Swedish plate money will lead the highlights at the Stack’s Bowers Galleries official auction of the New York International Numismatic Convention Jan. 9-10, 2015.
Going on the block will be the Stanley Aberdeen collection.
In it are almost 90 pieces ranging from 1/2 daler to 4 daler size.
At the time it was issued, the Swedish state was often broke in terms of gold and silver, but it had rich resources of copper. The plate money was issued as a replacement for silver and gold coinage.
These large “coins” were issued from 1644-1776 in denominations from 1/3 daler to 8 daler.
The copper came not just from mines but also from cannon barrels that were repurposed.
The first notes that many known examples of Swedish plate money came from the wreck of the Nicobar, and that find provided a good cross section of material.
Aberdeen began collecting these pieces when Ponterio & Associates sold the plates recovered from the Nicobar. As his interest in the series grew, Mr. Aberdeen’s search widened to include Europe, and he worked with several agents as certain rarities appeared at auction. With such great sources of material, he was able to acquire better quality examples than usually seen. As a result of his keen eye and good sense of historical context, Aberdeen’s assemblage contains not only regular issues but also a number of very rare siege pieces.
“A collection of such wide range will not likely be offered in the near term, so we suggest that interested numismatists review the descriptions of these wonderful items, and contemplate their place in the annals of numismatic history,” said Richard Ponterio, executive vice president of Stack’s Bowers.
Among the highlights are a Wismar. 8 schilling of 1715. It is described as extremely rare necessity coinage made from repurposed guns at the siege of Wismar during the Great Northern War. Extremely Fine. Ex: Gustaf Cavali; General Konsul Axison Johnson; Avestra Mynt Museum; Jim Karlson; Upssala Collections.
There is a 2 daler of 1716, Stockholm Mint, very fine, struck from metal recovered from recycled cannons. Only 19 examples are known.
Another 2 daler from 1674 has a star between two lilies, denoting the copper source as Garpenberg. Only six are known. It is very fine.
Other highlights of the New York auction include the Ray Czahor Collection of Philippine Countermarked Coinage, The Rockaway Collection of German Crowns and Talers, The John Adams Collection of Spanish Colonial Proclamation Medals, Ancient Coins From The Richard Aghababian Collection and further selections from The Demarete Collection.
For more information, contact a Stack’s Bowers Galleries associate at (800) 458-4646 (West Coast), (800) 566-2580 (East Coast), or email info@stacksbowers.com.
This article was originally printed in World Coin News.
>> Subscribe today or get your >> Digital Subscription
More Coin Collecting Resources:
• Kick-start your coin collection with the Fundamentals of Coin Collecting set of essential resources and tools.
• Strike it rich with this U.S. coins value pack.
• Build an impressive collection with Coin Collecting 101.
