Stack's Bowers Galleries

August 2023 Global Showcase Auction  –  14 - 21 August 2023

Stack's Bowers Galleries, August 2023 Global Showcase Auction

Live Sessions: Ancient and World Coins, Currency

Part A: Mo, 14.08.2023, from 6:00 PM CEST
Part B: Tu, 15.08.2023, from 6:00 PM CEST
Part D: Tu, 15.08.2023, from 6:00 PM CEST
Part 2: Tu, 15.08.2023, from 9:00 PM CEST
Part C: Tu, 15.08.2023, from 10:00 PM CEST
Part 3: We, 16.08.2023, from 5:00 PM CEST
Part 4: We, 16.08.2023, from 7:00 PM CEST
Part 5: We, 16.08.2023, from 10:00 PM CEST
Part 6: Th, 17.08.2023, from 12:00 AM CEST
Part E: Th, 17.08.2023, from 6:00 PM CEST
Part 7: Th, 17.08.2023, from 8:00 PM CEST
Part 8: Fr, 18.08.2023, from 5:00 PM CEST
Part 9: Sa, 19.08.2023, from 1:00 AM CEST
Part 10: Sa, 19.08.2023, from 5:00 PM CEST
Part F: Mo, 21.08.2023, from 4:00 PM CEST
The auction is closed.

Description

Undated (ca. 1720) John Law / Money's the Watchword Medal. Betts-120, Adams-28. Silver. AU-55 (PCGS).
38 mm. "B 120" (the Betts number) and "3227" carefully penned in India ink and lacquered in the lower left reverse field. A lustrous and lovely example of this type, with rich old cabinet toning in bright shades of blue, translucent gold, and rich orange. Scattered contact marks are seen on both sides, none serious. The obverse shows two guards leaning in with a whisper while one hides a bag of money behind him, giving the legend "Money is the watchword" a double meaning. The other side shows a man holding a money bag aloft while coins pour through a hole in the bottom, surrounded by legends translating to "As it comes, so it goes" and, in the exergue, "nothing remains left over." Ford owned two of these, both pretty nice; one brought $3,220, the other $2,990. The two Heritage sold for John Adams in 2014 brought just a fraction of that, but two more sold in 2019 brought $2,640 and $12,000.
From the Skyler Liechty Collection. Earlier from Fred Baldwin (London) to an American collector, ca. 1960; John Kraljevich, December 2013. Collector envelope with attribution and provenance notes included.

Estimate: $1000

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Bidding

Price realized 3'600 USD
Starting price 1 USD
Estimate 1'000 USD
The auction is closed.
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