IRVINE, Calif. – Bowers and Merena Auctions, America's leading rare coin auction house, will hold their Chicago Rarities Sale on Tuesday, April 15, 2008, at the Sofitel Chicago O'Hare Hotel in Rosemont, Ill. Among the more than 1,000 lots to cross the block is the only 1932-D Washington Quarter graded MS-66 by PCGS, as well as one of the most impressive selections of Buffalo Nickels to be offered in recent years.

The 1932-D Washington Quarter (lot 322), Population 1/0 at PCGS, is part of the No. 1 ranked “Marquette-Yakima” Registry Set of Washington Quarters 1932-1964, an extraordinary collection that contains a multitude of quality PCGS-certified Washington Quarters, including some Population 1/0. The set boasts an impressive unsurpassable score of 65,302, and the complete collection will be auctioned in individual lots in Bowers and Merena’s Chicago Rarities Sale.

The Marquette-Yakima Collection features additional top-of-the-pop rarities that are sure to see significant competition among Registry Set collectors when they appear at auction on April 15. These highlights include:

“The entire ‘Marquette-Yakima Collection’ is exceptional, but this 1932-D Washington Quarter is truly the best there is, the finest known and an absolutely superb example,” said Steve Deeds, president of Bowers and Merena. “It last sold in 2001, before Registry Sets popularized the collection of the finest examples. I can’t remember the last time I have seen a coin of such magnitude and Bowers and Merena is proud to showcase it as the centerpiece of our Chicago Rarities Sale in April.”

The Chicago Rarities Sale offers an exclusive catalog of just over 1,000 of the most extraordinary rarities available for auction, including an exceptional selection of Buffalo Nickels highlighted by lot 197, a 1916 Buffalo Nickel FS-016 Doubled Die Obverse AU-55 (PCGS) CAC. Also, two additional collections of note will be offered: The Brenda Collection, which is comprised solely of coinage related to the Lower Appalachian, California and Colorado gold rushes of the 19th century; and The Reed A. Nelson, M.D. Collection, Part I.

Bowers and Merena Auctions was founded in 1983 and has grown to become the world’s preeminent numismatic auctioneer with more than half a billion dollars in rare coin and currency sales. Bowers and Merena has handled four of the five most valuable United States coin collections ever sold, including the Louis E. Eliasberg Sr. Collection, the Harry W. Bass Jr. Collection, the Garrett Collection for The Johns Hopkins University, and the Norweb Collection.

For more information about Bowers and Merena and the Chicago Rarities Sale on Tuesday, April 15, call 800.458.4646. For media inquiries, ask for President Steve Deeds. Complete prices realized for all past auctions are available at www.bowersandmerena.com.

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