We are excited to announce that the Stack’s Bowers Galleries February Collectors Choice Online Sale is now online and all sessions are ready to view. Last week showcased the fantastic selection of Mexican minor Real coinage once part of the Richard Ponterio Collection. The focus for this week is a great selection of French Essai pieces.
For the unfamiliar, an Essai (or the Anglicized essay) can include trial, pattern and experimental strikes. Late nineteenth century France produced an abundance of Essais, with frequent exhibitions and contests for sculptors competing against each other for the honor of producing a new coinage design. A thorough catalog produced by Jean Mazard is widely considered the definitive source for these varied and interesting pieces. This area of numismatics presents a wide and visually distinct avenue for both novices and seasoned veterans, with a multitude of pieces at entry level price points.
We are currently taking consignments of world and ancient coins and world paper money for the upcoming June 2019 Collectors Choice Online Auction and the August 2019 ANA World’s Fair of Money Auction in Rosemont, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. We are also accepting consignments of Chinese and other Asian coins and currency for our August 2019 Hong Kong Showcase Auction. If you are interested in consigning your coins and paper currency (whether a whole collection or a single rarity) contact one of our consignment directors.