US$100 million coin collection, buried for decades, up for auction

A 50 Toman coin, which forms part of an "exceedingly rare" set of Tomans minted in Tehran and Isfahan in the late 18th and early 19th century. Courtesy Flint Culture via CNN Newsource

A vast coin collection, much of which was buried underground for more than 50 years, is expected to fetch in excess of US$100 million at auction, according to experts.

The Traveller Collection, thought to be the most expensive coin collection to ever come to auction, will be sold off over the next three years - with the first sale taking place on May 20.

Whatever the outcome, it is the origin story of this valuable set of coins that is so remarkable.

It features coins from more than 100 territories around the globe, ranging in age from ancient times to the modern era. But what makes the lot, set to be auctioned by Numismatica Ars Classica, even more extraordinary is the fact that the majority of the coins were buried underground for half a century.

According to a press release about the sale sent to CNN, the original collector - who has not been identified - first began buying gold coins after the Wall Street Crash of 1929. He soon developed “a taste for coins with great historical interest, beauty and rarity” and eventually had in his possession around 15,000 coins.

The man and his wife spent the 1930s travelling extensively through the Americas and Europe, picking up rare and historically significant coins as they went - while also compiling a detailed archive of their purchases.

The pair eventually settled in Europe, despite the dark shadow that Hitler’s Nazi party was casting over the continent. The collector must have felt the imminent threat, however, as the coins were packed carefully into cigar boxes that were then transferred into aluminum boxes and buried underground - where they remained for five decades.

“The collection spans all geographical areas and contains exceptionally rare coins often in a state of preservation never seen in modern times. Several types have never been offered in a public auction, highlighting their considerable rarity,” the press release says.

When they were finally retrieved by the collector’s heirs, the coins were stored in a bank vault and later presented to the auction house for sale. Unfortunately, no further details have been made available about the hiding or discovery of the coins, due to the family’s request for privacy.

The collector’s detailed records made it easier for the team at the auction house to research the provenance and value of the coins, some of which could be traced back to auctions of some of the greatest collections of late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Among the highlights is a 100 ducat gold coin of Ferdinand III of Habsburg, which was minted in 1629 when he was Archduke of Austria, King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, the release says. Made up of 348.5 grams of fine gold, it is one of the largest denominations of European gold coins ever minted.

Also featured is an “exceedingly rare” set of five Tomans, minted in Tehran and Isfahan in the late 18th and early 19th century by Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar. Only five complete such sets are known, one of which is in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, in the United Kingdom.

Arturo Russo, director of Numismatica Ars Classica, said in the release: “The vast range and superb quality of the coins offered, the sheer number of great rarities and the fascinating story of the collection’s formation will make these sales a landmark in the history of numismatics.”

David Guest, director of David Guest Numismatics and consultant to the collection, said in the release: “When it came to cataloguing the British coins from the Traveller Collection I had to keep pinching myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

“Not only was the quality exceptional but many of the coins before me were of types not known to have been offered for sale in over 80 years and, in some cases, completely unrecorded.”