NGC is proud to have been selected exclusively to certify the Millennia Collection in its entirety. This gallery presents just a small sampling of the variety and extraordinary rarities that are included. The collection will be auctioned in Beverly Hills, California on May 24-28, 2008 by Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles. Many predictions suggest that when the Millennia Collection sells, it will become the most valuable collection of world coins ever sold.

Selected examples from the collection formed the raison d’etre for Whitman’s recent award winning Money of the World: Coins That Made History, a gorgeous, full-color coffee table book co-edited by Ira and Larry Goldberg. The National Literary Guild awarded “Best World Coin Book” for 2007. This book presents coins as objects of purpose and importance, as well as having a fascinating history attached to them. The entire Millennia Collection far exceeds the hundred or so coins presented within this book, however; it is with nearly a century’s worth of cumulative collecting effort and skill that this astonishing array of over a thousand numismatic treasures have come to light.

The goal of the Millennia Collection was to demonstrate the organic nature of money and the circumstances that shape it. Each coin collected had to meet a certain criteria:

1. It must have been struck for commerce
2. It had to capture the beauty and the art of its period
3. Only the largest circulating size or denomination of a coin would be collected
4. It must be of superb quality, not just “finest known” or “finest available.”
5. Above all, the coin had to have a story to tell

The endeavor was an aggressive five-year collaboration between the Goldbergs and their customer. Of the experience, they relate “For us, this was both a dream come true and an unparalleled adventure. There is nothing more invigorating than competing in the international arena for that special prize. In finding and collecting these treasures, we experienced the pride of true collectors… for this, we thank our special client, who encouraged us to carry out this important project.”

View the highlights gallery