An exceedingly rare Pattern that offers a peek into the implementation of the Ducaton as a denomination of United East India Company coinage is among the top offerings of an elite collection that will be featured in Heritage's ANA World & Ancient Coins Platinum Session and Signature® Auction August 27-29.

The Dutch Colony. United East India Company (VOC) gold Proof Pattern Ducaton 1728 PR63 NGC is one of more than 300 lots in the auction from the Peh Family Collection, Part II. The first part of the collection helped lead Heritage's June 18-20 HKINF World Coins Platinum Session and Signature® Auction to nearly $11.9 million.

"The Peh Family Collection is one of the elite numismatic assemblages in the world, and this 1728 Proof Pattern Ducaton in gold is indicative of the advanced quality and strong eye of the collector," says Kyle Johnson, Managing Director of World & Ancient Coins at Heritage Auctions. "Also known as the 'Silver Rider,' the Ducaton was conceived in the Seven Provinces in 1659, and the design with the horse and rider became synonymous with Dutch power in the colonial era. Not only is this coin beautiful, it also is exceedingly rare: the one offered in this auction is one of just two examples known to the grading services for this date-type."

Another standout from the Peh Family Collection is one of the most celebrated types in World numismatics and a design that forever cemented the legacy of engraver William Wyon: the Victoria gold Proof "Una and the Lion" 5 Pounds 1839 PR61 Ultra Cameo NGC. It is believed that about 400 original strikings were produced for Victoria's delayed coronation Proof Set of 1839, but popular demand soon outstripped that initial figure, prompting the Royal Mint to produce to-order examples for almost 50 years until 1886. To this day, Wyon's iconic imagery, depicting the youthful Queen in the guise of Una from Edmund Spencer's "The Faerie Queen," continues to be revived, most recently with the Royal Mint's Great Engraver's series.

Another assemblage featured in the auction is The Eternal Collection, Part II, a 120-lot trove of some of the most prized and impeccably preserved examples of each distinctive type ever seen. Among the highlights in the collection is an exceptionally rare Republic silver Proof Pattern 8 Reales 1827 Go-WW PR64 Cameo NGC. Following Mexico's independence, the Anglo-Mexican Mint Association took over production at the mint in Guanajuato in 1825 and outsourced the engraving to Wyon in London. The pattern pieces likely were struck in London using the state-of-the-art steam powered presses. The example offered in this auction is the only example associated with the Guanajuato mint that has surfaced at a major auction house in recent years.

From the same collection comes an Estados Unidos silver Proof Essai "Caballito" Peso 1909 PR66 Cameo NGC that was commissioned by Porfirio Diaz to mark the centenary of the Mexican War of Independence and assigned to Charles Pillet in Paris, who completed the work for the 50 Centavos and Peso denominations. Earning the nickname "caballito" ("little horse"), Pillet's design has become a favorite among collectors as the type marked a distinct shift in style in Mexican coinage, eschewing the usual indicators of mint location, fineness and assayer initials. Uncirculated examples of business strikes are hotly contested, while patterns and off-metal strikes are considered holy grail pieces among specialists, with few struck and even fewer reaching the market.

A third prominent collection in the auction is the 128-lot Gatsby Collection of South African Coinage, Part II, the highlights of which include a Republic gold Proof 6 Pence 1897 PR63 Cameo NGC, which is a significant offering of a remarkable South African issue, unparalleled in its singularity, and unseen within the marketplace for nearly a decade. Once a part of the collection of Royle Baldwin for nearly 70 years until the batch was certified by NGC in 2006, this beauty was sold at Heritage in January 2015 for $329,000.

Also from the Gatsby Collection is a unique George V bronze Matte Proof Pattern Sovereign 1928-SA PR64 Brown NGC. This remarkable coin will appeal to collectors of Sovereigns, Patterns, the coinage of George V or simply seekers of most rare and prestigious pieces. This coin is one of a kind, and sold at Heritage in 2012 for $184,000.

The collections in the auction are extraordinary, but do not include all of the auction's top offerings. Among the others:

One of the top ancient coins in the auction is a Pertinax (1 January-28 March AD 193). AV aureus NGC Gem MS 5/5 - 5/5, Fine Style that is one of the finest-quality Pertinax aurei in existence.

An unquestioned Pattern rarity of British numismatics, a George V gold Proof Pattern Crown 1935 PR64+ Ultra Cameo NGC is one of just 28 gold Proof Pattern strikes, of which 25 were made available to the public to purchase at £25 each; the remainder were consigned to museums. The Royal Mint opened a ballot from which 25 of the reported 1,329 applicants would be selected to purchase one of these coins, the value of which rose immediately after distribution when attempts were made to corner a number of pieces.

Another top ancient coin in the auction is a SICILY. Syracuse. Dionysius I (405-367 BC). AR decadrachm (35mm, 41.83 gm, 10h). NGC Choice XF 4/5 - 3/5, Fine Style. Syracuse, the foremost Greek city in Sicily, had produced coins of exceptional beauty for nearly a century when, ca. 415 BC, engravers began signing their coin dies. Chief among these were the master engravers Kimon and Euainetos, whose large silver decadrachms seemed to capture the spirit of the artistic and intellectual revolution then sweeping the Greek world. The decadrachm of Euainetos became a widely-copied archetype for Greek coinage, and the master engraver's head of Arethusa remains a paradigm of cool, classical beauty today.

Images and information about all lots in the auction can be found at HA.com/3125.