730 Lots Estimated at 6M Euros – Künker’s Berlin Auction Sales

On 2 February 2023, Künker will hold its traditional Berlin auction sale during the World Money Fair. One cannot help but look forward to this sale as the wealth of rarities and unique pieces will most likely attract coin collectors as well as dealers from all over the world to gather at the auction venue. The 730 lots – divided into two auction catalogs – have a total estimate of 6 million euros. The total result might be even higher – especially regarding the 100 rarities from the Salton Collection, which are on offer in auction catalog 379. After all, the lots are estimated rather modestly.

If you’re thinking now that all of this is way off your price range, you’re wrong. In these high-class auction sales, several special collections and runs are on offer. At this point, we will only mention the Widegren Collection with Swedish coins and the second part of the Liska Collection. As is typical for collections, they contain both extremely rare and common pieces. Therefore, estimates start at 100 euros. In general, if you love gold coins you should take a close look at auction 380. You will find a rich selection.

And since after the auction is before the auction, we already want to draw your attention to the next sale. The Dr. Eberhard Werther Collection will probably be sold on 7 February 2023 as an eLive Premium Auction.

Catalog 379: The Salton Collection – 100 Rarities of European Minted History

By now, probably anyone who’s interested in coins is familiar with the name Salton. That’s how young Max Schlessinger called himself after he had escaped the terror of the Holocaust and found a new home in the United States of America. It is an incredible sign of reconciliation that his widow Lottie Salton, also a victim of the persecution of Jews, decided to have their collection sold in Germany and the USA. Künker is highly honored by her trust. It was a matter close to the heart of the management to thoroughly investigate the fate of the Hamburger-Schlessinger coin dealer dynasty, whose last coin dealing descendant was Max Schlessinger aka Mark Salton, and to publish the story in a comprehensive brochure. Subject to availability, this publication can be obtained free of charge from Künker’s customer service.

For their Berlin Auction, Künker selected exactly 100 rarities from the extensive collection. These are exclusively extremely rare pieces, characterized by both excellent quality and provenance. After all, most of the coins were part of the Salton Collection for more than half a century. Let’s not talk too much and let the pictures of the coins speak for themselves.

We want to emphasize that it’s also possible to acquire rarities from this collection that are not as expensive. We picked out some particularly beautiful pieces with estimates of less than 3,000 euros.

Catalog 380: Coins and Medals from Medieval and Modern Times, Including Issues of the Kingdom of Sweden – the Stefan Widegren Collection – as well as Gold Coins from Czechoslovakia from the Dr. Pavel Liska Collection

One doesn’t even know where to begin when highlighting the most remarkable pieces of auction 380. It seems like every other piece would be suitable to be depicted in this preview.

Geographically speaking, the selection ranges from Albania to Zurich, in terms of time from the Stauffer Emperor Frederick I to the 1990s. The lightest coin has a weight of 0.87 g, the heaviest of 14.60 kilos. In other words: it really is an auction of superlatives with rarities of a kind that only enter the market on rare occasions.

An outstanding highlight is the Stefan Widegren Collection of Swedish coins. Among other items, it contains the first Swedish gold coin, a 1568 gold gulden minted by Eric XIV in Stockholm. Another highlight is the double rosenoble of half a portugaleser issued on behalf of John III around 1585/6. What’s indisputably the most spectacular piece of this collection is the copper plate of 8 talers, created in 1659 in Avesta. After all, this piece is the second largest historical coin in the world. The Widegren Collection is complemented by further spectacular coins from Sweden from other estates.

Collectors of Czechoslovak coins can look forward to another part of the Liska Collection with numerous spectacularly rare pieces of exquisite quality. At this point, we will limit our preview to No. 477, of which only 56 specimens were minted. NGC graded the piece MS68.

Magnificent individual pieces and attractive runs – this is what auction 380 is characterized by. The wealth of rarities cannot be done justice in this preview in the slightest, therefore we limit ourselves to lots with estimates in the six-digit range and the only order of this auction sale.

As we don’t want to create the false illusion that this auction wouldn’t be of interest to “normal” collectors, we follow these items by some attractive coins with estimates of less than 500 euros.

To order a catalog contact Künker, Nobbenburger Straße 4a, 49076 Osnabrück; phone: +49 541 / 962020; fax: +49 541 / 9620222; or via e-mail.

View all lots in the auction catalog.

For more information, please visit the Künker website.