ZAR: 1898 Paul Kruger Penny - SAMMY MARKS COLLECTION * NGC MS-64 RD *

A ZAR Penny of Paul Kruger dated 1898. Graded MS-64 RD by NGC.

Only 225 1898 Pennies have the 'SAMMY MARKS COLLECTION' attribute on this coin's label. In 1898 Sammy Marks,a Lithuanian-born South African industrialist and financier, purchase a bag containing 240 Pennies (= One Pound Sterling) directly from the ZAR Mint. In a letter he instructed his descendants that the bag was to remain sealed for 100 years. In 2008 the bag was opened and the coins (less 15) were eventually purchased by South Cape Coins, a dealer in Mossel Bay. All the coins were then sent to NGC for grading with the 'SAMMY MARKS COLLECTION' provenance on the label with the proviso that no other coins would ever be similarly labeled.

South Cape Coins then marketed these graded Pennies, suggesting an association with the rare Sammy Marks 1898 gold Tickey. Initially, the coins sold for a huge premium over a regular MS 1898 Penny. However, the numismatic community soon felt that this was unrealistic because the coin itself (unlike the gold Tickey) was very common. Now the attribute commands a relatively modest premium. Another example of caveat emptor.

Note: The label number of all the coins in the Sammy Marks Collection should be of the form 2309449-nnn where nnn ranges from 001 to 225. The coins were graded on 9th October 2008. NGC only guarantees bronze coins for 10 years. Now that the guarantee has expired, some coins may have been sent to NGC for re-grading in which case the label number will be different.