DALLAS, TX.- Private collections, including one of the finest troves of Latin American Crowns ever assembled, will produce many of the top offerings at Heritage's ANA World & Ancient Coins Platinum Session and Signature� Auction Sept. 1-5.

The Grundy Collection of Latin American and Spanish Coins includes nearly 200 lots, many of which are among the top-graded coins from numerous countries throughout Central and South America, prioritizing historical importance, rarity, provenance and condition. The collection is extraordinary — a focused, scholarly collection of the type that advanced Latin American numismatics collectors value most. Latin American coinage spans more than four centuries of production at colonial and independent republic mints that emerged in the 19th century.

"Historically, our Platinum Session and Signature Auctions held alongside the ANA World's Fair of Money offer some of the greatest rarities in Latin American numismatics, and this year is no exception," says Kyle Johnson, Managing Director of World & Ancient Coins at Heritage Auctions. "This auction includes three exceptional collections that will produce just some of the treasures to be found in this event."

Among the top offerings from the Grundy Collection, and the auction overall, is a Philip V "Milled" 8 Reales 1732 Mo-F MS61 NGC. With its iconic Pillars of Hercules design, the milled Spanish Dollar was the foremost coin of its time, seeing use across the globe in both commerce and daily exchange. The 1732 date is the first in the series and recognized as the king of the type. A royal decree of 1728 had authorized the striking of circular coins in the Spanish realm, but it was not until March 29, 1732, following the mintage of milled portrait-style 8 Escudos, that the first "Pillar" 8 Reales were struck at Mexico City. As they gained popularity, minting quickly extended throughout the Spanish colonies, and they circulated widely in the Americas and the young United States.

From the same collection comes a Republic "Volcano" Peso 1824 SANTIAGO-I MS64 NGC, an outstanding Chilean rarity that virtually never reaches the collecting market and is made even more impressive by an undeniably advanced eye appeal and state of preservation. This auction will be the first time Heritage is offering the 1824 date, and it marks the first time it has reached a major auction in nearly three decades. Interest is projected to soar, in part because of limited auction appearances and the fact that it is even more scarce than the famed 1828 Coquimbo Peso.

A third highlight from the Grundy Collection is a Charles III 8 Reales 1778 So-DA AU55 NGC that is a behemoth in Chilean numismatics, and for all Spanish colonial issues. Santiago-minted portrait issues already are notoriously scarce, but those bearing the 1778 date are largely unknown, receiving the coveted "RRR" rating by Calico, with few or perhaps just one extant.

Another collection featured in the auction is the Vila Rica Collection of Brazilian Gold Coins, Part II. Among the 232 lots in this magnificent assemblage — Part I reached the auction block in April in Heritage's CSNS World & Ancient Coins Platinum Session and Signature� Auction — is a Joao VI gold Ingot of Mato Grosso 1818 AU, a substantial survivor that is remarkable for both its weight and historical significance, and which is among the few remaining examples of a once-abundant form of wealth. The overwhelming majority of Brazilian gold bars were melted as newly mined bullion flowed into the mints during the country's prolific gold production. The few Mato Grosso bars that reach the market every few years generally contain around an ounce of gold, or roughly 33 grams, but this mammoth piece sits at just over 4 ounces. Among just 20 surviving Mato Grosso bars cataloged by Prober, 13 are in museum collections across Brazil and Portugal and three were stolen from the National Historic Museum of Brazil in the infamous 1939 heist (and are believed to have been melted down by the thieves), leaving only four possibly in private hands. The example offered in this auction is the first offered at Heritage and the only one to reach the auction block in years.





Also from the Vila Rica Collection is one of just two known surviving examples of a Jose I gold 1600 Reis 1752-B VF Details (Excessive Clipping) PCGS. Livro das Moedas do Brasil indicates that the 1772-B 1600 Reis, like the 1758, 1759 and 1760 Bahia 3200 Reis, is unique; after those, this is the only unpriced piece across all Jose I issues, with a simple "RRR" in the catalog and "2 known" in notation.

A third Vila Rica offering is a Maria I & Pedro III gold 1600 Reis 1780-B MS64 NGC, a magnificent offering from the first year of the issue. The example offered in this auction boasts astonishing quality for this key date in the series, and unquestionably is the finest known. It is incredibly rare to locate these minute issues in Mint State, especially in this grade.

Also in play is a Frederik III gold 10 Ducats (Portugaloser) ND (1668-1669) MS63★ NGC, a coin of epic proportions, emanating flashes of light from the semi-reflective surfaces that play host to lightly frosted, intricately engraved devices. Without any discernable weakness of strike or wear to the devices, the star designation is well warranted. Only one other example of the type, which resides in the National Museum of Denmark, is known.

The auction includes an exceedingly rare treasure from Transylvania: a Georg Rakoczi gold Restrike 20 Ducat 1631-Dated MS63 NGC. It likely was struck in the 19th century, but the hefty planchet comes across as strikingly beautiful as the exacting details survive largely uninterrupted by handling or wear. A wonderful pedigree trail speaks to the quality of this coin, which stands among the most awe-inspiring and monumental gold emissions of its period.

A Charles III 8 Reales 1760/59 NR-JV AU58 PCGS is another from the Nuevo Reino Mint, one of just two known examples and the only one in private hands (the other is institutionally held in the ANS). Specialists have known that the mint struck Pillar Dollars in 1760, but little is known about the quantity, although it is assumed based on the number of known specimens that the count remains minuscule. Despite the limited production, the 1760/59 emission stands as the only known overdate from the Colombian 8 Reales series. Based on rarity alone, this would make for a significant capstone in an advanced Pillar Dollar cabinet, but the head-turning beauty of the piece might warrant a premium bid to take home this sole PCGS specimen.

A James I gold Spur Ryal ND (1606-1607) AU55 NGC is a legendary rarity from the coveted Stuart gold series. It is a historically significant type that captures the emergence of English naval power, wonderfully expressed in the man-of-war, as well as the complexities of domestic politics, incorporated into the lions passant and crowned lis. This type rarely appears on the market, and the offered example has survived without the plugged holes, jewelry mounts and planchet cracks that plague many others.

Serious collectors of Russian coinage will be drawn to a Nicholas II gold Proof 25 Roubles (2-1/2 Imperials) 1896 PR61 NGC that can be traced to a mintage of just 300 coins that were struck to celebrate the coronation of Czar Nicholas II, although undoubtedly far fewer survive today. This exceptional example is something of an outlier for the large-format type that usually comes to market impaired, making problem-free examples like the one offered in this auction especially desirable.

Ancient Coins

Some of the top ancient coins in the auction come from The Randy & Nancy Best Collection, which includes more than 100 lots and is focused on Greek and Roman coins with exceptional eye appeal, including a SICILY. Syracuse. Dionysius I (405-370 BC). AR decadrachm. NGC AU 4/5 - 3/5, Fine Style, light marks. Under Tyrant Dionysius I (406-367 BC), Syracuse had become the wealthiest and most powerful city-state in the Greek world, and introduced the most extravagant coins yet seen: the stunning series of signed silver decadrachms. These huge, impressive coins were struck to pay the Greek mercenaries who flooded Sicily to fight the expanding power of Carthage. The magnificent decadrachms of the master engraver Euainetos have become a paradigm for classical beauty in the 24 centuries since their creation.

Also from the Best Collection is a MACEDONIAN KINGDOM. Philip II (359-336 BC). AV stater. NGC Choice MS★ 5/5 - 5/5, Fine Style. While the types of this gold stater issue of Colophon conform to the norm for Philip II (359-336 BC), the magnificent obverse die of this late posthumous issue bears a portrait of "Apollo" that is quite distinctive and clearly depicts a real person. Comparison with the coins of Lysimachus and surviving portrait sculpture leaves no doubt the image represents Alexander III the Great himself. The issue seems to have been intended to legitimize the patchwork Macedonian regime put together by Alexander's generals after his death in Babylon under the figurehead rulers Philip III Arrhidaeus, Alexander's half-brother, and the infant Alexander IV, his posthumously born son.

One of the most incredible coins in the entire auction includes a Best Collection masterpiece: a Constantine I the Great (AD 307/310-337). AV solidus. NGC Choice AU★ 5/5 - 4/5. The reign of Constantine I, whose accomplishments include the founding of Constantinople, marks a key turning point from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages. In AD 309, he replaced the aureus with the solidus, which remained the standard gold coin in the late Roman and Byzantine Empires until it was replaced by the histamenon nomisma more than 600 years later.

The collection is exceptional, but is not the source of all of the auction's elite ancient coins. Among the highlights is a SICILY. Syracuse. Dionysius I (406/5-367 BC). AR decadrachm. NGC AU★ 5/5 - 5/5, Fine Style. Also in play is a MACEDONIAN KINGDOM. Alexander III the Great (336-323 BC). AV distater. NGC Choice AU★ 5/5 - 5/5, Fine Style. At the beginning of Alexander III the Great's reign in 336 BC, the Macedonian Kingdom was reportedly in debt to the tune of 500 silver talents (a talent being 6,000 silver drachms and a "king's ransom" in earliest Greek times). At Susa alone, Alexander seized 50,000 talents of silver and 40,000 of gold. This huge intake of bullion resulted in hitherto unseen denominations such as the gold distater, tariffed at two staters and 10 silver tetradrachms, about 20 days' wages for a Macedonian soldier during wartime. The distater likely was used to pay veteran soldiers, who were rewarded for their labors with the equivalent of a silver talent. With the new denomination, a talent could be paid out as 120 gold distaters.

"This auction is a fertile source for the most serious of Roman gold collectors," says Zach Beasley, Heritage's Director of Ancient Coins. "This auction includes the most Roman gold medallions we have ever offered in a single event."

Other top lots include, but are not limited to:

• A Maximian, First Reign (AD 286-310), as Senior Augustus. AV medallion of 2-1/2 aurei. AU

• A Constantine I the Great, as Augustus (AD 307-337), with Constantine II and Constantius II, as Caesars. AV medallion of 1-1/2 solidi. NGC AU 5/5 - 2/5, scuffs, marks

• A Magnentius (AD 350-353). AV medallion of 3-solidi. NGC AU★ 5/5 - 4/5, Fine Style