The legendary Pittman-Krause 1936 Canadian Dot Cent, the most famous coin in Canadian numismatics and one of just three known, and indeed one of the most famous coins in the world, is expected to bring more than $250,000 when it crosses the auction block as the feature lot in Heritage Auctions’ April 18-23 CICF World & Ancient Coins Signature Auction at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Rosemont, IL.
“We presented the Pittman-Krause Dot Cent nine years ago and are now ready to help write a new chapter for this famous coin,” said Warren Tucker, Vice President of World Coins at Heritage. “It’s being offered as part of the excellent Nikita Collection of Canadian Coins, where it went after Heritage auctioned it off from The Chet Krause Collection in 2004.”
The George V 1936 Dot Cent, KM28, MS63 Red PCGS, Ex: John Jay Pittman Collection, as it is known by its full name, is far and away the most famous of the three known Dot cents, having been stolen from the Pittman home in 1964 and later returned (with scratches in the right obverse field) in an envelope with other coins.
While the Dot Cent is the star of the auction, collectors will find international numismatic treasures from all over the world, and from across the epochs, to satisfy most every collecting taste.
“Our CICF auction has become quite an extraordinary event, with a broad range of numismatic interests, in a relatively short amount of time,” said Cristiano Bierrenbach, Vice President of International Numismatics at Heritage, “due to the hard work of the team at Heritage, the foresight of our consignors and the enthusiasm of collectors. From Goetz medal dies, to Ancients, European, Latin America and beyond, this auction offers more than 5,800 lots that will appeal to every taste in the hobby.”
An exceedingly rare Nicholas I platinum 12 Roubles 1835 CПБ Bitkin 44 (R3), Fr-158, AU55 NGC (estimate: $80,000) is one of the coins creating a significant amount of pre-auction buzz. The minting of platinum 12 Roubles began in 1830 and ended in 1845 when all platinum coins were recalled and melted. Very few survived of the original mintage, which is particularly noteworthy for the 12 Roubles, as it had a relatively tiny mintage of just 127 pieces.
The main anchor collection of the auction is the RLM Collection of Brazilian Gold, featuring 131 gold coins from Portugal’s richest colonial territory, including coins from Portuguese kings Pedro II and Joao V, with the latter being represented by a stunning 1729 Joao V gold 12800 Reis, KM141, Russo-100, Gomes-135.02, NGC, repaired, of the Second Shield Type, which should bring in excess of $60,000.
“This is simply and outstanding Dobra from the Bahia Mint and an incredibly rare coin,” said Bierrenbach. “1729 is the rarest of the three dates of these coins and an extremely elusive issue overall. Heritage has only sold one of these before, and it was an uncertified example. Expect spirited bidding on this piece.”
A 1732 Felipe V Pillar 8 Reales, Mo-F, KM103, Cayon-9349, Calico-692, AU58 PCGS — the first Pillar Dollar produced — is also drawing significant collector interest and should bring in excess of $50,000, while a superb 1740 French Louis XV Essai gold Ecu au bandeau KM-E3, Droulers-PH1, Gadoury 322 (R5), AU Details, one of the rarest French issues known, is expected to bring $30,000 and an 1818 Maximilian I Josef Pattern Taler in gold, KM-Pn3, Dav-553, Proof 62 Cameo PCGS, a spectacular gold Bavarian pattern coin carries an equal $30,000 estimate.
The Ancient coins section of the auction features an impressive array of historic coins, as collectors have come to expect, including a superlative Chalcidian League Tetradrachm, circa 390 BC, from the short-lived defensive coalition of the free cities of the Chalcidice in ancient Greece, who banded together to ward off Athenian and Macedonian imperialism of the time. The coalition fell to Macedon on 348 BC and now, more than 2,360 years later, a coin from the time will bring more than $12,000 at auction.
