A brief introduction to the sale and a few thoughts about the overall market

Greek coinage represents the beginning of this means of exchange with beauty and style as yet unmatched after 2600 years of minting money. The Greek section in this catalog is largely one collection. It has been a rare privilege and a joy to handle a collection that emphasizes the finest aspects of this art?style, condition, significance. We enjoyed helping build this collection the first time, and have found particularly satisfying the opportunity to handle these coins one more time.

Thousands of ancient coins can be viewed on the internet. Strong prices, strong interest, an active market?all this becomes more clear when you have electronic access to sales and catalogs from all over the world. Something else also comes clear?fine style coins with a strong aesthetic appeal and in high grades of preservation are few and far between. Such special coins command strong prices and have been leading the dramatic increase in coin prices.

The state of the economy has dominated headlines in the United States recently. A falling stock market, failing banks, savings interest rates below 2%, the $ reaching a new low against the euro, the £ continuing its 2:1 rate against the dollar, gold in the $950 range?there is plenty of material for economic punditry. What does it mean for the coin market? How does one explain the record prices achieved at auctions such as the Millenium Sale in Los Angeles in May?

Collectibles often thrive when the economy otherwise is poor. People see it as a place to put money. In times of uncertainty, tangible goods appeal on a gut level as more secure. The thinking also seems to be "If I can't make money on my money, at least I can invest it in something I will enjoy." That helps explain some of the record prices reported in the press generally about auction results for modern paintings. There are too few great paintings from earlier periods to satisfy the demand, so modern paintings, even from living artists, are commanding multi-million dollar auction prices.

I attended the Michael Tallent sale of hammered crowns in Chicago in April. I bought back pieces I had sold him within the past five years for prices that ranged up to four times what he had paid me. Why? There is a dearth of quality material in the market and collectors and dealers alike increasingly realize that quality material is the best investment, particularly if one is going to spend heavily.

This catalog features some exceptional coins, tokens and medals. It also has some lesser material that is interesting and worthwhile but not in the forefront of quality and rarity. For the person with a strict investment goal, only the finest will do. For the individual who appreciates history and art and can also see the merit of a piece that served the purpose for which it was intended?day-to-day use and trade?coins of lesser condition have their own appeal. Prices for this material are significantly less than for "the best" and the satisfaction for a collector comes at an economy price.

The catalog opens with some special and some interesting gold coins. The ancient Greek section speaks for itself, with some non pareil examples. The Roman section is modest but interesting. Some special British coins follow.

Jim Wahl's token collection represents a long collecting effort. Many of his tokens are little gems with complex designs and the biting satire of Thomas Spence in an era when the United States of America was a just-getting-launched new idea. The rarity designations in Dalton and Hamer, the standard reference, are conservative. Jim has records of all the examples offered over roughly the past two decades, and few were seen in the marketplace more than a few times.

The medal section is brief but two of the pieces are spectacular, the Marie antoinette copper and the British India silver piece. We sold both of these before and they came back with the Greek collection. They are in exceptional condition and are masterpieces of medallic fine art.

The book section includes Jim Wahl's token books and a few from another collector whose books we purchased earlier this year. There is an original Dalton and Hamer. I seem to recall that only about 275 complete sets of the different chapters were published, but lacking the exact number, I did not include the information in the catalog text. I have the Farnell set of D&H in my own library but I was strongly tempted to keep this set as well because of the freshness of the pages. Books are a particularly satisfying adjunct to coins and tokens?not only do they provide background information, you can take them off your shelf and spend an evening with them. (And they do not have to be locked away in safe deposit boxes.)

Completion of a catalog has a feeling similar to completing a doctoral dissertation. Term papers are usually read only by a course instructor. Dissertations are reviewed by a committee and maybe by many of one's colleagues in the field. Auction catalogs involve research, presentation and supportable opinion and then go out to knowledgeable collectors and colleagues. I hope you enjoy the result. Thank you for your interest.

Allan Davisson, Ph.D.