11498

1939 New York World's Fair Five-Ounce Platinum

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1939 New York World's Fair Five-Ounce Platinum
<table><tr><td><table><tr><td>1939 New York World's Fair Five-Ounce Platinum Medal PR62 Cleaned. 58.5 mm. We have not been able to locate any information on this particular medal. Even though it is connected to the World's Fair it lacks the trylon and perisphere seen on traditional medals associated with the fair. Plainly laid out, the only decorative devices are a sliver of the moon that intersects with the central circle on the obverse (?), and on the reverse (?) there are six stars, each with the abbreviation from the periodic table of six strategic metals: Pt, Pd, Ir, Rh, Ru, and Os. The other legends tell part of the story but are certainly not celebratory. What we are calling the obverse has: BAKER & CO. INC. / NEWARK, N.J. U.S.A. / REFINERS AND WORKERS OF PLATINUM, GOLD, SILVER. The center of that side has PLATINUM / TROY WT. / FIVE OZS / 999 FINE. The circle in the center states ENGELHARD INDUSTRIES. What we are calling the reverse has peripheral legends that read: WORLD'S LARGEST DEALERS IN PLATINUM METALS / PLATINUM FROM THE MINES OF CANADA. In the center of that side below the six stars is: BAKER PLATINUM NEWARK / NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR 1939. This would have been a very expensive memento from the World's Fair, and we doubt many were made. Furthermore, how many, if any, could be extant today? To further add to the mystery of this piece, it was consigned to us from Europe. <BR><BR><B>Important notice:</B> Heritage usually auctions material at the rate of 200-250 lots per hour. On some occasions eBay Live bid software or the Internet may not be able to keep up with the pace of the auction. We recommend placing a realistic absentee bid now as insurance to avoid disappointment. Occasionally the auctioneer may eliminate or reject an eBay Live bid, and the auctioneer may also reopen a lot after the close of the eBay live bidding (usually because we missed an audience bid), and may reject your bid even if it shows you as the winning bidder. By bidding via eBay Live, you agree that Heritage may award the lot to another bidder at its sole discretion under the circumstances described above or any other reasonable circumstances. Since eBay bids are not shown to us until we open the lot on the floor, we treat those bids just like floor bids. In most cases the floor responds before the eBay bid is presented to us, due to Internet lag time, so for consistency we have made it a policy that floor bids are always considered first over tie eBay live bids. Also please note that all Heritage lots purchased through eBay Live carry a 20% Buyer's Premium. Please make sure you read the Terms and Conditions before you bid. <BR><BR><B>IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT RESERVES:</B> Heritage now divulges all reserves on its web site 7 days before every auction. If you want to know whether the reserve on this lot has been met, and if not, what the reserve amount is, please visit this lot page on the HeritageCoin.com web site, or email: bid@HeritageGalleries.com </span></font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table>