Coin Collecting News » Hong Kong

Wa She Wong Collection of Chinese and Other Asian Coins Tops $10.7 Million at Hong Kong Auction

Bowers and Merena — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 17:27:10 +0000

Exclusive NGC-graded sale marks most important array of Chinese coinage offered at auction in 20 years

Over 300 anxious bidders filled the live auction floor for the highly anticipated sale of the Wa She Wong Collection and other Asian Coins on Dec. 3-4. The Hong Kong auction, presented by Ponterio & Associates, a division of Bowers and Merena Auctions, featured 1,107 lots with total sales reaching $10.7 million.

“A collection of Chinese coinage of this magnitude has not come to market in over 20 years and it surely did not disappoint,” said Rick Ponterio, executive vice president of Bowers and Merena. “We saw such spirited bidding, the sale of the first 487 lots took an astounding 11 hours with many of the lots selling for multiple times their estimated value.”

Drawing worldwide attention, the collection is a compilation of Wa She Wong’s lifelong passion for collecting which contained multiple rarities missing from major exhibits including many scarce pattern coins that were never released into general circulation. Headlining the collection, the 1890 Kwantung Mint Specimen Set, lot 220, began with an estimated value of $300,000 and realized a staggering $718,750. The set represents a landmark in Chinese minting as the first silver coinage produced with modern machinery.

Another important coin was the extremely rare “Flying Dragon” Szechuan 30 Cash Struck in Copper, lot 311. Opening at $12,500, lively bidding quickly brought the coin to a final selling price of $460,000. “The buyer had been searching for this rarity, one of only two known in private hands, for more than 30 years. The two other examples known to exist are housed in public museum collections,” said Ponterio.

All major rarities in the collection were certified by the Numismatic Guarantee Corporation (NGC), a market leader in grading Chinese coins, and pedigreed as “Wa She Wong Collection” on individual holders. Additional highlights of the Wa She Wong Collection include:

Lot 3, 1920 “Yuan Shi Kai” Dollar Struck in Gold, MS-64 (NGC), realized $138,000

Lot 27, 1911 “Long-Whisker” Dragon Pattern Dollar Struck in Silver, MS-65 (NGC), realized $431,250 (Ex: Kann Collection)

Lot 130, 1844 Changchow Military Rotation Dollar, AU-50 (NGC), realized $103,500

Lot 139, 1909 Honan Pattern 20 Cash Struck in Copper, AU-55 BN (NGC), realized $126,500

Lot 147, 1930 Hunan Pattern 500 Cash Struck in Copper, MS-63 BN (NGC), realized $103,500

Lot 162, 1897 Kiangnan Dollar, Plain Edge, Proof-66 Cameo (NGC), realized $373,750

Lot 172, 1899 Kiangnan 50 cents, AU Details (NGC), realized $172,500 (Ex: Kann Collection)

Lot 219, 1888 Kwantung Mint Specimen Set, Seven Three Reverse Pattern, K-16/20 (NGC), realized $546,250

Lot 234, 1898 Shensi Mint Specimen Set, K-156/159 (50¢, 20¢, 10¢, 5¢), realized $258,750

Lot 340, 1935 Shensi Soviet Dollar, Large Hammer & Sickle, XF Details (NGC), realized $92,000

Lot 475, 1921 British Trade Dollar, AU-55 (NGC), realized $43,700

In day two of the sale, Asian coins and paper money also performed very well. A standout coin in these sessions was lot 1123, a 1929 Austrian Pattern “Sun Yat Sen” Dollar, MS-61 (NGC), which realized $207,000. This rarity was discovered as part of the Richard Platch Estate, an engraver at the Vienna Mint that was responsible for several important Chinese patterns. Additional highlights from day two of the sale include:

Lot 1039, 1897 Kiangnan Dollar, Ornamental Edge, MS-62 (NGC), realized $103,500

Lot 1195, 1912 Shandong Gaobianbao 50 Tael, High-Sided Sycee Ingot, Choice Very Fine, realized $86,250

Lot 2138, Banque De L’Indo-Chine 5 Piastres Specimen, Gem Uncirculated 66 EPQ (PMG), realized $57,500

Additional material from the Wa She Wong Collection will be offered at Ponterio & Associates’ next Hong Kong sale in August 2011 and the company is currently accepting consignments of Chinese and other Asian coins and paper money.

The Wa She Wong sale wraps-up an outstanding week of auctions in Hong Kong for Spectrum Group International. Spectrum Wine Auctions’ sale on Dec. 5 realized $4.4 million – the highest since the company formed a year ago, and John Bull Stamp Auctions hosted its largest sale ever Nov. 25-28 with $3.5 million in total sales.

Bowers and Merena’s next auction is the January 2011 Tampa Bay Rarities Sale which is scheduled for Jan. 4, immediately preceding the FUN Show in Florida. The sale will feature Part II of the impressive Malibu Collection. Ponterio & Associates’ next auction is the January N.Y.I.N.C. Auction scheduled for Jan. 7-8 in New York.

For a complete list of auction highlights and prices realized, visit the firm’s web site at www.bowerandmerena.com or call 800-458-4646.

For more information about Bowers and Merena and Ponterio & Associates, or to consign to an upcoming auction, call 800-458-4646. For media inquiries, ask for Director of Operations, Brian Kendrella. Complete prices realized for all past auctions are available at www.bowersandmerena.com.

Champion Hong Kong Auction to Feature Tibet’s First Gold Coin

Champion Galleries — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:22:02 +0000

Tibet’s first gold coin has a very unique trait: it weighs 6.53g. While this legendary gold coin shares the same weight as the Chinese Kuping 1 Mace, it is not a common weight for Tibet. An absolute rarity, only six silver examples from the same dies have been found and, as of today, there are no known Tibetan gold coins struck to the same standard. For this reason, many believe it was struck for presentation purposes.

On August 23 this extremely rare gold coin, rated AU with an estimated price range US $30,000 – 60,000, will be one the Champion Auction 11 headliners at the Hyatt Regency Hotel Ballroom I, 18 Hanoi Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong.

It is well known that during the 17-18 centuries, no coins were struck in Tibet, but Nepalese coins circulated widely in the urban areas. On several occasions, the Tibetan authorities, rather than strike silver coins of their own, sent bullion to Nepal and received Nepalese coins in exchange. The exchange was made on a weight for weight basis, but as the Nepalese coins were only between 50% and 67% fine, the Nepalese were able to make significant profit.

In about 1750AD, the situation changed when Prithvi Narayan, the king of Gorkha, started to besiege the Kathmandu Valley. He closed the pages, and stopped any trading between the Newar kingdoms of the Valley and the outside world, including Tibet. As a result, the supply of coins in Tibet stagnated, but the demand did not stop increasing. Seeking to stem a potential economic crisis, the Tibetan authorities, for the first time, started striking their own coins.

Chinese reports from the time claim that the Demo Regent issued the first Tibetan struck coins in 1763 or 1764, and again in 1785 AD when the Dailai Lama issued coins, before a more regular coinage began in 1791 AD. It had been widely held that all Tibetan coins from this period were silver, in varying degrees of fineness. However, we now have tangible proof of a rare gold coin struck from uncommon dies.

The diameter of the gold coin is measured at 28mm with the previously noted weight of 6.53g, A. Lissanevitsch Collection. The obverse legend, “Sri Mangalam”, means auspicious, lucky or fortunate in Sanskrit and may have a similar significance to the Eight Lucky Signs (Asta Mangalam in Sanskrit) which appear on so many later Tibetan coin. The legends were designed four compartments arranged in a cross. The reverse legend, “dGa-ldan phyod-las rnam-par rgyal-ba” is Sanskrit for completely victorious in all directions, designed with eight petals around a wheel. The dGa-ldan palace, located in the Drepung monastery near Lhasa, was the traditional residence of the Dalai Lama. The mention of “dGa-ldan” leads many to believe that this coin was struck by the 8th Dalai Lama around 1785.

This first gold coin was struck with the same dies as one of the rarest Tibetan silver coins of the time, also called silver tankas. There are only six examples of the silver ‘Sri Mangalam’ tankas that struck from two obverse dies and four reverse dies. While these silver tankas are extremely rare today, they were most likely produced in significant numbers at the time. Compared to the Nepalese coins that still circulated in Tibet, the silver tankas had a very high silver content, which resulted in most specimens being melted. Of the six tankas, Coin No. 4 has the word ‘rnam’ on the reverse, written with the nasal diacritical anusvara rather than the letter ‘ma’. It is very unusual to see a Tibetan word rather than the more common Sanskrit. This error in calligraphy may have resulted in the No. 4 die being rejected and destroyed before it could wear out through natural use.

What is particularly interesting about this earliest Tibetan gold coin is that is weighs 6.53g, compared with the silver coins, which all weigh about 5.3g. No other coin of Tibet was struck to this standard, and it is not a well-known weight standard of the region. However, this is the weight referred to by a few authors as a Tibetan Miscal, which is variously stated to be 50% more than the normal Miscal, or one and a sixth ‘Mahendra-malli’. In fact, as can be seen from the weights of the actual coin, the ratio is not exactly 7/6. However, we must consider that in Tibet, since most silver bullion was imported from China in the form of silver ingots, the most common weight standard for silver was the Chinese Treasury Ounce, or Kuping Tael, called a Srang in Tibet, which was theoretically equal to 6 2/3 ‘Mahendra-malli’. Hence, using the theoretical ‘Mahendra-malli’ as the base, and taking the Kuping Tael to be approximately 37.3g,the Tibetan gold Miscal should weigh 6.53g, the exact weight of this gold coin.

While almost all coins struck in Tibet during the next century were silver, a gold Sino-Tibetan coin struck in the 58th year of the Qian Long Emperor has been found in Lhasa. Reports list the coin as part of the Norbu Lingka Palace collection. Unfortunately, we are unable to secure a good photograph of this piece or to take its weight.

Champion Auction is delighted to invite intrigued numismatists to Champion Auction 11 to see proof of a one-of-a-kind, extremely rare Tibetan coin struck in gold.

Baldwins 48th Hong Kong Coin Auction Results

Baldwins — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:29:44 +0000

The 48th Hong Kong Coin Auction is taking place a little earlier than usual this year, in-line with the Hong Kong International Coin Convention and Antique Watch Fair. As usual the sale will be held at the Holiday Inn Golden Mile, Kowloon, Hong Kong, at 10.00am on the 25 th February, and will feature two sessions (868 lots in total) of predominantly Asian coins and banknotes.

The auction opens with lot 1, a Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) 1-Kuan banknote. The Baldwin’s – Ma Tak Wo auction group sold a similar piece in their last sale for a record breaking US$19,000 and, although this note isn’t in as good condition, they are hopeful that this piece will attract as much attention.

The banknote section continues to show promise with lot 39 a 1908 Hio Lung Kiang Government Bank, Branch Office $5 note in extremely fine condition and leads into an extensive selection of Indian banknotes, the most unique and desirable being lot 227 the 1000 Rupees, first issue note of Hyderabad.

Following the success of the Chinese medals and orders section of the last sale the Hong Kong sale this year offers a smaller but equally as interesting selection. The highlight of the orders is lot 560 – The Order of the Stripped Tiger, First Class Set.

Founded in 1912 by President Yuan Shih-Kai as an award of merit to Chinese Navel and Military Forces, the award cam in nine classes and is no longer awarded. The class is indicated by the number of stars appearing above the tiger’s head and also by the size of the badge itself. Three stars denotes a first class award, two a second class award and one for third class. Lot 560 holds three stars and is in extremely fine condition and estimated at US$12,000 – 15,000.

A nice selection of Portuguese-Indian coinage appears in the World Coins section of the auction and includes 22 coins of high grade and rarity. Lot 799 a 1653 João IV (1640-56): Gold 2-Tangas is the stand out piece. Lots 641 and 783, a 1941 George VI (1936-52): Proof 1-Cent and an 1858 Netherlands East Indies: Gold Proof striking of the copper 2½-Cents, are also worthy of note. The Thai coin section is strong with an extremely rare Rama V gold pattern set (lot 720) shining out above all others, some porcelain gaming counters sit aside the coins as interesting lots and the coin selection is complimented by an extensive group of Thai medals.

For more information about any of the other lots in the sale please contact Seth Freeman on +44 (0)20 79309808 or at seth@baldwin.co.uk

Sale Highlights

Lot 1 Ming Dynasty (1368-1644): 1-Kuan, issued by Emperor Hong Wu, made of mulberry paper, 220mm x 335mm (P AA10). Slightly ragged left margin and usual internal thinning, otherwise fine. Estimate: US$3,000-4,000

Lot 39 Hio Lung Kiang Government Bank, Branch Office: $5, Year 34 (1908) (Pick and S/M unlisted). Extremely fine and rare. Estimate: US$2,500-3,000 Hyder Nawaz Jung, printed by Waterlow & Sons Ltd, London (Jhun 12.1; P S267). Usual pinholes to left and in top left corner, paper strong, extremely fine, highly desirable and rare. Estimate: US$2,000-2,500

Lot 560 Order of the Striped Tiger , First Class Set of Insignia, comprising sash badge and breast star in silver-gilt and enamels, both stamped “7 X II” and ” ??? ” on the reverse, badge 78mm, star 97mm. Extremely fine and rare. Estimate: US$12,000-15,000

Lot 641 George VI (1936-52): Proof 1-Cent, 1941 (KM 24). One of the greatest rarities of the Hong Kong series, in PGCS holder graded PR64RB. Estimate: US$18,000-22,000

Lot 720 Rama V: Gold Pattern Set, RS127 (1908), 1-Satang, 5-Satangs and 10-Satangs, Obv legend, Rev chakra, weights 3.90g, 5.78g and 7.98g, diamter 17.4mm, 19.9mm and 22.5mm (S 183, 187, 190; KM Pn50, 51, 52). Brilliant uncirculated with light red tone, in NGC holders graded MS64, MS63 and MS64 respectively, extremely rare. (3pcs) Estimate: US$40,000-50,000

Lot 783 Netherlands East Indies: Gold Proof striking of the copper 2½-Cents, 1858, Obv arms and date, Rev inscription in Malay and Jawi (Scholten 773, stated to be unique, ex Stephanik sale, lot 6894). Brilliant mint state. Estimate: US$500-700

Lot 799 João IV (1640-56): Gold 2-Tangas, 1653, Chaul E Baçaim mint (Gom 19.01; KM 3). Good very fine or better for this crude issue, very rare. Estimate: US$1,000-1,500

*
The Hong Kong Coin Auction is held twice annually in conjunction with the Hong Kong International Coin
Convention and Antique Watch Fair and always over the three days after the auction. It is organised by Ma
Tak Wo Numismatic Co. Ltd and A.H. Baldwin & Sons Ltd and details of how to book an exhibition table or
get tickets for the show can be obtained from either of the partners.
*
A.H. Baldwin & Sons have been holding auctions in Singapore and Hong Kong with local partners since 1993
and this will be the 32 nd
auction they have held together.
*
Baldwin’s auction department hold between ten and twelve sales annually in London, New York and Hong
Kong and specialise in all areas of Numismatics.

Auction Partners
Ma Tak Wo Numismatic Co Ltd
Unit A2, 9 th
Floor, China Insurance Building, 48 Cameron Road
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel: (++852) 2316 2926
Fax: (++852) 2316 7526

A. H. Baldwin & Sons Ltd
11 Adelphi Terrace, London WC2N 6BJ, United Kingdom
Tel: (++44) (0) 20 7930 9808, Fax: (++44) (0) 20 7930 9450
Email: auctions@baldwin.co.uk
Website: www.baldwin.co.uk