1870-S Seated Liberty Silver Dollar from Farouk Collection Sets Record at More Than $700,000 and “Carl F. Chirico Jr. Collection of World Pattern Coins” Tops $2 Million

IRVINE, Calif. – Bowers and Merena Auctions, America's leading rare coin auction house, set records once again in Baltimore as Official Auctioneer of the Baltimore Coin and Currency Convention. More than 3,200 lots crossed the block in four sessions February 28 – March 1, 2008, realizing $9,764,934. Highlights include the record-setting sale of Lot 2035, a very rare 1870-S Seated Liberty Silver Dollar known as “The Farouk-Schultz Specimen,” certified VF 25 by PCGS, which realized $705,698, beating its previous sale price of $552,000 just months earlier in October 2007. The “Carl F. Chirico Jr. Collection of World Pattern Coins,” 741 lots of worldwide Proofs, Patterns, Essais, Provas, Pieforts, and Trial Strikes, realized $2,028,278.

“I have to say we are ecstatic with the results of this Baltimore auction. Our last Baltimore auction in November 2007 was a record-setter for us and we exceeded its total prices realized by a significant amount,” said Steve Deeds, president of Bowers and Merena. Deeds attributes the overwhelming success of this auction to a variety of factors. “The convention itself was outstanding as usual thanks to the undying efforts of Mary Counts, David Crenshaw and the Whitman team. The auction room was full and busy for all sessions, we had active phone bidding, plus live online bidding through the Bowers and Merena website, eBay Live Auctions and Proxibid. We did everything we could to make it convenient for our bidders, especially our international customers who couldn’t make it to the auction, and it was without a doubt very successful.”

Deeds also credits the extraordinary list of historic rarities that crossed the block, such as the 1870-S Seated Liberty Silver Dollar, the sixth-finest of only nine known to exist and boasting a prestigious pedigree and auction history that includes the 1935 Norman Schultz Auction and Sotheby’s 1954 sale of the King Farouk collection, “The Palace Collections of Egypt” auction. “The winning bidder of this coin now owns a piece of history,” Deeds said. “It is an honor to be able to include Bowers and Merena in the life story of this piece.”

The grand finale of the three-day event was the Saturday session of Ancient and World coins that featured the Chirico Collection. Worldwide marketing and advertising efforts helped draw hundreds of new registered bidders to Bowers and Merena and created a buzz throughout the international numismatic community that led to a realization of $2,155,414 for the session.

“The Chirico Collection was the result of a lifetime of collecting efforts and many of these coins had not been available to the collecting community for decades,” Deeds said. “The enthusiasm for this collection was remarkable, starting months ago as we promoted the collection and displayed the highlights at various coin shows. Many lots in the collection realized far more than their printed value estimates in the catalog.” Notable highlights include Lot 5378, a China, Republic (1911-), Sun Yat-sen Silver Pattern Half Dollar, Year 25 (1936), estimated at $4,000 to $5,000 but realized $46,000, and Lot 5334, a China, Republic (1911-), Yuan Shih-kai Silver Pattern Dollar by L. GIORGI, Year 3 (1914), which was estimated at $8,000 to $10,000 but realized $37,375. Also noteworthy is Lot 5864, a Poland, Republic (1919-39), Silver Pattern Proba 10 Zlotych, 1932 (Warsaw) originally estimated at $500 to $600 but brought $13,225.

Prices realized for all lots in the Bowers and Merena Official Auction of the Baltimore Coin and Currency Convention are available online at www.bowersandmerena.com. This is the first of three Baltimore auctions by Bowers and Merena in 2008, continuing their longstanding and ongoing association with the convention – the next is scheduled for June 4-8 followed by November 19-23. Bowers and Merena will conduct its Chicago Rarities Sale in Rosemont, Ill., on April 15 prior to the Central States Numismatic Society Convention.

Bowers and Merena Auctions was founded in 1983 and has grown to become the world’s preeminent numismatic auctioneer with more than half a billion dollars in rare coin and currency sales. Bowers and Merena has handled four of the five most valuable United States coin collections ever sold, including the Louis E. Eliasberg Sr. Collection, the Harry W. Bass Jr. Collection, the Garrett Collection for The Johns Hopkins University, and the Norweb Collection.

For more information about Bowers and Merena and the Official Auction of the Baltimore Coin and Currency Convention in February/March, call 800.458.4646.  For media inquiries, ask for President Steve Deeds.  Complete prices realized for all past auctions are available at www.bowersandmerena.com.