The Savannah River Site Collection of Mexican Balance Scale Gold Anchors Heritage World Coin Auction's June 2004 Long Beach Signature Sale

Dallas, TX: Heritage World Coin Auctions will be offering the amazing SRS Collection of Mexican Balance Scale Gold in its June 3-4, 2004 Long Beach Signature Auction, the Official Auction of the Long Beach Coin Expo. The SRS Collection is a world-class assemblage of one hundred and fifty different pieces of this important gold design type in Mexican numismatic history, dated 1870-1905. The Balance Scale design is found on all denominations from One Peso to Twenty Pesos.

"The collection, started in 1975," explained HWCA Director Warren Tucker, "took two decades of dedicated effort to assemble. It includes many important rarities, and pedigrees from renowned numismatists like Amon Carter and John Jay Pittman. The anonymous collector was drawn by the aesthetically pleasing design, the unique striking characteristics of the series, and the history these numismatic treasures represented. The collector's pursuit of these coins had to overcome the challenge of their uniformly low mintages, encouraging a search that touched many dealers and auctions of necessity."

"The history of Mexico," continued Tucker, "is often astonishing in its scope and complexity, appealing to scholars and collectors far from its shores. Tumultuous centuries passed before General Porfirio Diaz came to rule Mexico for most of the 35 years after 1876. The SRS Collection documents the heart of the Diaz decades, with their economic growth and greater stability - but the concentration of wealth and power by a small minority spawned a new generation of revolutionaries like Zapata and Pancho Villa. Francisco Madero toppled Diaz in 1911 only to be overthrown and murdered in 1913. Tumultuous times before the Constitution of 1917 began to restore order."

"The collector," concluded Tucker, "sought only a few Mexican gold rarities outside of the Balance Scale series, but what incredible coins they are. Lot 13882 is a Gold Hookneck 8 Escudos of 1823 from the Mo-JM mint; the obverse shows the Hand with Liberty cap over book, while the reverse displays the Eagle facing left (Fr-63, KM-382.1). This XF coin is estimated at $11,500 to $12,500. The other rarity is Lot 13908, a Gold 60 Pesos of Oaxaca dated 1916, featuring the head of Juarez facing left on the obverse, and the Liberty Cap over scales reverse (Fr-174, KM-755). This rarity is ex: Stack's sale of the Amon G. Carter, Jr. Family Collection, January, 1984, lot 1501, and is now estimated at $15,000-$17,000. Within the Balance Scale coins are incredible rarities like the Gold 5 Pesos of 1887 Mo-M, KM-412.6; the only previous auction record for this extremely rare coin is Sotheby's 1954 sale of the Palace Collection of King Farouk of Egypt."

Highlights from The Savannah River Site Collection of Mexican Balance Scale Gold

• Lot 13915 Gold 1 Peso 1881/0 Cn-D, KM-410.2, XF.
• Lot 13933 Gold 1 Peso 1894 Go-R, KM-410.3, AU
• Lot 13986 Gold 2-1/2 Pesos 1888 Go/Mo-R, KM-411.3, VF/XF
• Lot 13994 Gold 2-1/2 Pesos 1885 Mo-M, KM-411.5, AU.
• Lot 14003 Gold 5 Pesos 1870 Mo-C, KM-412.6, XF.
• Lot 14004 Gold 5 Pesos 1887 Mo-M, KM-412.6, AU.
• Lot 14005 Gold 5 Pesos 1897 Mo-M, KM-412.6, XF.
• Lot 14009 Gold 10 Pesos 1883 As-L, KM-413, XF.
• Lot 14010 Gold 10 Pesos 1887 As-L, KM-413, XF.
• Lot 14012 Gold 10 Pesos 1887 Cn-M, KM-413.2, BU.
• Lot 14016 Gold 10 Pesos 1882 Do-C, KM-413.3, XF.
• Lot 14018 Gold 10 Pesos 1872 Ga-C, KM-413.4, Choice AU.
• Lot 14019 Gold 10 Pesos 1887 Go-R, KM-413.5, AU.
• Lot 14021 Gold 10 Pesos 1893 Mo-M, KM-413.7, BU.
• Lot 14029 Gold 10 Pesos 1870 Oa-E, KM-413.8, Choice BU.
• Lot 14031 Gold 10 Pesos 1885 Zs-S, KM-413.9, BU.
• Lot 14034 Gold 20 Pesos 1893 Ca-M, KM-414.1, prooflike, Choice AU.
• Lot 14038 Gold 20 Pesos 1872 Do-Pt, KM-414.3, prooflike, Choice AU.
• Lot 14044 Gold 20 Pesos 1877 Go-S, KM-414.4, BU.
• Lot 14045 Gold 20 Pesos 1878 Go-M, KM-414.4, AU.
• Lot 14046 Gold 20 Pesos 1874 Ho-R, KM-414.5, AU.
• Lot 14058 Gold 20 Pesos 1871 Oa-E, KM-414.6, AU.
• Lot 14059 Gold 20 Pesos 1888 Oa-E, KM-414.6, XF.
• Lot 14060 Gold 20 Pesos 1871 Zs-H, KM-414.6, AU prooflike.

Images, descriptions, and prices realized are available at no charge to Heritage Coin members in the Permanent Auction Archives