Heritage World Coin Auctions
Hong Kong Signature Sale 3074 27-28 Jun 2019
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
China
Kwangtung. Kuang-hsü Dollar (7 Mace 3 Candareens) ND (1889) MS64+ NGC, Kwangtung mint, KM-Y198.1, L&M-123, Kann-16, WS-0931, Wenchao-522 (rarity 4 stars). With denomination written as 7 MACE AND 3 CANDAREENS. A fitting cap to this splendid Kwangtung set, this incredible dragon dollar impresses not only in terms of its palpable visual countenance, but also its enormous historical significance. Speaking purely on aesthetic grounds, it seems almost inadequate to merely call this specimen gorgeously struck, as the fields, bathed in mint luster and yet keeping the appearance of a coin struck for circulation, appear tinged with every shade of tone: russet argent fields well up to a breathtaking marbling of gold, topaz, and goldfish orange at the characters while capturing glints of emerald green and lilac. Like the other pieces in this set, turning to the reverse reveals a slightly more mottled texture, central gunmetal color brightened to a near salt-gray by mint radiance, while darkened peripheral accents are simultaneously lightened to champagne by cartwheel whirls.
Despite being outranked on a purely technical level by a group of just three specimens certified SP66 by PCGS, this piece finds space even here to boast of its impressive singularity. Standing as the first milled coinage produced in Imperial China, the mint located at Kwangtung then being the largest in the world, the emissions of 1889 were originally intended to supplant the circulation of various foreign silver coins within the country, most particularly the Spanish Dollar and its latter-day successor, the Mexican 8 Reales. Struck to a higher silver content that its rivals, 7 Mace and 3 Candareens, the 1889 Dollar unfortunately succeeded in the opposite of its intended goal, these heavier and more valuable coins being hoarded and melted down to retrieve the extra Candareen of silver, very much in keeping with the principles of Gresham's Law. Whereas the specimen issues of this year were not intended for general circulation--and may very likely have been the patterns they are considered to be by the Standard Catalog of World Coins--issues such as the present piece, ranking as the single finest Mint State representative to-date across both of the major grading services, represent the very rare circulation survivors from this rampant period of melting. Despite the failure of this initial experiment, the design of the 1889 Dollar and its fractions served as the standard type for the coinage of all the Chinese provinces from Chihli to Fukien to Yunnan during the period from 1890 to 1907, creating an iconic legacy for these fabled forerunners.
With few other examples approaching this level of preservation, we note to prospective bidders that a NGC-graded MS62 example hammered for $80,000 in Stack's Bowers' December 2015 Hong Kong Auction (lot 60164), and it goes without saying that the specimen at hand, grading a full two and half points higher, will not go overlooked as it crosses the auction block.
From the Henderson Lincoln Collection
HID02901242017
Estimate: 80000-120000 USD
Kwangtung. Kuang-hsü Dollar (7 Mace 3 Candareens) ND (1889) MS64+ NGC, Kwangtung mint, KM-Y198.1, L&M-123, Kann-16, WS-0931, Wenchao-522 (rarity 4 stars). With denomination written as 7 MACE AND 3 CANDAREENS. A fitting cap to this splendid Kwangtung set, this incredible dragon dollar impresses not only in terms of its palpable visual countenance, but also its enormous historical significance. Speaking purely on aesthetic grounds, it seems almost inadequate to merely call this specimen gorgeously struck, as the fields, bathed in mint luster and yet keeping the appearance of a coin struck for circulation, appear tinged with every shade of tone: russet argent fields well up to a breathtaking marbling of gold, topaz, and goldfish orange at the characters while capturing glints of emerald green and lilac. Like the other pieces in this set, turning to the reverse reveals a slightly more mottled texture, central gunmetal color brightened to a near salt-gray by mint radiance, while darkened peripheral accents are simultaneously lightened to champagne by cartwheel whirls.
Despite being outranked on a purely technical level by a group of just three specimens certified SP66 by PCGS, this piece finds space even here to boast of its impressive singularity. Standing as the first milled coinage produced in Imperial China, the mint located at Kwangtung then being the largest in the world, the emissions of 1889 were originally intended to supplant the circulation of various foreign silver coins within the country, most particularly the Spanish Dollar and its latter-day successor, the Mexican 8 Reales. Struck to a higher silver content that its rivals, 7 Mace and 3 Candareens, the 1889 Dollar unfortunately succeeded in the opposite of its intended goal, these heavier and more valuable coins being hoarded and melted down to retrieve the extra Candareen of silver, very much in keeping with the principles of Gresham's Law. Whereas the specimen issues of this year were not intended for general circulation--and may very likely have been the patterns they are considered to be by the Standard Catalog of World Coins--issues such as the present piece, ranking as the single finest Mint State representative to-date across both of the major grading services, represent the very rare circulation survivors from this rampant period of melting. Despite the failure of this initial experiment, the design of the 1889 Dollar and its fractions served as the standard type for the coinage of all the Chinese provinces from Chihli to Fukien to Yunnan during the period from 1890 to 1907, creating an iconic legacy for these fabled forerunners.
With few other examples approaching this level of preservation, we note to prospective bidders that a NGC-graded MS62 example hammered for $80,000 in Stack's Bowers' December 2015 Hong Kong Auction (lot 60164), and it goes without saying that the specimen at hand, grading a full two and half points higher, will not go overlooked as it crosses the auction block.
From the Henderson Lincoln Collection
HID02901242017
Estimate: 80000-120000 USD