Stack's Bowers & Ponterio
August 2016 ANA Auction - Sess. A-C 10-12 August 2016
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ROMANIA. 2 Lei Essai in Silver, 1872. Brussels Mint. NGC Proof Details--Obverse Damage.
cf.Stamb-016-1.1; cf.KM-8. Struck in silver. EXTREMELY RARE. Our research indicates the damage described by NGC was part of the production process at the Brussels Mint, with incuse angel head privy marks of assorted size & design punched into the coin along the lower obverse rim. Why the punches would have been employed on the struck coin rather than the dies is anyone's guess. The normal appearance of what these privy marks would have looked like if punched into the die is illustrated by Stambuliu for the 2 Lei dated 1873 (Stamb-18-1.1), with the privy mark stamped by itself between the date and designer (STERN) on the piece offered here most closely resembling the single privy mark utilized the following year. In terms of preservation, aside from a few microscopic ticks (one within an obverse denticle, the other adjacent to the crown) the coin rates a full SUPERB GEM PROOF in our estimation. Accompanied by wonderfully opalescent old cabinet toning, it is readily evident to even the most casual observer that this piece was left undisturbed for most (if not all) of the past 144 years. For specialists in Romanian numismatics, possibly a once in a lifetime opportunity to add this extraordinary and quite likely unique coin to the collection. NGC Proof Details--Obverse Damage.
From the E.E. Clain-Stefanelli Collection.
Estimate: $1000.00- $1500.00
cf.Stamb-016-1.1; cf.KM-8. Struck in silver. EXTREMELY RARE. Our research indicates the damage described by NGC was part of the production process at the Brussels Mint, with incuse angel head privy marks of assorted size & design punched into the coin along the lower obverse rim. Why the punches would have been employed on the struck coin rather than the dies is anyone's guess. The normal appearance of what these privy marks would have looked like if punched into the die is illustrated by Stambuliu for the 2 Lei dated 1873 (Stamb-18-1.1), with the privy mark stamped by itself between the date and designer (STERN) on the piece offered here most closely resembling the single privy mark utilized the following year. In terms of preservation, aside from a few microscopic ticks (one within an obverse denticle, the other adjacent to the crown) the coin rates a full SUPERB GEM PROOF in our estimation. Accompanied by wonderfully opalescent old cabinet toning, it is readily evident to even the most casual observer that this piece was left undisturbed for most (if not all) of the past 144 years. For specialists in Romanian numismatics, possibly a once in a lifetime opportunity to add this extraordinary and quite likely unique coin to the collection. NGC Proof Details--Obverse Damage.
From the E.E. Clain-Stefanelli Collection.
Estimate: $1000.00- $1500.00