The swag of a mobster who collected gobs of jewels, rare coins and watches goes to an online auction next month while the one-time owner, Frank Calabrese, Sr., lives out his days in an Illinois prison, convicted of multiple murders. Included in the 250 lots of seized bling are an 8.64 carat loose diamond, and a 1927 St. Gaudens $20 gold piece.Calabrese, 75, was done in by testimony from his son and other members of “The Outfit,“ a Chicago gang originally curated by Al Capone. The auction will be conducted July 10-24, by Gaston&Sheehan. Proceeds go toward a $24 million court ordered restitution. Calabrese’s lawyer described the former loan shark as “a collector.” Last year old bank notes he collected went for $246,000.
Chicago Mobster’s Swag Up For Auction
June 27, 2012
$3.6m Expected For Australia’s First Banknote
May 7, 2013Australia’s first banknote, issued 100 years ago, is expected to realize $3.6m in a private sale at Coinworks in Melbourne. If it does, it will be the highest price ever paid for an Australian coin or banknote. The 10 shilling bill, hand-numbered M000001 and issued May 1, 1913, was discovered 12 years ago among the effects of Judith Denman, daughter of Lord Denman, Australia’s governor-general at the time of the currency’s issue. The historic banknote last sold at auction for $1.9m.
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Over $3m For Rare Nickel
April 26, 2013Few American coins are as rare as the 1913 Liberty Head Nickel that Heritage offered this week in Illinois. Even fewer have as colorful a history. Recovered from a fatal car crash and initially dismissed as a fake, the coin—one of only five known examples– languished in a box for four decades. Only after what Heritage called “a secret midnight meeting in Baltimore in 2003,” did its owners discover its true value. Yesterday they received more substantial confirmation when it sold for $3,172,500.
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Grand Price Expected For $1000 Bill
April 3, 2013There was so much sliver pouring out of Nevada in the 1890s, they printed $1000 and $10,000 bills to soak up the bullion. That ended and the $1000 notes are now so rare, the only one believed still in private hands goes to auction at Heritage later this month for an anticipated $2m.
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Rising Value of Unrestored Cars
By Malcolm Welford, Vintage Car Specialist
