Greatest Darkside Auctions of All Time

MrEureka

Pick a country and name the greatest collections ever sold at auction. Please note the auction company name and year so we can track down the catalogs for our own libraries.

MacCrimmon

Of recent vintage:


Great Britain: The Michael Freeman collection of G.B. bronze coinage; Christie's, London; 10/23/1984

Great Britain: Terner I British Gold. Goldberg's, May 2003

Silvereagle82

The Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection
World Gold Coins and Medals
New York City, NY
April 15 - April 19, 2005
Auction House: American Numismatic Rarities, LLC,

MrEureka

For Mexican coins:

Just a few. The Mexican gurus can improve the list, I'm sure.

Pradeau - Superior - 1970-71 (What a sale!)
Gerber - Spink - 1995-6 (This one got me started on Mexican.)
Parker - Goldberg - 1998 (8 Reales only)

JZrarities

Concur with SilverEagle82.

I can look at that Eliasberg Catalog every day and not get tired of it...

SYRACUSIAN

Greece, 1979, Spink sale. I have the catalogue at home, I will edit this to add more info and the exact dates later.

A truly memorble sale of the most unbelievable rarities (1852 gold, 1875 gold patterns and so much more) to more common coins in uncommon condition, an almost complete collection assembled within 10 years. Number one to this date by a long shot. Pedigree known to me, but not mentioned then, not important.

secondrepublic

Polish coins -

By far the most important post-war sale was the Karolkiewicz auction in Dec. 2000 by Classical Numismatic Group, "Polish coins of a thousand years." To find another sale of comparable importance you would need to go back to the 1930s.

There are a few other, smaller sales of note in the modern era, but Karolkiewicz is the catalog to have in a reference collection.

MrEureka

Switzerland:

Stroehlin Collection - Various - 1909-1911
Wunderly Collection - Leo Hamburger - 1931
"The Swiss Collection" - Leu - 2001-2005

Again, I'm sure others can add to this list.

MacCrimmon

UBS conducted a sale (Auction #56, I believe) which contained as many Federal coins in all dates and denoms which I've seen as of late. Included were a vast number of erstabschlag strikes, and many patterns and off-metal strikes.

IlikeZARcoins

JZ - I AM looking at the Eliasberg catalogue everyday ( and not getting tired of it ).

3Mark

Andy:

How about two from Germany:

Probensammlung Egon Beckenbauer u.a., Auktion 7 der Münzenhandlung Fritz Rudolf Künker, Osnabrück 1987.

Aucktion 24, Komplette Sammlung Kleinmünzen des Deutschen Kaiserreichs in einmaliger Qualität, Heidelberger Münzhandlung, Herbert Grün, November 14, 1998.

3Mark

MrEureka

Time to ttt this one. Anything to add?

OchoReales

Paul Karon 8 Escudos Collection: (12/92) Latin Gold - Heritage
Potosi countermarked cobs: L. Hudson Collection - Sedwick #6

1960NYGiants

I haven't been an auction player for very long. My favorites so far has been the Belzberg collection of Canadian coins and The Dominion & Wellington Collections of Canadian coins. Both by Heritage.

The NYINC Heritage Auction in Jan, 2010 is supposed to have the finest ever Canadian collection included a few of the 1936 dot issues and the finest known 1921 50c.

7Jaguars

Great Britain - I can not imagine better than Norweb, at least in recent years (1984-87).

worldcoinguy

I am relatively new to the auction world, but the Hesselgesser collection of talers from German / Austran states stands out in my mind.

RobP

RobP

Montagu for English, followed by Lockett.

JZrarities

The Entire World in three volumes:
Millennia Auction - Goldbergs - May 2008

WOW.

Moneta

Palace Collections of Egypt, Sotheby & Co, 1954

Mortimer Hammel Collection (gold coins) - Stack's 1982

Russische Münzen des 14.-18. Jahrhunderts - Dubletten Russischer Museen - Adolph Hess Nachfolger #210 - Frankfurt-M 1932

OchoReales

Farouk sale, "Palace Collection of Egypt." 1954. Sotheby's

Moneta beat me to it!