Saed News: A mysterious treasure that had been hidden underground for decades was finally discovered. This treasure, known as the "Traveler's Collection," is one of the most valuable collections ever put up for auction as a whole.
According to Saad News' History Service, a collection of rare gold coins that had been hidden underground for over 50 years has now been discovered, and its value is estimated at over 100 million US dollars. This treasure, known as the "Traveler's Collection," is expected to revolutionize the world of rare coins.
Experts have referred to it as "the most valuable numismatic collection ever to be sold entirely at auction." The story of this treasure is as incredible as the coins themselves.
One of the standout coins is a 50 Toman gold coin, part of a "very rare" collection of Iranian coins that were minted in Tehran and Isfahan in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
A buried secret amid the chaos of war:
After the 1929 Wall Street stock market crash, a European collector, along with his wife, began searching for the rarest and most important historical coins. They traveled through Europe and the Americas, gathering coins with particular attention to history, rarity, and beauty.
Each piece was carefully recorded, and an accurate archive of their growing treasure was created. As the threat of World War II intensified and Nazi forces advanced across Europe, the collector made a fateful decision. To protect this treasure, he placed the coins inside cigarette boxes and aluminum containers and buried them underground. After this action, the treasure vanished from history, and its location remained a mystery for decades.
The discovery of the "Traveler's Collection":
More than 50 years later, the descendants of this collector rediscovered the coins. They first moved the collection to a bank vault and then announced its existence to the public. The Numismatica Ars Classica (NAC) auction house, which is leading the sale of this treasure, plans to begin its auction on May 20, 2025, with a three-year series of auctions. The first auction will focus on British machine-struck coins featuring kings from Charles II to George VI. Many of the coins in this collection have not been seen for over 80 years, and some are even unrecorded in official documents.
Golden masterpieces of unparalleled value:
One of the most prominent coins is a 100 Ducat gold coin, minted in 1629 for Ferdinand III of the Habsburg dynasty, weighing 348.5 grams. Experts have estimated its value at around 1.35 million US dollars. Another notable coin is the 70 Ducat coin of King Sigismund III of Poland, minted in 1621, weighing 243 grams, with an estimated value of about 471,700 US dollars.
Among the items being auctioned, there is a 100 Ducat gold coin belonging to Ferdinand III of the Habsburg family, minted in 1629.
This collection also includes a complete and very rare set of five coins from the reign of Tahmasp, minted in Tehran and Isfahan in the late 18th and early 19th centuries by Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar. Only five complete sets of these coins are known worldwide, one of which is housed at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, UK.
(A 5 Guineas coin from George III, minted in 1777, is valued at around 340,000 dollars.)
A rare glimpse into the passion of a collector:
The "Traveler's Collection" includes coins from over 100 different regions, spanning from ancient civilizations to the modern era. Experts have noted the extensive range, excellent quality, and remarkable preservation of many of the coins. Several of these coins have never been presented at a public auction, which is a testament to their rarity.
Thanks to the detailed archives left by the original collector, researchers were able to trace the origins of many of the coins back to renowned auctions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
David Guest, a collection advisor, said: "When I started cataloging the British coins in the Traveler's Collection, I had to keep pinching myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming!"
