Upcoming Events: The August 2012 Hong Kong Auction

By Todd McKenna, Numismatist

The summer is here and with it the Stack’s Bowers & Ponterio August 2012 Hong Kong Auction. More than 2,200 lots will be presented across three beautiful catalogs and four days (Aug. 19-22) at the Mira Hong Kong. Within this auction collectors and buyers of all types will find fantastic rarities of Chinese coinage as well as rare and high grade offerings from all around Asia in coinage and paper money. In recent months we have highlighted some of these pieces in our Coin of the Week articles on the Stacks Bowers Galleries’ blog but those only scratch the surface of this immense and diverse sale.

Some of the most rare and interesting pieces in the sale can be found in the general issues from Imperial and Republican times. From the Imperial era are two different derivations of Long Whisker Dragon Dollar patterns, Lot 50035 being the earlier of the two (L&M-28) and graded PCGS SP-61 and Lot 50037 being the very next variety (L&M-29) and graded PCGS SP-63. Lot 50031 is another Imperial pattern with the denomination $1 (L&M-24) graded an impressive NGC MS-65. The Republican era offers some pieces of absolutely staggering beauty. At the top of these high grade lots is a 1916 Yuan Shih-kai Dollar (L&M-942) graded PCGS MS-66 and a stunning Year 9 (1920) Yuan Shih-kai Dollar (L&M-77) graded PCGS MS-67. Possibly the most impressive piece to be offered in this section however is the subject of a recent Coin of the Week blog.  Lot 50200 a Gold Standard Dollar pattern struck in copper and graded PCGS SP-63.

The Provincial issues section too is packed with coins rarely seen in such high states of preservation. One such piece is Lot 51435, a 3 Mace 6 Candareens from the Manchurian Provinces (L&M-488) graded MS-64. Also included here is a nice 7 Mace 2 Candareens from Anhwei (L&M-204) graded PCGS MS-63, Szechuan 7 Mace 2 Candareens (L&M-345) and 3 mace 6 Candareens (L&M-347) each graded PCGS MS-64 and a large character variety Hupeh Tael graded PCGS MS-64. From Kweichow we offer a lengthy run of the scarce 1928 “Auto Dollars” culminating in Lot 51430 graded PCGS AU-55. Rare copper pieces can be found here as well such as Lot 51233 a 1909 Honan 20 Cash pattern graded NGC AU-55. Among the highest graded pieces for provincials is Lot 51244, an exquisite Hunan Constitution Dollar graded NGC MS-66. Aside from coinage of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries we also present a strong section of sycee and ancient coinage featuring a highly diverse offering of silver sycee ranging from museum quality 50 Tael boat ingots to rare varieties of Yunnan tax ingots.

Outside of the focus of Chinese numismatics the selection of foreign coinage contains several rare and beautiful pieces sure to garner attention at the block. The Korean section in particular is very strong with many rare proof patterns from the 1880s. Of particular note is our Coin of the Week from May 24^th , Lot 50394 a gorgeously toned 1889-A Piastre from French Indo-China graded NGC PF-66. Also in this section can be found a rare 1864 Thailand Royal Presentation 4 Baht of Rama IV graded by NGC as AU-55 and possessing much eye appeal due in large part to the lovely even toning spread across its large size. This section is also home to a large selection of high grade British Trade Dollars sure to nicely fill gaps in many collections.

Modern collectors will have plenty to excitedly bid on as well as we present a separate catalog for modern Chinese collectable coins. All the popular series are represented with page after page of Panda, Unicorn, Lunar Animal and Olympic series offerings just to name a few. One of the most exciting lots to be offered is number 52260, a massive 2004 10,000 Yuan Gold Panda from a mintage of just 68 pieces. Here too are the rare 1992 Inventions & Discoveries proof sets struck in both platinum and gold. Likely the rarest of the modern offerings is a matte finish 1988 Olympics Downhill Skier Pattern 5 Yuan graded PCGS PF-69. With a reported mintage of between just sixteen and twenty pieces bidding is sure to be fierce for that one.

An incredible array of currency will be found within the Paper Money session of the August 2012 Stacks Bowers Ponterio Hong Kong Auction. Banknotes issued throughout the mainland will be seen alongside important groupings of Hong Kong and French Indo-China. Several rarities which seldom appear at public offerings will be presented including One and Ten Dollar notes from the Sin Chun Bank of China series and also two denominations from the colorful Pei-Yang Tientsin Bank. Quality of material is high with several lots representing notes certified at the finest level according to current population data which has proven very popular among collectors. Designs which we have never previously handled are numerous with many currently unlisted in both the Smith & Matravers and Standard Catalog to World Paper Money References. Overall an offering that will rival the largely successful April event we held earlier this year.

With such a vast and diverse array of material this sale promises to be as exciting and successful as our previous sales. Pictures and descriptions for all lots including those in our special online only session can be found at Stacksbowers.com. Collectors of all interests and levels will find something in this sale and we encourage all to peruse both the live and online sessions fully. Lot viewing for this sale will be held in our Irvine office by appointment only (July 30-Aug 7) and at the Mira Hong Kong (Aug 16-22), we urge interested parties to schedule accordingly. We are excited to bring another wonderful sale to you and invite any with inquiries to contact us.