NGC Certifies Eliasberg World Gold

Nearly three thousand gold coins and medals from the estate of Louis Eliasberg, Sr. have been certified by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation. The collection is simply amazing in its richness and broad range.

Featuring gold coins from ancient times through the mid-20th Century, the Eliasberg Collection has been off the market for decades. These pieces will be offered at public auction April 18-19 by American Numismatic Rarities of Wolfeboro, NH.

The nucleus of this collection was obtained by the late Mr. Eliasberg in 1942 with his purchase en bloc of the collection assembled by John H. Clapp. While Clapp was a specialist in Latin American gold coins, making this area of the collection particularly extensive, a wide variety of other world gold coins and medals are also included.

“There’s something for everyone in this collection,” stated Kenneth Krah, NGC’s authority on world coinage. “This was a highlight of my career in handling world coins. Nowhere else have so many rarities and coins of such quality resided in one place.”

Among the Asian rarities represented are a 1908 5-won piece grading MS 66, as well as 10-won and 20-won coins dated 1906 and grading MS 66 and MS 65, respectively.

From Australia is included the rare 1852 Adelaide one-pound coin, Krause-Mishler #2, grading an impressive MS-65. This coin is seldom seen in Mint State, and it’s the finest seen by NGC.

European colonial rarities include gem proof examples of the 1895 10-mark and 20-mark coins of German New Guinea. Each piece grades a glittering PF 65.

Among the many European rarities is an undated 50-zecchini piece of Venice coined during the years 1763-78. Described by Krah as “superb for the issue,” this lovely coin is nearly Mint State and was certified as AU 55 by NGC.

The Eliasberg Collection features too many amazing Latin American coins to highlight them all, but the standout rarity is perhaps the 4-escudos piece of Colombia dated 1755NR S. The discovery specimen, this fabulous coin has been certified by NGC as AU 53 and is featured at the American Numismatic Rarities website.

“It was a memorable experience to certify this portion of the famous Eliasberg Collection,” observed Mark Salzberg, NGC Chairman. “World coins are a growing part of the overall coin market, and the Eliasberg Collection is guaranteed to make some new converts.”

The Eliasberg world gold coins are included in NGC’s hardcopy and online editions of its World Census Report. Each Eliasberg coin is listed separately from the general certified population for its respective issue. The hardcopy edition of this book may be ordered from NGC at $25, postpaid. The online version is available free of charge at the NGC website, www.NGCcoin.com.

Speaking on behalf of American Numismatic Rarities, President Chris Karstedt was delighted to be working with NGC on such a significant offering. “Each Eliasberg coin comes with a beautiful Photo Certificate to permanently establish the pedigree on every piece. This was a project that required much research and attention. The expertise and professionalism provided by NGC, as well as their extraordinary customer service, has contributed greatly in bringing this collection to market.”

See these and other coins from these collection on our gallery page.