $2,000 respectively. E.I.C. Penang quarter dollar 1788 est. $500; E.I.C. Madras double rupee (1807), est. $2,000; Singapore, Susu one cent 1804 ex Wodak, est. $2,000; Celyon, silver proofs of quarter, half, one and five cents, 1890-1898, George III pattern rix dollar 1815 estimate $5000 and George IV proof rix dollar 1821.

From another collector, there are extremely fine tetradrachms of Parthian and Bactrian kings, Mithridates II and Artabanos I, including a pedigree issue of Agathocles and Didotos. An extensive range of Roman, world and Indian coins from the Dr. V.J.A.Flynn Collection, including presentation Nazarana rupees of the Mogul Empire and Mogul gold coins. Additionally, another collection of British Indian coins, includes gold issues of Bengal, Madras, and later E.I.C. issues.

The Robert Tonner Collection of Reserve Bank of New Zealand issues highlighted by the finest known currency issue Lefeaux fifty pounds 1934 est. $40,000; an extremely rare specimen Lefeaux fifty pounds, 1934, est. $30,000; consecutive pair of Hanna fifty pounds, 1940, est. $14,000; and in addition, specimens of the uniform issue of the Bank of New Zealand fifty and one hundred pounds est. $25,000 in two lots.

From the Melbourne collector of PCGS graded coins are the shillings and sixpences with the 1915H shilling being the finest known and ex Benchmark Collection, est. $30,000, and finest graded proof crown 1937, proof or pattern commemorative florins, 1927, 1934-35, 1951 and 1954.

The sale also includes a good very fine NSW fifteen pence or dump 1813 est. $35,000; Gold Adelaide pounds, 1852, type II, Sydney mint sovereigns and imperial sovereigns Australian and British. British gold includes a choice Queen Anne guinea 1713 est. $10,000. British includes a Gothic crown 1847 est. $5,500, George II crowns, 1741 est. $3,000, 1743 roses est, $4,750. In Australian pennies there is a better than average 1930 penny estimated at $15,000.

 There is a good selection of Australian star notes, pre-decimal and decimal. The outstanding highlight is the Commonwealth Bank of Australia set of 1949 specimen notes ten shillings, one, five and ten pounds in a personalized album to G.P.N.Watt, the banknote signatory. This unique set is estimated at $250,000.

The military section of the auction includes an outstanding group of seventeen to a Warrant Officer with the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam, a career soldier with nearly 30 years service. He was also seconded to join the underwater search at Cheviot Beach, Portsea in Victoria for missing PM Harold Holt and as the first RSM of the Parachute Training School at Naval Air Station Nowra, NSW the unit’s new and exclusive drop zone in 1999 was named DZ Husband in his honour. These are just a few of his career highlights. The group with research has an estimate of $40,000.

Also included is part 4 of the W. ‘Bill’ Woolmore Collection featuring mostly Queens South Africa Medals to South African units in the Anglo-Boer War. There is also a small collection of China Medals awarded for service in the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. These medals are mostly issued to the NSW Naval Contingent however, there is one issued to the Victorian Naval Contingent, the recipient would later, in 1913, become the first fatality (accidental) on the RAN’s flagship, HMAS Australia. The medal has an estimate of $3,500.

Another group of nine awarded to a heroic US Army officer carrying an estimate of $2,000 includes a Silver Star with oak leaf cluster awarded for heroic action twice in the Italian campaign before he was wounded by a sniper at Cassino. He also was awarded a Bronze Star for exemplary conduct in the Mediterranean theatre. Included with the group is a Carnegie Hero Fund Medal to the same recipient awarded for saving a young boy from drowning in a lake in New York.

Additionally, there is a group of five historical medals awarded to J.Watt, including a bronze Titanic/Carpathia Survivor’s Recognition Medal. Watt was a waiter on board the R.M.S. Carpathia when the S.S. Titanic sank on April 12, 1912, and he assisted in the rescue of survivors from the lifeboats. He, along with the captain, officers, and the rest of the crew of the R.M.S. Carpathia, were honoured with this award by the Titanic Survivors Committee on May 29, 1912. The group has an estimate of $12,000.