STACK’S BOWERS AND PONTERIO’S APRIL 2015 HONG KONG AUCTION

Stack’s Bowers and Ponterio’s April 2015 Hong Kong auction will entice bidders with a total of 2,077 lots of Chinese and Asian coins and banknotes from ancient to modern times, in four live Showcase sessions and two internet-only sessions.

Session A commencing at 10:00 a.m. Hong Kong time on Monday, March 30, 2015 (7 p.m. PT Sunday, March 29), begins with non-Chinese Asian coins. Important highlights such as lot 10013, a 4-piece proof set of Burma dated 1852, will turn heads, as will lot 10040, an 1865 Pattern Hong Kong Dollar. A rare 1945-I 10 Cent of Malaya, graded EF-45 by PCGS appears as lot 10108, and an incredibly rare Gold 2 Baht of Thailand, nd (1864) will cause a stir when lot 10124 is sold. Following the World Coins is a selection of Ancient Chinese coins and Sycee. A very rare and important gold medal commemorating the establishment of the Fuzhou Arsenal, circa 1874 (quite large and impressive at 51.81 mm, 90.07 grams) will be the centerpiece of the next cabinet it graces and is the start of a selection of Chinese medals, orders, and decorations.

Among the many highlights from the W&B Capital Foundation consignment is lot 10197, an extremely rare 1900 Peking Mint Pattern Dollar, certified by NGC as MS-63. A very rare and popular “Reverse Dragon” Pattern Dollar of 1911, graded MS-63 (NGC), is a coin missing from many important cabinets of Chinese rarities, and will likely see fierce and spirited bidding before finding its new owner. What is often referred to as “the first Dragon Dollar of China,” the circa 1889 7 Mace 3 Candareens piece of Kwangtung, will appear as lot 10242. Kwangtung was the first provincial mint to utilize modern coinage equipment, contracted from the Heaton Mint in Birmingham, England. These 7 and 3 silver dollars were struck with a higher silver content than the Mexican 8 reales then in circulation in order to drive them out. When this was done, the standard was reduced to the 7 mace and 2 candareens content that became standard. This first “Dragon Dollar” is also historically important as the earliest Chinese dollar to feature the dragon motif that became the standard as well.

Concluding Session A are the General Issues of the Imperial and Republican Governments. Lot 10257 features one of the most important of Chinese “milled” or machine produced coinage, an Imperial Pattern Tael struck at the Tientsin Mint in the 29th year of Hu Poo (1903). This specimen is of the utmost rarity and is tied for the finest certified by PCGS at Specimen-63. Another important Imperial era pattern, lot 10304, is a lovely Specimen 1911 50 Cent in silver; this piece was donated to the American Numismatic Society (New York) in 1937, and is a duplicate from their vast collection. Republican issues are highlighted by lot 10433 a Gem Prooflike Small Characters Dragon and Peacock Dollar, graded NGC MS-65 PL; lot 10437 a silver Pattern “Mausoleum” Dollar graded AU-55 (NGC); and lot 10438, a very rare Specimen Italian pattern Sun Yat-Sen Junk Dollar, signed by A. Motti and graded by PCGS as Specimen-63.

7 Mace 2 Candareens (Dollar) Pattern, CD (1900).

Kwangtung. 7 Mace 3 Candareens (Dollar), ND (1889).

Pattern Tael, Year 29 (1903). Tientsin Mint.

Reversed Dragon Pattern Dollar (Type II), Year 3 (1911). Tientsin Mint.

Reversed Dragon Pattern Dollar (Type II), Year 3 (1911).

Kiangnan. 3 Mace 6 Candareens (50 Cents), CD (1900).

Fuzhou (Foochow). Imperial Gold Award Medal

PROVINCIAL BANKS. Ili Official Currency Bureau. 2000 Cash, Yr. 1 (1909).

Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. 500 Dollars, 1.1.1901.

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web