Written by Chris Chatigny, Cataloger.
The Edgar Mandel Collection
provides this week’s featured Asian numismatic item. Edgar Mandel was a
prominent and highly influential researcher of Far East numismatics. A portion
of his sought after collection will be available in the upcoming Stack’s Bowers
and Ponterio April Hong Kong auction. The first coin that we highlight is the
famous and rare Chinese “Old Man Dollar” from Taiwan. This coin holds the honor
of being the first Chinese made silver dollar sized coinage. Up until the
minting of this piece, there was no system of struck coinage, so the foreign
coins that were uniform in size and weight were easier to carry and tally.
In 1837, during the reign of
Emperor Tao Kwang, a rebellious general named Chang Wen staged a revolution in
Taiwan. Chang Wen, the self styled “Commander-in-Chief of The Restoration Army
of the Great Ming Dynasty,” would ultimately fail to achieve said restoration,
but he would forever impact Chinese silver coinage. Any and all revolutionary
coups require adequate financing to pay the soldiers, and due to Taiwan’s
relative isolation as an island, Chang Wen decreed a silver coin of dollar size
be struck, with comparable size to the Spanish 8 Reales. The inaugural Chinese
silver dollars contained a remarkably high silver content, approximately 98%
fine. This is extraordinary when compared to the most widely accepted silver
dollar at the time, the Spanish 8 Reales, which had a silver content of
approximately 90%.
The “Old Man” Dollar earned its
moniker from the portraiture of the coin, depicting Shou-hsin, the god of
longevity. Naturally, he is well advanced in age, and appears standing, clothed
in a robe and holding a staff. The left
inscription reads: “Cast in the time of Tao Kwang.” The weight (and by
association to the Tael, its value) is depicted on the right side: “Seven Two
by the Treasury scales.” This weight corresponded to .72 of a Tael, and later
became the standard for the Imperial Dragon silver dollar coinage with a value
of 7 Mace 2 Candareen. The final obverse inscription, located on the bottom of
Shou-hsin’s robe, reads: “Silver cake of the standard purity.” This last
inscription attests to the purity of the silver, an attribute that helped
establish its credibility with local merchants and the general populace.
A “tsu” or sacrificial urn, as
described in Kann, dominates the reverse. This tripod object has also been
described as a treasure container. Four Manchu characters surround this item.
The top and bottom characters signify “Formosa (Taiwan)”. The left and right
inscriptions, according to Kann, indicate the town and treasury. Nearly every
issue of this type contains an incised rectangular marking on the lower part of
the reverse, which is widely interpreted as the maker’s mark. In addition to
this maker’s mark, nearly all “Old Man” Dollars are found in average to low
condition and, more often than not, heavily chopmarked. This example is of
stellar condition for this type, with only a small number of scattered
chopmarks that do not mar the inscriptions or designs. In addition to the
relatively few chopmarks, this piece has retained most of its luster. This
piece stands out as being quite choice for its type, and is even featured as
the plate coin (#1618) in Chinese
Currency a Comprehensive Text by Fredrik Schjoth. Mandel acquired it in a
private purchase from Virgil Hancock. This example of a well preserved and
choice “Old Man Dollar” represents an important piece of Chinese numismatic
history as the first Chinese-made silver dollar, and when this fact is paired with
the prestige of the Edgar Mandel Collection, the value assigned to this piece
should not be underestimated.
Look for this and other Asian
numismatic rarities from the Edgar Mandel Collection in our April Hong Kong
Sale. Preview this impressive coin along with the rest of our auction this
March at the Stack’s Bowers and Ponterio office located in Irvine, California. For
details please refer to the Auction Schedule/Details link under Current
Auctions at www.StacksBowers.com. To schedule an appointment, please call 800.566.2580.
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