SOLD
875.00CAD+ buyer's premium (175.00)
This item SOLD at 2019 May 02 @ 19:56UTC-4 : AST/EDT
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1739-A Billon Sous Marques. Vlack 18. Rarity-8, possible pattern issue? About Uncirculated, the VLACK PLATE COIN, the only example known when his book was written (one other has since been found). In his work Vlack notes “this variety must be given special attention. It has an inverted V for an A and no stop after NOM. It almost appears to be a pattern because of the sharpness in detail and perfect centering. This only known specimen is struck in copper, and while unusual, is believed to be a mint product.” In the January, 2008 Stack’s auction of the Vlack collection this exact specimen appeared as Lot 5085, complete with a box around the description to highlight its importance, and it brought $2,300, one of the highest prices in the run of 350+ Sous Marques that legendary collection contained. We note it was there graded Choice VF, likely because of some light reverse marks, but the coin is indeed an AU, and likely never circulated, with the light rub due to cabinet friction; it is easily plate matched to the Vlack book and auction by the presence of a tiny nick between the L and right fleur-de-lys on the reverse. Its status has continued to be debated. It is exceptionally well made, on a high quality copper planchet which never had any silvering – if this were a counterfeit issue, one would not expect it to be accepted in circulation when it was the wrong color and clearly copper instead of billon (the other known specimen is also on the same copper planchet). The die work is also well done, save for the mintmark, which is from the same V punch as that letter in NAV on the reverse; the engraver likely did not have an A punch on hand – the one used on NAV is the same upside-down V, with a crossbar added to make it into a proper A. It seems too well-made to be a counterfeit, and we agree with Vlack that it does appear a genuine Paris Mint product. But one wonders why a pattern would be made a year after the series started, instead of the first year – and why there was no mention of such a pattern in the literature on French numismatics in the last 250+ years. Certainly an enigma, and we agree with the Vlack auction cataloguer that “the cataloguer leaves the answer up to wiser heads than his.” Ford never owned an example, and we have found no other auction record for this extremely rare and important variety. We expect strong interest in this specimen – it is a museum-worthy coin!
Auction Location:
Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge Street (1 street north of Bloor), Toronto, Ontario, M4W 2G8, Canada
Previewing Details:
Location:
The Bram & Bluma Appel Salon is located at:
Toronto Reference Library, 2nd Floor
789 Yonge Street (1 street north of Bloor)
Toronto ON
Lot viewing will take place May 2nd & 3rd, 10am – 4:30pm EDT
Auction Start Time 6pm - EDT
HST of 13% will be applied to any purchaser from NF, ON; HST of 14% will be applied to any purchaser from PE; HST of 15% will be applied to any purchaser from NS, NB; All other provinces in Canada 5% will be applied. No tax is charged on out of Country purchases.
Taxes:
| Tax | Rate | Desc. |
| HST |
13% |
HST |
| GST |
5% |
GST |
| HST |
14% |
HST |
| HST |
15% |
HST |
Buyer's Premiums:
| From (Incl.) | To (Excl.) | Premium |
| 0.00 |
Infinite |
20% |
Additional Fees:
Shipping Details:
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Terms and Conditions at Geoffrey Bell Auctions
Credit and Deposits: All bidders must be approved. Those who do not have an established relationship with Geoffrey Bell Auctions must provide an approved reference or a credit guarantee prior to the sale.
Buyer’s Premiums: A buyer’s premium of 15% for floor bidders and 20% for online bidders will be added to the hammer price. Appropriate GST or HST will be added for lots delivered in Canada. No taxes will be added if shipped out of the country. US Funds accepted at 2% under the posted rate on xe.com on the day of the auction. All accounts not paid within 30 days will result in an interest charge of 2% per month calculated from May 3rd, 2019.
Auction Conduct: All our starting bids will be opened at approximately 10% above the second highest mail or computer bid. If there are no mail bids, auctioneer will start the bids at the reserve price, or half of the low estimate, or where possible, call for an opening bid. Advances are at the discretion of the auctioneer. In the event there are identical bids, earliest bid and floor bids will take priority. We reserve the right to withdraw any lot prior to the sale. Lots are sold to the highest bidder at an average rate of 150 lots per hour.
Bidding Procedures: Bids may be made in advance of the auction, by phone, person, fax 506-634-1026, email info@gbellauctions.com or mail. Live telephone bids are accepted through an approved agent provided by Geoffrey Bell Auctions at 506-333-7778. ALL Mail, fax and email bids must arrive to our office no later than May 2nd, 2019 at 12 noon EDT. The auction will be conducted on iCollector.com and all mail bids will be entered online. Geoffrey Bell Auctions reserves the right to refuse bids deemed not in good faith. We are not responsible for bidder errors so please check your bids carefully. Bidding increments are at the discretion of the auctioneer, the scale below must be followed, any uneven bids may not be accepted:
0 – 250 10
250 – 1,000 25
1,000 – 5,000 100
5,000 – 10,000 250
10,000 – 20,000 500
20,000 –50,000+ 1,000
Grading Standards and Description: The Cataloguers have taken every reasonable measure to ensure that all the lots are as described by Geoffrey Bell Auctions. Many of the lots are third party graded by PCGS, BCS, PMG, ICCS, NGC, CCCS - We feel these are the most recognized grading companies in the industry.
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Lot pick-up/Shipping Details: Saturday, May 4th, 2019 on the Toronto Coin Expo show floor from 10am-4pm. All lots not picked up during the show will be shipped at the bidders expense. We charge actual shipping costs plus $5 per package for packing and processing the order. Insurance is $5 per thousand.
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Catalogue Values: All values are listed in Canadian Funds.
Abbreviations: Within the catalogue you will find many abbreviations, the list below describes each of them:
a about (aEF – about Extra Fine)
Al Aluminum
Approx. Approximate
AGW Actual Gold Weight
AR Silver
AE Brass, Bronze, or Copper
AU Gold
ASW Actual Silver Weight
AV Gold
Bo Bowman
BR Breton
Cat Catalogue
CH Charlton
Co Courteau
COA Certificate of Authenticity
Cu Copper
C/S Counter Stamp
EF Extremely Fine
F Fine
FDC Fleur de Coin
G Good
grm grams
l left
Ler LeRoux
mm Millimeters
r right
S/N Serial Number
Std Seated
Unc Uncirculated
VF Very Fine
VG Very Good
WM White Metal