NORWAY: Oscar II, 1872-1905, AV 20 kroner, 1878, KM-355, Fr-17, struck at the Kongsberg Mint, two-year type, a superb lustrous example! NGC graded MS65, ex Professor Richard Haiman Collection. Very likely from the "Nordic Hoard", which involved the flight of the Norwegian National Treasury, the transfer of Norway's gold reserves to Canada and the United States via the United Kingdom, to prevent them from falling into the hands of Nazi Germany. At that time, the National Treasury of Norway consisted of 50 tons of gold worth 240 million kroner in 1940 (approximately US$54.5 million in 1940, or US$1.8 billion in 2015). When the German invasion of Norway began, the gold was evacuated from Oslo first overland to Åndalsnes via Lillehammer, and then by ship to Tromsø. From Tromsø, evacuating Allied forces shipped the gold to Britain, despite German ground and air attacks. Much of the gold was gradually sold in the United States – partly to fund the government in exile. Ten tons of gold coins returned to Norway in 1987. In 1988, coin dealer Oslo Mynthandel, represented by Jan Olav Aamlid, purchased 100,484 coins from the state's gold holdings and distributed them to collectors and investors. In 1990 type NGC holder.

Estimate: USD 600 - 700