San Francisco-based Foundation supporting environmental sustainability, animal rights and the arts, launches on the heels of an auction of nearly 600 Gold Rush-era coins
Auction event to be held on Thursday, March 20, at the Bently Reserve in San Francisco
SAN FRANCSICO, CA. (March 11, 2014) – Nearly 600 coins from The Collection of Donald E. Bently, the late founder, owner and CEO of Bently Nevada Corporation, will be sold Thursday, March 20, with lot viewings taking place March 16-20, at the Bently Reserve, in a special single owner catalog by Heritage Auctions. Proceeds from the auction will benefit Bently Foundation, which launched this month and was founded by Donald’s son, Christopher Bently, CEO of Bently Enterprises and Bently Holdings. Christopher established Bently Foundation as a means to support the communities served by his suite of companies, believing that with corporate success comes the responsibility to engage with the community and inspire positive change. The San Francisco auction is one among several taking place across the country, and is expected to raise more than $7.5 million for the Foundation, based on information provided by Heritage Auctions. Throughout the live auction, bids will be taken from the floor, phone and Heritage Live on HA.com.
“My father taught me to be forward thinking and to have vision,” said Christopher. “Bently Foundation will be 100% dedicated to nurturing and improving our world, fostering support for organizations, individuals and ideas that align with our core values of cultivating the arts, advancing environmental sustainability and aiding animal welfare. All proceeds from the coin auction will go directly to the Bently Foundation.”
Donald Bently was an engineering pioneer whose technology created the foundation of the new Mechanical Engineering discipline of the Diagnostics of Machinery Malfunctions. He instilled values of innovation, sustainability and community engagement into his son Christopher, who will ensure the coins’ profits are used toward community initiatives.
“Christopher Bently is selling this father’s coin collection to build a new legacy of creativity, sustainability, and animal rights in Bay Area and Nevada communities through Bently Foundation,” said Greg Rohan, President of Heritage Auctions. “Don had a particularly nuanced focus on California Gold Rush, Old West, San Francisco Mint and the Carson City Mint coinage.”
The roster of 19th century rarities in the auction is led by a stunning 1830 Templeton Reid quarter eagle, AU55, an exceedingly important find from the first private gold coiner in Georgia. “This historic piece is a relic from the dawn of the American gold rush,” said Rohan, “which took place not in California, but near the Appalachian Trail.” The pre-sale estimate for the 1830 Templeton Reid quarter eagle is $200,000+.
Other highlights of the coin collection include an 1841 Liberty quarter eagle, PR53, which is a favorite 19th century curiosity among collectors, although one with a controversial history. Dubbed the “Little Princess,” the coin does not appear in the 1841 Mint Report, yet experts believe it exists in both proof and business strike examples, with fewer than 20 pieces known. The pre-sale estimate for “Little Princess” is $100,000+.
An 1854-S Liberty quarter eagle, the Discovery Coin for the type, is one of only 12 remaining of 236 pieces struck, while an 1863-S quarter eagle, XF45, NGC, survives as a scarce coin from a limited mintage of only 30 pieces, of which perhaps 12 to 15 examples survive. This rare coin has a pre-sale estimate of $100,000+.
The collection’s highly-cultivated selection of gold coins is reflected in the 1870-CC twenty dollar, AU53, PCGS, the 1864-S ten dollar, AU53, NGC, and the elusive 1920-S twenty dollar, MS60, NGC, which escaped an eternity as a gold bar deep within Fort Knox, a fate that befell all but an estimated 75 examples. These and many more coins exemplify Donald’s wisdom and passion in his pursuit.
For more information about Bently Foundation, please visit www.bentlyfoundation.org. For more information about Heritage Auctions and The Collection of Donald E. Bently, please visit www.ha.com.
About Bently Foundation
Bently Foundation, established by Bay Area entrepreneur Christopher Bently, is an ecologically responsible nonprofit supporting organizations and individuals in the areas of the environment, animal rights, and the arts, based in the communities served by Bently Enterprises. The Foundation, in regards to the environment, aims to educate and motivate sustainable initiatives in the present without compromising the resources of future generations. For the arts, inspiration comes from the Bay Area art scene. The goal is to help incubate, curate, and preserve projects of worth. Giving voice to animals, as they cannot speak for themselves, the Foundation’s goal is to help create compassion and empathy through their support of animal welfare organizations.
About Heritage Auctions
Heritage Auctions is the largest auction house founded in the United States and the world’s third largest, with annual sales of more than $900 million, and 850,000+ online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and receive access to a complete record of prices realized, with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit HA.com or contact Noah Fleisher, Heritage Auctions Public Relations Director, at NoahF@HA.com; 214-409-1143.
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Media contacts: Heidi Pettit, Nicole Kraft, Erica Bureau or Brittany Welby at Glodow Nead Communications, BentlyPR@glodownead.com; 415 394-6500
