| This Week In Coin &
Currency News |
Heritage Presents The Jules Reiver
Collection!
Best Year Ever for Heritage
Galleries!
A World of Money: An Exceptionally Rare
Palestinian Note
Website tips: MyNotes
Numismatic Glossary
Help Wanted: Numismatist
Heritage Offers Huge Discounts on
NumisMedia Guides
Around Heritage Galleries
Coin Club Outreach Program
Instant Quiz: Test your numismatic
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Is It Time To Sell? 2006 March Palm Beach
Signature Auction
Current Auctions: 2006 January (CAA)
Orlando, FL Signature Auction, The Bill Gale Collection of Kentucky
National Bank Notes, 2006 January (HWCA) New York Signature
Auction, 2006 January Dallas, TX The Jules Reiver Collection
Signature Auction, 2006 January Orlando, FL FUN Online Session,
Exclusively Internet Auction, Continuous Internet Auction, Internet
Currency Auction, Fine Art Monthly Auction, Amazing Sports Auction,
Internet Movie Poster Auction, Amazing Comics Auction
Weekly Specials: Don't miss out on a great
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| Collector News |
| Heritage Presents The Jules Reiver
Collection!
Heritage Galleries &
Auctioneers (HG&A) is proud to offer the
Jules Reiver Collection of U.S. Coinage at auction on January
24-28, 2006 in our Dallas, Texas headquarters.
Jules Reiver was passionate about everything he did in his
storied life, from his early days in Wilmington, Delaware where he
worked in his parent's flooring store, to his service in World War
II for which he was awarded the Bronze Star for his part in the
Battle of the Bulge, to his life in numismatics.
That passion is reflected in the Jules Reiver Collection of U.S.
Coinage. Ranked among the greatest numismatists of the Twentieth
Century, Mr. Reiver established a hobby-wide reputation for his
discerning eye, inquisitive mind, and generosity with his knowledge
over five decades of dedicated collecting. His collection evolved
to focus on die varieties and die states of all U.S. silver and
copper coinage from 1793 through 1839, which, over the ensuing 40
years, would become the most complete collection of its kind.
Before his final purchases, he had amassed more than 5,000
significant issues, representing a landmark achievement in the
history of American numismatics.
The Reiver Collection includes items from most 19th
and early 20th century copper, nickel, and silver
series, but is nearly complete in the 18th and early 19th century
copper and silver issues. Concentrating on the earliest United
States coinage issues from 1793 to 1838, from Half Cents through
Bust Dollars, there are only a few varieties that are missing. Mr.
Reiver had nearly complete die variety collections of United States
half cents, large cents, early half dimes, early dimes, early
quarters, early half dollars, and early silver dollars. His
collection was possibly the most complete of any collector to date.
He also collected Liberty Seated coinage, as well as other 19th and
20th century issues."
Not only was Mr. Reiver a collector and student of numismatics,
whose most active period of collecting was from the mid-1960s
through the early 1990s, but he was also an author who wrote
several publications focused on the early copper and silver series.
His Variety Identification Manuals brought a scientific
approach to die variety attribution, while his attribution guide to
the Braided Hair Large Cents formed the basis for the current
standard reference to that series. Mr. Reiver was also a pioneer in
the collecting of Reeded Edge Capped Bust Half Dollars, and those
who pursue this series could not do so without his Variety
Identification Manual for United States Reeded Edge Half
Dollars.
Highlights of the Jules Reiver Collection include:
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1841 1/2 C Original. PO-2, B-1, R.6. PR63 Brown NGC. PR60
EAC.
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1794 1C Head of 1794. S-42, B-29, Low R.4. AU58 NGC. AU50
EAC.
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1797 1C Reverse of 1797, Stems. NC-7, B-30, R.8. VF Details NCS.
VG8 EAC.
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1821 1C N-1, R.1 Unc Details NCS. AU55 EAC.
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1888-S 25C MS67 NGC.
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1878-S 50C AU Details NCS.
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1859-S $1 MS62 NGC.
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1796 25C B-1, R.5. AU53 NGC.
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1796 50C 15 Stars VF Details NCS.
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1796 50C 16 Stars VG8 NGC.
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1797 50C. O-101. XF Details NCS.
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1797 50C. O-102. VG10 NGC.
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1794 $1 VF25 NGC.
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1795 $1 Flowing Hair, Three Leaves. B-22, BB-29, R.8—Double Struck—
VF Details NCS.
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1798 $1 10 Arrows. B-21, BB-107, R.4. MS61 NGC.
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1800 $1 Normal Dies. B-20, BB-185, R.6. XF45 NGC.
This auction is open for bidding now at www.HeritageGalleries.com/Coins.
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Best Year
Ever for Heritage Galleries!
Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers (HG&A) reported
$477,802,341 in net sales for 2005, by far the best overall year in
HG&A's history. This figure represents results from all of
HG&A's departments, and includes $304,058,341 in auction sales
and $173,744,000 in private treaty sales. Compared to 2004, which
reported total sales (auction and private treaty) of $321,481,822,
2005 saw an overall increase of approximately 48.6%. Total auction
sales in 2005 (excluding private treaty sales) were $304,058,341, a
66.3% increase over 2004's $182,790,132.
This was an exceptional year, right from the very beginning. We
started the year with a record-breaking auction at the Florida
United Numismatists convention - over $61 million, making it the
biggest coin and currency auction ever held - and went on to break
record after record as the year progressed. February saw Heritage
set a new record for currency auctions - better than $12 million in
an auction held in our Dallas, TX headquarters - and by December,
Heritage had sold six of the top 11 coins of 2005, including all of
the top four!
 Our World Coin department
turned in some exceptional results this year, including a record
price of $431,250 for a
1643 Charles I Gold Triple Unite, making it the second most
expensive British coin ever sold.
Currency was a hot area in 2005, with Heritage claiming the
record for the largest currency auction ever, the $12 million
Dallas event held in February, and a new record set for small size
US notes - a
1928 Federal Reserve note with a face value of $10,000 that
brought $241,500 in the same auction. This contributed to a record
year for this department, which demonstrated a 106% increase over
2004, bringing their total to $36,049,300.

One of the most exciting
events of 2005 was the addition of Dr. Edmund P. Pillsbury to the
HG&A staff. As Managing Director - Fine and Decorative Arts,
Dr. Pillsbury is positioned to establish HG&A as a major player
in this fascinating field. Already, HG&A is gaining a
reputation as a serious voice in Fine Arts, especially after our
November auction, in which Norman Rockwell's stunning painting,
The Song of Bernadette, realized $478,000. Overall, our Fine
Arts department demonstrated a significant increase over last year.
In 2004, Fine Arts posted overall results of $1,135,934. This year
that number increased by over 450%, to $6,271,131.
Heritage Comics had a great
year in 2005, with a new record set for the sale of a single page
of original comic art - $195,500 paid for the
Batman #11 original cover from 1942. Movie Poster results were
equally impressive, as evidenced by the fact that Heritage now
holds the world-record for the largest Vintage Movie Poster auction
ever held, at $1.56 million for our November auction. Reporting a
respectable 2004 total of $2,122,505, those results more than
doubled in 2005, with total earnings from Movie Poster sales at
$4,348,659.
2005 was also a strong year
for our Sports department. May saw the sale of a
1954 game worn Mickey Mantle jersey for $119,500, while in
November, a
1911 Addie Joss Day panoramic photo sold for $89,625, a record
for an unsigned sports photo. With a 146% increase in earnings over
2004 - $4,636,463 in 2005 as opposed to $1,877,886 in 2004 - our
Sports department is poised to dominate the field in the coming
years.
Of all the HG&A
Departments, none garnered more publicity than our Music &
Entertainment division. In April, the eyes of the world were on
Heritage, as
Johnny Carson's Tonight Show microphone hit the auction block
and sold for a staggering $50,787 to a private collector. The
October auction was equally exciting, as
Johnny's Tonight Show desk was offered, realizing $38,837.
It was very exciting to watch
the growth of our Political Memorabilia & Americana department in
2005. A significant
letter hand-written by the important Romantic poet John Keats
sold for $126,500 in April, and subsequent auctions offered rare
and personal items from such intriguing historical figures as
Howard Hughes and
Amelia Earhart. In 2004, this department was responsible for
$364,666 in total sale. In 2005, that number rocketed to
$3,047,267! Without a doubt, this was the year that rocketed
HG&A to the top of the Political Memorabilia & Americana
field.
All figures include HG&A's Buyers Premium. These auction
figures only include those items that actually met reserve and do
not include consignor buy-backs.
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A World of Money: An
Exceptionally Rare Palestinian Note
In our upcoming
HWCA Signature Auction, to be held January 8 & 9 in New York
City, Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers will offer a
British Administration 100 Palestine Pounds 1 September 1927.
This is one of the most storied and sought after banknotes in the
world. The Bank of England records have long documented that only
six issued notes were not redeemed, and five are now known. This
count does not include the serial number one 1927 note recently
discovered in Israel.
The note, which is serial numbered A000719, displays minor
graffiti in the margins, and a missing left upper corner tip. It is
in F-VF condition.
The Palestine 100
Pounds has been a centerpiece for collections such as Berlin, Kagin
and Fisher, and is the Holy Grail for any collection of the Middle
East. For decades it has been impossible to obtain this type and
now with this offering, one collector will be able to add his name
to the impressive list of numismatists who have owned this piece of
history.
The British Administration 100 Palestine Pounds 1 September 1927
has a pre-auction estimate of $150,000.
This note is open for bidding now at HeritageGalleries.com/Coins.
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Website Tips:
MyNotes
Ever wanted to have a quick, convenient place to take notes
about a lot that interests you in a Heritage Auction? Now you have
that opportunity, and you need not look for pen and paper to do it.
Heritage now provides you the opportunity to keep notes on our
website on any item that shows up in any of the following
places:
- MyBids
- MyTrackedLots
- MyConsignments
- MyWantlist Matches
When you visit any of these pages, you will see two buttons -
"Add/Edit note" and "Remove Note" immediately above your listings.
At the far left of each of these listings is a checkbox. Check any
or all of the items on which you wish to enter notes. If you want
to take notes on every item in your listing, click on the checkbox
at the top. Once you have checked every item you wish to edit,
click on the "Add/Edit Note" button.
Here, you will see a listing of every item you have chosen to
enter, complete with description, lot number, and thumbnail image.
Make any edits you wish, and then click on any "Save" button to
save all of your edits. Note that you will be limited to 256
characters of notes on any one item, or about 50 words or so. The
bottom of each listing will show you the amount of room you have
remaining.
Once you've entered your notes, they will instantly be visible
from your MyBids, MyTrackedLots, MyConsignments, or MyWantlist
Matches listings, immediately below the short description of the
item. You can enter notes on items in present, past, and even
future auctions, so long as they show up in one of these
listings.
To remove a note, just click on the checkbox to the left of the
item and click "Remove Note."
MyNotes is a tremendous tool for you as a bidder, with an array
of uses that is limited only by your imagination. Keep an eye out
for more new features, on the way soon from HeritageGalleries.com!
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Numismatic
Glossary:
Toning: As coins age, they usually change color, or tone,
due to contact with air flows and their environment. We all know
that copper coins turn from red to brown, but even red copper coins
may gain perhaps green, gold or blue highlights over time. Nickel
coins may gain some golden color or develop soft blue surfaces, and
silver coins can boast a wide palette of colors. Some consider this
tarnish, while the vast majority of experienced numismatists prefer
coins with original toning.
Certain toning patterns are often considered especially
attractive - bag toning for silver dollars that spent
decades with one side pressed up against a canvas bag and album
toning from certain older coin albums are two types of toning
that are particularly popular. Other types of toning include tab
toning, found on early commemoratives that were kept in their
original packaging, and mint set toning, found on 1947-1958
coins that were issued in mint sets. A coin with extreme toning is
called monster toned.
As with anything else in numismatics, eye appeal figures into
value, and a particularly attractive toned coin might bring a
significant premium over an ordinary coin of the same date and
grade. Some dealers, in fact, specialized in attractively toned
coins. However, these premiums also invite people to simulate
natural toning, leading to something that is called artificial
toning.
Artificial toning is generally considered to be any attempt to
recolor a coin in order to simulate the effects of natural toning
and to increase its value. This may take the form of a chemical
bath, heat treatment, exposure to certain non-inert substances, or
others. People especially skilled in artificially toning a coin are
known as coin doctors.
It takes experience and practice to be able to detect artificial
toning. Robert Campbell, former ANA President, has created a video,
How to Tell Artificial Toning on Coins, which is available
from the ANA and other numismatic sources.
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| Announcements |
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Help Wanted: Numismatist
Heritage Rare Coin Galleries, Dallas, Texas is seeking a
talented numismatist for our sales department. Duties include
assisting dealers and collectors and auction consignors in person
and by telephone, evaluating prospective purchases, in Dallas and
shows and conventions. Salary commensurate with numismatic skills
and sales experience.
Please contact Paul Minshull at
Paul@HeritageGalleries.com with your background and
experience.
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Heritage Offers Huge Discounts on NumisMedia
Guides
As a valued Heritage client, we wanted to let you know about the
special discounts we have negotiated with NumisMedia for you. We
believe you'll find these guides to be an indispensable
coin-pricing resource. Heritage, along with many other numismatic
insiders, consider NumisMedia to be the most accurate rare coin
pricing source available anywhere.
NumisMedia Online Dealer Price Guides - Market, PCGS, and NGC
Prices:
Just $120 per year. Order
NOW!
NumisMedia presents NGC and PCGS Dealer Wholesale Prices
representing dealer bid prices, and is available to dealers. In
subscribing to the NGC/PCGS Wholesale Prices, you will also have
access to the NumisMedia Market Prices, dealer to dealer trading
prices based on sight-seen trades from activity throughout the
country.
Bonus: In addition, subscribers to the Online Dealer Price
Guides will receive a copy of the Fair Market Value Price Guide
each month and gain access to the Online Fair Market Value Price
Guide. This is an additional $96/year value.
NumisMedia Monthly FMV Price Guide:
Just $17 for 3 months. Order
NOW!
The NumisMedia FMV Price Guide is a monthly publication with
concise listings of the most recent Fair Market Value prices for
coins offered by dealers in the numismatic community. The Fair
Market Value prices listed represent accurately graded, sight-seen
coins that are accepted by a majority of the dealers across the
country.
There are over 40 pages of VF through MS67 listings in the
following categories: Flying Eagle Cents, Indian Cents & Lincoln
Cents (1909-1933) Brown, Red & Brown, and Red; Buffalo Nickels;
Barber Dimes, Quarters, & Halves; Mercury Dimes (incl. Full-Bands);
Walking Liberty Halves; Morgan & Peace Dollars; $1 Gold through $20
Gold; & Gold & Silver Commemoratives. The balance of U.S. coinage
is available in our online price guide with your paid
subscription.
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| Around Heritage
Galleries |
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Dracula Puts the Bite On!
Heritage Galleries &
Auctioneers (HG&A) will offer a rare
first edition of the book Dracula, signed by author Bram
Stoker, in their upcoming
Books, Autographs and Manuscripts auction, to be held February
20 & 21, 2006 in Dallas, Texas, and simulcast in New York City.
"Dracula is, without a doubt, one of the most significant Gothic
novels ever written," said Tom Slater, Director of Americana
Auctions for HG&A. "Based at least in part on the real-life
exploits of the fifteenth-century Wallachian monarch Vlad Tepes,
better known as 'Vlad the Impaler,' Stoker's Dracula has become
imbedded in our cultural psyche as the undead embodiment of evil, a
blood-drinking nosferatu that has brought thrills and chills to
millions for over a century."
"Prior to Stoker's novel," Slater said, "vampires were often
thought of as dirty, filthy creatures, horrific in both appearance
and behavior. Stoker revolutionized this concept by making his
vampire an attractive nobleman, as much at home in a European
castle as he was in an English drawing room. It is this concept,
immortalized on-screen by the legendary Bela Lugosi, that
influences our culture's current fascination with vampires, as seen
in everything from the novels of Anne Rice to the cult-favorite TV
series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The fact is, virtually all the
great vampire tales with which the general public is familiar owe a
huge debt of gratitude to this very book."
"In researching his novel," Slater continued, "Stoker relied on
the assistance of his brother, William Thornley Stoker, a prominent
surgeon whose medical notes on transfusions and autopsies were
found on Bram's early manuscript of this book, and whose own
experience with a mentally ill wife is echoed by that of Van
Helsing in the novel. It is to Thornley that this first edition is
inscribed by the author."
"The book we're offering," Slater said, "is in good condition,
with the covers stained and worn, the corners bumped and the hinges
cracked, but still an incredibly desirable and rare copy of a
landmark volume. One of the cornerstones of English literature,
many collectors spend their entire lives looking for a copy of this
great book. An opportunity to acquire a specimen this desirable,
especially one personally autographed by the author, is a rare
thing indeed, so I'd encourage anyone with even a passing interest
to consider well this amazing opportunity.
The autographed, first edition of Dracula, signed by author Bram
Stoker, has a pre-auction estimate of $15,000 - $20,000.
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| Coin Club Outreach
Program |
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In a move to help strengthen the coin hobby and increase
membership in America's coin clubs, Heritage has created the Coin
Club Outreach program.
The Coin Club Outreach program features a speaker's bureau to
deliver presentations at coin club meetings, promotional items to
be offered to clubs to help generate revenue and enlist new
members, and access to the Heritage website and mailing list of
over 150,000 active coin and currency enthusiasts. Anyone
interested in scheduling a speaker for a coin club or other
collector group is invited to contact:
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| Is It Time To Sell? |
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Heritage Loves Palm Beach!
Heritage loves Florida, and well we should. Since 1991, we have
sold more than $150 million in rare coins and currency at our
auctions in Florida. Of course, our auctions at the Florida United
Numismatists conventions are now legendary - especially the
record-smashing events we held in 2004 and 2005.
Our first two visits to Palm Beach resulted in auctions
totalling nearly $20 million, and although we were forced to move
our November 2005 Signature Auction to Dallas at the last minute
because of Huricane Wilma, we are so excited about this great
numismatic venue that we are returning twice during 2006. We are
now accepting consignments for our next Palm Beach Signature
Auction, to take place on March 1-4, but the deadline of January 19
is fast approaching. Palm Beach is one of America's fabled cities
of wealth, and we already have more than $2 million consigned to
this auction, so your success is already assured.
Heritage is the largest auctioneer of rare coins and currency in
the world, and we reach more than 160,000 registered numismatic
bidders on our website.
To take advantage of the strongest market in decades, all you have
to do is call. We will take care of all the details necessary to
help you achieve the highest possible prices for your rare coins
and currency.
Call our Consignor Hotline, at 1-800-872-6467, extension 222,
today!
2006 March Palm Beach Signature Sale
Sale on March 1 to March 4, 2006
Consignment Deadline: January 19, 2006
Interested in
Selling?
What's My Coin Worth?
Get the Most Money for Your Collection
Consign to a Heritage Auction
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| Current Auctions |
Internet
Only
Auctions
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Closes Tue. Jan. 10
at 10:00 PM
View Lots |

Closes Sun. Jan. 8
from noon to 10:00 PM
View Lots |

Weekly Format
Closes Tues. Jan. 10
at 10:00 PM
View Lots |
HeritageGalleries.com/FineArt
Paintings, Silver, Art Glass and Antiques and more...
Closes Sunday, January 29, 2006 at 5:00 PM
View current auctions. |
HeritageGalleries.com/Sports
Sports cards, autographs, collectibles, and more...
Closes Sunday, January 29, 2006 at 10:00 PM
View current auctions. |
HeritageGalleries.com/MoviePosters
Movie posters, lobby cards and more...
Closes Sunday, January 8, 2006 at 10:00 PM
View current auctions. |
HeritageGalleries.com/Comics
Comics, comic art and more...
Closes Sunday, January 8, 2006 at 10:00 PM
View current auctions. |
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Huge
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E-mail of
the Week
This is one fine organization you have. I
continue to be impressed, which doesn't happen often.
J.O., Dallas, TX
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