Karamitsos Offers Two Extremely Rare NGC-certified Greek Essai Coins

Two exceptionally rare essai rarities are among hundreds of coins certified by Numismatic Guaranty Company® (NGC®) and hundreds of banknotes certified by Paper Money Guaranty® (PMG®) available in an upcoming A. Karamitsos auction. Bidding is already underway for the Postal & Live Internet Auction 724 (Part A) and Postal & Live Internet Auction 724 (Part B), which are scheduled for December 9-10, 2023.

The top lot in the auction is a pair of Greek coins with a starting price of €90,000 (about $96,300). They are a Greece 1915 Silver Essai Drachma graded NGC PF 64 and a Greece 1915 Silver Essai 2 Drachmai graded NGC PF 63 (lot 06093). The coins were struck during Constantine I's first reign of Greece from 1913 to 1917, when his attempts to keep Greece neutral in World War I led to a national schism and, eventually, his exile. He returned to the throne from 1920 to 1922 but was forced to abdicate again.

Click images to enlarge.

The top banknote in the sale is another Greek rarity: a Greece, Bank of Greece ND 1871-86 25 Drachmai Specimen graded PMG 55 About Uncirculated (lot 06372), with a starting price of €17,000 (about $18,200). The obverse of the note features a small portrait of a vital figure of the Greek War of Independence and the first governor of the National Bank of Greece, Georgios Stavros, at the top left. The top center includes another portrait of two women, who personify Agriculture and Handicraft. There are six examples in the PMG Population Report, with only two graded higher than this particular note.

Click images to enlarge.

Other NGC-certified coins in this auction include:

• a Greece 1869 Copper Essai 5 Lepta graded NGC PF 68 BN (lot 06067), with a starting price of €5,000 (about $5,400)
• a Greece 1869 Copper Essai 10 Lepta graded NGC PF 67 BN Cameo (lot 06068), with a starting price of €5,000 (about $5,400)
• a Greece 1869 Copper Essai 2 Lepta graded NGC PF 66 BN Cameo (lot 06066), with a starting price of €4,500 (about $4,800)
• a Greece 1869 Copper Essai Lepton graded NGC PF 66 BN (lot 06064), with a starting price of €4,000 (about $4,300)
• a Greece 1846 Half Drachma graded NGC AU 58 (lot 06049), with a starting price of €4,000 (about $4,300)
• a Romania 1922 Gold 50 Lei – Ferdinand I Coronation graded NGC MS 61 (lot 06912), with a starting price of €4,000 (about $4,300)
• a Greece 1912 Nickel Essai 10 Lepta – Without Privy Marks graded NGC PF 65+ (lot 06091), with a starting price of €3,900 (about $4,200)
• a Great Britain 1937 5 Sovereign graded NGC PF 62+ Cameo (lot 06871), with a starting price of €3,800 (about $4,100)
• a Greece 1921H 50 Lepta graded NGC MS 64+ (lot 06094), with a starting price of €3,000 (about $3,200)
• an Ionian Islands 1821 Lepton graded NGC XF 45 BN (lot 06331), with a starting price of €2,800 (about $3,000)

Other PMG-certified notes in this auction include:

• a Greece, National Bank ND (1870-82) 100 Drachmai Specimen graded PMG 30 Very Fine (lot 06373), with a starting price of €14,000 (about $15,000)
• a Greece, Bank of Greece / Regional World War II 1944 500,000,000 Drachmai graded PMG 30 Very Fine (lot 06588), with a starting price of €5,000 (about $5,400)
• a Greece, National Bank 1897 5 Drachmai graded PMG 55 About Uncirculated (lot 06376), with a starting price of €4,500 (about $4,800)
• an Italy / Dodecanese Islands 1944 50 Lire graded PMG 55 About Uncirculated (lot 06621), with a starting price of €4,500 (about $4,800)
• a Greece, Bank of Greece 1944 2,000,000 Drachmai graded PMG 40 Extremely Fine (lot 06581), with a starting price of €4,000 (about $4,300)
• a Greece, National Bank 1926 5,000 Drachmai Specimen graded PMG 67 Superb Gem Uncirculated EPQ (lot 06408), with a starting price of €3,800 (about $4,100)
• a Greece, Bank of Greece 1900 10 Drachmai graded PMG 20 Very Fine (lot 06377), with a starting price of €3,500 (about $4,300)
• a Greece, Bank of Greece 1956 1,000 Drachmai graded PMG 68 Superb Gem Uncirculated EPQ (lot 06529), with a starting price of €2,850 (about $3,000)
• a Greece, Bank of Greece ND (1946) 20,000 Drachmai graded PMG 63 Choice Uncirculated (lot 06503), with a starting price of €2,500 (about $2,700)
• an Italy / Dodecanese Islands 1943 500 Lire graded PMG 15 Choice Fine (lot 06620), with a starting price of €2,500 (about $2,700)

Starting prices are provided by the auction house. The $ symbol represents US Dollars.