All realizations include a 20 per cent buyer’s premium.
Gold rarities offered an abundance of highlights this August as Heritage Auctions sold nearly $30 million US (about $39.6 million Cdn.) across two sales and 3,156 lots.
An Aug. 3-9 “Signature Auction,” offering U.S. coins, brought more than $18.7 million US (about $24.6 million Cdn.). An Aug. 5-7 “Platinum Night Auction,” featuring world and ancient coins, realized nearly $11.2 million US (about $14.7 million Cdn.).
At the latter sale, the top-selling Canadian lot was a 1914-C sovereign in Mint State-65-plus; it brought $6,600 US (about $8,700 Cdn.) as Lot 31337.
An 1880 Newfoundland $2 gold coin in About Uncirculated-58 also sold for $3,600 US (about $4,750 Cdn.) as Lot 31338.
1819 $5 HALF EAGLE
The top-selling lot from both sales was a U.S. 1819 $5 half eagle with an overpunched denomination that brought $440,000 US (about $580,675 Cdn.).
With a wide date and a blundered reverse (with the “D” in “5D” formed by an “I” punched over an errant “0”), the variety was certified as Mint State-65 by Professional Coin Grading Service. It’s the finest known “wide date” variant and one of only 16-20 examples believed to exist.