The RLM Collection, which was assembled by Dr. Roberto Monteiro, contained an impressive selection of gold coins, gold ingots, and medals from Brazil.  This collection contained examples of most of the rarest gold coins from Brazil and was one of finest collections of Brazilian gold coins ever assembled.  This made the RLM pedigree very desirable. 

The RLM gold coins were auctioned during the first three of six auctions by Heritage as shown below.  The last three auctions included medals from Brazil.

•    2013 April 18-19 & 22-23 CICF World & Ancient Coins Signature Auction, The RLM Collection (122 items sold), https://coins.ha.com/c/search.zx?saleNo=3024&collection=16 

•    2013 September 25 - 27, 30 & October 1 World and Ancient Coins Signature Auction, The RLM Collection of Brazilian Gold, Part II (242 items sold), https://coins.ha.com/c/search.zx?saleNo=3026&collection=109 

•    2014 January 5 - 6 World & Ancient Coin Signature Auction, The RLM Collection of Brazilian Coins, Part III (110 items sold), https://coins.ha.com/c/search.zx?saleNo=3030&collection=21 

•    2014 August 8 ANA World and Ancient Coins Platinum Night Auction, The RLM Collection Part IV - Medals of Brazil (10 items sold), https://coins.ha.com/c/search.zx?saleNo=3033&collection=62 

•    2014 September 3 - 10 Long Beach Expo World Coins Signature Auction, The RLM Collection Part V - Medals of Brazil (33 items sold), https://coins.ha.com/c/search.zx?saleNo=3035&collection=195 

•    2015 April 9 - 14 CICF World Coins & Ancient Coins Signature Auction, The RLM Collection of Brazilian Medals - Part VI (41 items sold), https://coins.ha.com/c/search.zx?saleNo=3040&collection=68 

I still remember the first RLM auction, which occurred in April 2013.  I had recently started collecting Brazilian coins (I had only purchased one Brazilian coin before this auction took place), and I couldn’t believe all the amazing coins that were being offered.  Since I was just starting to learn about the coins from Brazil, I didn’t realize how rare many of these coins are.  I remember that Heritage had given price estimates for the coins in this auction, and I naively used these estimates to decide my maximum bids.  I had selected a few coins to bid on that had amazing eye appeal and I was looking forward to adding a number of these beauties to my new collection.  As the auction got under way I watched in amazement as I was outbid on every coin that I had selected by a factor of two or more, and the Heritage estimates were also blown out of the water.  The realized prices seemed really high to me.  I guess there were several other collectors that were just as excited, or even more excited about this amazing collection than I was.  I went away from this first RLM auction empty handed, but I thought I had learned a great deal.

For the second RLM auction in September 2013 I once again selected several coins that I wanted and this time I chose higher prices for my maximum bids.  However, I guess I hadn’t learned as much from the previous auction as I thought I had because once again I ended up losing all the lots to much higher bids.  At this point I was really frustrated.  I was starting to second guess my decision to start collecting coins from Brazil.

For the third RLM auction in January 2014 I was determined to buy something, but I was once again outbid on all the RLM coins I had selected.  So, I was three for three and struck out on getting any RLM coins from the initial Heritage auctions.  However, I was able to pick up a very nice 1723-R 4000 Reis in NGC 65, which was being auctioned along with the RLM coins.  It amazes me that you can find a 300-year-old coin in such an excellent state of preservation.

At the time of the RLM auctions I was very frustrated that I had struck out and was out-bid on all the coins I bid on.  However, since the last RLM auction ended in January 2014 I have been able to purchase 10 really nice coins with the RLM pedigree in other auctions when the original buyers decided to resell these coins.  

The first five RLM pedigreed coins that I purchased after the original Heritage RLM auctions are shown in the pictures above.  The data for these coins are shown below, including the dates when I purchased the coins as well as the change in the price that I paid for the coin compared to what the coin sold for in the original RLM auction.  Other interesting information is also included.
•    Brazil, 1699-R 4000 Reis, gold, NGC 55, NGC census (21 total, 6 in, 6 better)
     o    I purchased it in March 2014 from a dealer for 25% more than the original price.
     o    All the other RLM pedigree coins that I show were purchased from future Heritage auctions.
•    Brazil, 1728-R 1600 Reis, gold, NGC VF details, NGC details census (3 total, 2 in, 1 better), plus 2 graded VF
     o    I purchased it in January 2015 for 27% less than the original price.
     o    It was in a new holder without the RLM pedigree listed on the holder.  So, it must have been “cracked out” and resubmitted to NGC, where it received the same grade as before.
     o    The current NGC census shows 2 coins in VF details, but It’s likely that this number double-counts the RLM coin.
•    Brazil, 1778(L) 1000 Reis, gold, NGC 64, NGC census (5 total, 2 in, 0 better), purchased in September 2015. 
     o    I can’t find this coin in the original RLM auctions, but the slab does list the RLM pedigree.
•    Brazil, 1733-M 1600 Reis, gold, NGC VF details, NGC details census (2 total, 2 in, 0 better), plus 1 graded VF and 1 graded MS 64
     o    I purchased it in January 2016 for 15% less than the original price.
•    Brazil, 1725-M 400 Reis, gold, NGC AU details, NGC details census (5 total, 2 in, 0 better), plus 1 graded VF and 1 graded AU 50
     o    I purchased it in August 2016 for 53% less than the original price.

In the next post I will provide pictures and data for 5 more RLM coins I purchased and give some observations about the Brazilian rare coin market.