Rare South American Coins to be Offered at Auction!

Dallas, Texas: Originally settled by the Spanish in 1624, many wars and revolutions would be fought in Uruguay before that nation gained its independence in 1851. By 1862, Uruguay had enacted the gold standard, and began to produce gold coins in several denominations.

"These early Uruguayan coins, the 1 peso, the 2 pesos, the 5 pesos, and the Doblon, all have the same design, consisting of the arms of Uruguay with legend around on the obverse and the denomination within a wreath on the reverse," said Warren Tucker, Director of World Coin Auctions for Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries.

"The striking of these pieces was authorized by the decree of June, 1862 in an amount to be decided by the General Assembly," Tucker said. "Only a few patterns were struck and we can only find two offerings of any of these types since 1908. The 1935 Wayte Raymond, Waldo C. Newcomer Sale, contained an example of the Doblon where it was listed with the notation, 'Said to be the only specimen known.' This example was later sold in an NGC Proof 62 holder in the Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection sale."

"Recently, when referring to the Eliasberg coin," Tucker added, "it was noted by another auction house that no other gold example of the Doblon is known today. Obviously, that is not the case, as another, much nicer piece is being offered in our upcoming auction, along with three other extremely rare smaller denominations of this type that have not been offered for many years. The surfaces of these coins are nearly flawless, as the grades would suggest, with only minor imperfections. The fields are reflective and the luster bright beneath a rich orange-golden patina. This is certainly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for advanced collectors to acquire one of the rarest sets of South American gold coins in existence."

Heritage Auction Galleries will present the Republic 1870 Four-piece Pattern gold Set in their upcoming Signature Auction, to be held June 1 & 2, 2006 as the official auctioneer of the Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectible Expo, at the Long Beach Convention Center, 100 South Pine Avenue, Long Beach, CA, 90802.

(Uruguay) Republic 1870 Four-piece Pattern gold Set

The Republic 1870 Four-piece Pattern gold Set bears a pre-auction estimate of $100,000 - $125,000.

Images, descriptions, and prices realized from all of Heritage's previous auctions are available in the Permanent Auction Archives at the Heritage website, www.HeritageAuctions.com.

To reserve your copy of a catalog for any upcoming Heritage auction, please contact Nicole Jewell, c/o Heritage Auction Galleries, 3500 Maple Avenue, 17th Floor, Dallas, TX 75219, or call 1-800-872-6467, ext. 272.