Spanish colonial, Colombian coins star in Sedwick's May 27-29 Treasure Auction

A wealth of shipwreck gold and silver treasure plus a selection of Colombian numismatic rarities will star on May 27-29 in Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC's online Treasure, World, U.S. Coin & Paper Money Auction 27.

As usual for this top auctioneer of Spanish colonial material, Sedwick's sale features many coins from famous shipwrecks, like the Spanish Plate Fleet of 1715, eleven ships that went down on July 31, 1715 off the east coast of Florida carrying gold and silver coins bound for Spain. Featured from the 1715 Fleet this time is a Lima, Peru, gold cob 8 escudos dated 1703 (lot 10), graded NGC MS 62 and estimated at $20,000 and up. It previously sold as ungraded in the 2003 Tampa sale of seized shipwreck treasure. This coin is so rare that even the State of Florida's own collection of 1715 Fleet coins is lacking an example.

Attracting further interest is a pair of Seville, Spain, gold cob 2 escudos, one each from the famous wrecks of the Atocha and Santa Margarita, sunk during the same storm in 1622 (lots 45 and 46). The Atocha 2 escudos is dated 1615 with a clear assayer's initial D and is graded PCGS AU50 while also accompanied by its original Mel Fisher certificate. Its estimate is $10,000 and up. The Santa Margarita 2 escudos is undated but also has the same assayer D and is graded PCGS MS61 with its Mel Fisher's Treasures, LLC certificate included. Its estimate is $6,000 to $9,000.

Although not a coin, a Colombian gold "finger" bar salvaged from the Atocha is a highlight, too. In a way, it acted as a form of money in its time by allowing a large sum of value to be transported from New World gold mines to the Spanish treasury. The long bar in this auction weighs 669 grams and has a marked fineness of 20.75 karats along with ten partial tax stamps of King Philip III. The bar was previously sold as lot 95 during the Christie's Atocha and Santa Margarita sale of June 1988. Its estimate in the Sedwick auction is $35,000 and up.

One of the finest Colombian coin collections assembled, the Nueva Granada Collection, representing Colombian rarities from the Spanish colonial era through the Republic period will appear in the sale's World Coins section. A key rarity is the Bogotá, Colombia, pillar 8 reales dated 1770VJ graded PCGS MS65. This coin is the single finest graded in the PCGS census and is finer than any others graded by NGC. Its estimate is $35,000 and up.

Colombian collectors will also want to watch for the auction's selection of Colombian bank notes. Most notably, the 1883-issued 10 pesos from the Estado Soberano de Bolívar bank in Cartagena will appear as lot 1341. The note is graded PMG XF 40 and is one of just two examples known today. The estimate is $7,000 and up.

Other highlights in the auction include:

• Lot 1291, a Mexico gold Cross of Tepeaca - Second Class military decoration from 1821, pedigreed to the J. Coolidge Hills collection and the American Numismatic Society archives. Estimate: $25,000 to $37,500.

• Lot 60, a large silver ingot from Oruro, Bolivia, 8 pounds 9.92 ounces troy, Class Factor 0.8, from the Atocha (1622) and pedigreed to the Caesar's Palace Auction of 1987. Estimate: $20,000 to $30,000.

• Lot 4, a Mexico City, Mexico, gold cob 8 escudos, 1714J, NGC MS 64, from the 1715 Fleet, finest known in the NGC census. Estimate: $15,000 and up.

• Lot 23, a Lima, Peru, gold cob 8 escudos, 1697/6H, NGC MS 64, from the 1715 Fleet. Estimate: $15,000 and up.

• Lot 478, a Mexico City, Mexico, silver cob 8 reales Royal, 1727D, NGC VF details / plugged. Estimate: $15,000 and up.

• Lot 854, a Medellín, Colombia, half peso, 1868, PCGS MS62, finest known in the PCGS census (and unlisted in the NGC census), pedigreed to the Nueva Granada collection and plated in Jorge Emilio Restrepo's Coins of Colombia (2012). Estimate: $15,000 and up.

• Lot 790, a Popayán, Colombia, gold bust 8 escudos, Charles III (bust of Ferdinand VI), 1761/0J, NGC MS 62, finest and only example in the NGC census. Estimate: $10,000 and up.

• Lot 963, a Quito, Ecuador, gold 4 escudos, 1836FP, NGC MS 61. Estimate: $7,000 to $10,000.

• Lot 1232, a Seville, Spain, gold double excelente, Ferdinand-Isabel, NGC MS 64. Estimate: $7,000 to $10,000.

• Lot 1154, a Lahore, British India, nickel original proof rupee, George VI, 1947, PCGS PR63, finest and only example in the PCGS census. Estimate: $3,500 and up.

• Lot 1048, a Great Britain proof halfcrown, 1746, George II, VICESIMO on edge, PCGS PR63. Estimate: $4,000 to $6,000.

• Lot 439, a Mexico City, Mexico, silver cob 3 reales, Charles-Joanna, "Early Series," assayer gothic R, NGC VF details / saltwater damage, from the 1554 Fleet, pedigreed to the Potomac collection. Estimate: $3,500 to $5,000.

• Lot 793, a Bogota, Colombia, gold bust 8 escudos, Charles III, 1776JJ, PCGS MS64, finest known in both the PCGS and NGC censuses. Estimate: $3,500 to $5,000.

• Lot 1311, a Continental Currency $2, May 10, 1775, PMG Choice AU 58 EPQ Star, finest known in the PMG census. Estimate: $800 to $1,200.

• Lot 1355, a Guatemala, Banco Colombiano, 20 pesos, 1901, PMG Fine 12, finest and only example in the PMG census. Estimate: $2,500 to $3,750.

The four sessions will be held May 27-28 live online at auction.sedwickcoins.com. A fifth express session will follow on May 29. Bidders are encouraged to register in advance at auction.sedwickcoins.com.