In the frame of the XXXIII National Numismatic Week, the AUREO & Calico auction was held on March 11, 2010, in Barcelona, Spain. As accustomed by this auction house, the sale was divided in three sections: Mail Sale, Floor Sale and a Monographic Sale. In addition to the regular Selection Sale of the Monographic section, a special sale of the Caballero de las Yndias Cuba and Costa Rica Collection was included in a separate section, owing to the consignor’s preference to highlight this part of his collection and give it due importance. The Caballero de las Yndias Collection is one of the most important collections of Spanish and Colonial coins, considered by many among the finest collections ever assembled, and as prestigious as other well known collections such as the Eliasberg and John J. Ford Collections.

Interestingly, the Cuban and Costa Rican coins, which were conspicuously missing from the previous Caballero de las Yndias America and the Philippines Sale held on April 8, 2009, were all included in this sale. The emotional attachment of Caballero to the Cuban and Costa Rican pieces explains why a special sale was organized for just these 54 lots. Although the coins from Costa Rica comprised most the auction catalog (52 out 54 lots), the highlight of the sale were the two Cuban lots, described as:

Lot 2253: 1915. 1, 2, 4, 5, 10 y 20 pesos. (Fr. 1 y 3 a 7) (Kr. 16 a 21) (C.C. 2253) (Subasta Eliasberg, nº 1712, un conjunto similar realizó 126500$). Lote de 6 monedas, serie completa. Bellísimas. Pleno brillo original. Extremely rare. A similar set realized $126.500 plus commission during the Eliasberg sale, 2005. The set presented here forms a perfect match. All of the 6 specimens share deep proof fields and frosted devices under an even and rich orange patina. Scattered hairlines, visible only under magnification, are evidence of mininum handling. Gem proof. Rarísimas así. Proof. Est. 150.000.

Lot 2254. 1916. 1, 2, 4, 5, 10 y 20 pesos. (Fr. 2 a 7) (Kr. 16 a 21) (C.C. 2254). Lote de 6 monedas, serie completa. Bellísimas. Acuñación Proof. Extremely rare. This set shares with the previous one the magnificent deep mirror fields, frosted devices and beautiful patina with, again, minimun hairlines as if both were one and the same. However, this set is of a higher rarity. The reported mintages for the 1 peso is 100 pieces. For the 2 pesos only 8 specimens were struck. For the 4 pesos 90 pieces. Of the 5 pesos and 10 pesos very few pieces are known and of the 20 pesos only, 10 were reported minted but fewer are known to exist. This is the only complete 1916 set that we are aware of. Gem Proof. ¿Único set conocido en esta conservación?. Proof. Est. 200.000.

Lot 2253 opened at €75,000 (USD $103,226) and realized €80,000 (USD $110,095), well below the estimate, whereas Lot 2254 opened at €90,000 (USD $123,850) and seems to have been sold at the same price (€90,000), also below the estimated price. These two sets, rarely seen together, include some of the rarest pieces in Cuban numismatics; particularly the 1916 Proof set that includes the very rare 2 Pesos and 20 Pesos pieces, with mintage of 8 and 10 pieces, respectively. The hammer price for both lots was surprisingly low by all estimates, which makes one wonder if it wasn’t the right time and/or place to sell these sets. Below, you can see unpublished images of these two magnificient lots.

A number of other Cuban coins were sold in the Floor and Mail Sales, including: 1898 Peso, 1937 Peso, a few 1897 Souvenir Pesos of both the Close Date and Wide Date varieties, as well as First Republic silver coins, all sold at prices more in tune with the current market. However, the highlight of the sale was Lot 429 of the Special Selection Sale:

Lot 0429. Cuba. 1870. PCT. 1 peso. (Kr. Pn5). Acuñación Proof. Pátina acerada. Bella. Rarísima. EBC. Est. 5.000.

This rare piece opened at €3,000 (USD $4,132) and sold for a whooping €18,000 (USD $24,793), shattering the estimate of €5,000 (USD $6,887). In our opinion, the 1870 series has historically been underrated, and it is great to see it for once receive the special attention that it should based on its rarity.

The AUREO & Calico Sale featured some of the rarest and nicest Cuban coins of any auctions in recent years, and it may be a while before we witness a similar offering. We’d love to hear your opinion. Please post your comments below.

1915 Gold Proof Set

1916 Gold Proof Set

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We want to make buying of Cuban coins easier for all of our customers. We thank those of you who have given us your suggestions on how to improve our store. We listened, and we are launching three new programs to facilitate your purchases:

Layaway Program: We are happy to offer a 60 day no interest layaway plan. The minimum order amount is $150, with a 33% (one third) down payment of the total amount due when placing the order. The balance is to be paid in full within the next 60 days. Orders will be shipped once full payment is received. This program is free and is intended to lock the price and provide flexibility with payment. There is a 10% restocking fee on all returned or canceled layaways. (Example: Buy one $150 coin today, pay $50 now and the remaining balance of $100 within 60 days, in as many payments as you wish. Your coin will be shipped after we receive your last payment, no exceptions).

Upgrade, Buyback Program: We are also now offering a Lifetime Upgrade Policy on Certified Coins. If you are upgrading a coin you purchased from us, we will apply the price of the original purchase towards your upgrade and you only pay the difference. To qualify, both coins must be directly purchased from us through CoinsofCuba.com (sorry, no eBay purchases), the upgraded coin must be in its original holder and must be returned to us in satisfactory condition. Again, we only offer this program for certified coins. Please contact us for further information and to confirm that your upgrade qualifies. (Example: You bought a 1916 20 centavos in an NGC MS61 holder six months ago for $100 at CoinsofCuba.com. We are now offering another 1916 20 centavos, this one in a PCGS MS63 holder, for $250 that you like. Just let us know that you are interested, place your order for the MS63 coin, send us the MS61 coin and a payment for $150 and the MS63 is yours. We’ll gladly buy back the MS61 at the same price of your original purchase).

Make-an-Offer Program: We are gradually phasing in a new plan by which you will be allowed to make an offer on selected coins in our inventory at CoinsofCuba.com. Of course, you’ll be able to buy from our store at list price at anytime, but you’ll now have the added ability to make an offer on selected coins. We reserve the right to accept or decline any offers, or to make a counteroffer as deemed appropriate. As new coins are added to our store we will always give our customers an initial opportunity to buy at list price. At our discretion, we will start to accept offers on selected coins, which will be appropriately identified in the website. We encourage our customers to use the online system that is being implemented rather than submitting offers by email.

Also, we have done quite a lot of buying in the last few weeks. Over the next week we will continue to update our inventory. Once we finish, we will send you an email with highlights of our purchases and other news. If you have any questions, suggestions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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