The June 22, 2008 Champion Galleries sale in Hong Kong will contain many rare and interesting Chinese coins and bank notes, according to Champion Galleries President, Michael Chou. The sale will be held at the Holiday Inn Golden Mile in Kowloon, the site of major numismatic auctions and the Hong Kong Coin Show for more than 25 years. Bilingual catalogs, in both Chinese and English, may be reserved by contacting the company at the addresses at the end of this review.

Leading the list of rarities in this sale is the 1867 Shanghai Tael pattern stuck at the Hong Kong Mint (Kann 911a), from the Wayte Raymond Collection, certified Proof-64 by PCGS and NGC, and estimated to bring US $100,000 or more (all prices in this review are in U.S. dollars). Though inscribed with both Shanghai and Hong Kong, this coin was not intended for circulation in either place, but was to be a national coinage for use throughout China. Hong Kong in this case was simply a mintmark, and Shanghai indicated that it was struck to the standard of the Shanghai tael.

Another major rarity, certified by NGC as Specimen-64, is the 1903 Hupoo Tael (Kann 927). The dies for this coin, which features a unique type of dragon, were engraved in Japan, most likely at the Osaka Mint, but the coin itself was struck in Tientsin. This beautiful coin is expected to sell for $70.000. Estimated at the same level, is a 1907 Peiyang Tael (Kann 938a), which previously appeared in the 1991 sale of the Goodman Collection. Struck at the Tientsin Mint using the same Japanese style dragon as on the Hupoo coin, this piece is rated MS-62 by NGC.

From Kiangnan (the Nanking Mint) there is an undated Dragon Dollar struck in 1897, similar to Kann 66, but with a plain edge and struck in copper. Kann does not list this coin with a plain edge, though such exists in silver, and he does not list any copper strikings of the 1897 dollars. The plain edge 1897 dollars are listed in both silver and copper in H. Chang’s 1981 catalog, “Silver Dollars and Taels of China.” This copper pattern dollar is expected to bring $50,000.

Also in the sale are a Kiangnan 1897 Dollars with ornamented or security edges (Kann 66a ), NGC graded MS63 , and 1897 50, 10 cent and 5 cent coins NGC rated Proof-67 (Kann 69 and 70). From about the same time period, the sale includes an extremely rare, possibly unique, Chekiang Dragon Dollar struck in copper. Kann dates this series to 1902 (Kann 119-I), but the coins were really made in 1898 or 1899. This coin is inscribed CHE-KIANG PROVINCE (instead of Cheh-Kiang) and depicts what has been called a “drunken dragon” – a design only used on this set of patterns, which were never struck for circulation. The copper striking, however, is unlisted in the Kann catalog, and the example offered in this sale is certified by NGC as MS63. This copper striking, which first appeared in a Pacific Coast Auction in Hong Kong in September 1989, and now returns nearly 20 years later, is expected to bring $30,000 to $60,000.

Still another star of this sale is the Hunan Province Dragon Half Dollar in Proof. This coin and the matching Dragon Dollar are not listed in Kann and were unknown until the first dollar appeared in a 1975 Paramount auction. The first half dollar turned up two years later in a NASCA sale. There are now believed to be about six examples of the half dollar in existence. Both dollar and the half dollar were actually struck at the Heaton Mint in Birmingham, England as samples for the Changsha Mint, which Heaton had supplied with some minting equipment, but not apparently with dies. The dollar and half dollar were never struck for circulation. The Proof example offered in the Champion sale is expected to sell for $50,000 to $80,000.

Two spectacular pattern coins from the Tientsin Mint include the 1906 Gold Tael (Kann 1540) NGC graded MS63, expected to bring $70,000 or more, and a 1911 Long Whiskers Dragon Dollar with standard reverse (Kann 223b), NGC certified Proof-63, estimated at $40,000.

Five outstanding coins from Republican China round out that section of the sale. These include two Shantung Province Gold Coins, the 1926 $20 and $10 patterns (Kann 1535 and 1536), which feature on the obverse the dragon and phoenix design used on the 1923 silver dollar. Little is known of these extremely rare pattern coins, which were probably struck at the Tientsin Mint, where other coins with the dragon and phoenix design were produced during the 1920’s. The two coins offered here are rated MS64 and MS65 by NGC and are expected to realize around $100,000. Another pair of rarely seen coins in this sale are the 1936 Small Size Silver Dollar and Half Dollar with Sun Yat Sen portrait on the obverse and a sailing junk on the reverse (Kann 634 and 635). These exceedingly rare and much underrated coins, certified by NGC as MS63 and MS65 (the half dollar was formerly in the Goodman Collection), could bring as much as $20,000 each.

Finally there is a 1919 Yuan Shih-kai Dollar (Kann 665 type), which at first glance looks like the common coin of this date, but this is an extremely rare pattern striking done at the Heaton Mint, probably in 1949. In that year, China switched from its Gold Yuan Currency system to the Silver Yuan Currency, and was in desperate need of silver dollars as a reserve for this paper currency. Apparently the Heaton Mint made this piece as a sample in a bid to obtain a contract from China to produce millions of such coins. The United States won the contract, possibly by agreeing to ship the coins by air instead of by sea. All three U.S. mints struck 1934 dated Sun Yat Sen Junk Dollars for China in 1949, as well as large numbers of 1898 dated Mexican pesos. The Heaton Yuan Shih-Kai Dollar remained only a very rare trial strike. The piece in the Champion Hong Kong Auction is certified as Specimen-65 by NGC and is expected to sell for over $20,000.

A collection of over 100 Chinese notes will also be offered in the sale. Among these are a 1950 Peoples Republic of China 10,000 Yuan Camel note and a 1953 PRC 10 Yuan note. The latter note is the highest denomination issued in the series, and is rare because it was printed in the Soviet Union, and after China and Russia had a falling out around 1960, China feared the Russians might mass produce the notes in an attempt to destroy its economy. Other notes in the sale include many specimens and color trials of various notes.

The coinage of Hong Kong is also represented in this sale by more than 60 lots. Highlights include a 1905 Gem BU 10 Cent coin, expected to bring $5,000 to $10,000, and the extremely rare 1941 One Cent coin.

The lots in the sale may be viewed at the Long Beach coin show, May 29-31; at the Baltimore coin show June 5-7; in Taipei June 11-12; in Shanghai June 14-15; and in Hong Kong June 20-22.

Catalogs for this Champion Galleries Hong Kong Auction are $30 postpaid in the USA or $50 postpaid elsewhere in the world. Lots may also be viewed online at the Champion website, www.cghka.com, or through Ebay Live (beginning about May 22nd). Prices Realized for Champion’s previous sales can also be found on the website. A catalog of the sale may be reserved by writing to: Champion Galleries Hong Kong Auctions, Room 907 Silvercord Tower 2, 30 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. Telephone: (852) 2150-5744; Fax: (852) 3007-4311. For more information or to discuss consigning items to future auctions, contact Champion President, Michael Chou, at mhlchou@yahoo.com or at championghka@gmail.com.

Related posts:

1. Upcoming Champion Hong Kong Auction Offers Chinese Numismatic Rarities
2. Highlights of the upcoming Champion Hong Kong Auction April 1, 2009
3. CHAMPION HONG KONG AUCTION SETS STRING OF RECORD PRICES
4. Champion Hong Kong Auction to Feature Tibet’s First Gold Coin
5. Wa She Wong Collection of Chinese and Other Asian Coins Tops $10.7 Million at Hong Kong Auction
6. 1854 Chinese 1000 Cash Coin Breaks Record at Champion Auction
7. Baldwin plans 47th Hong Kong Coin Auction
8. Baldwins 48th Hong Kong Coin Auction Results
9. Rare Hong Kong proof set for sale
10. Ponterio & Associates to Auction the Wa She Wong Collection of Chinese and other Asian Coins