Stack's Bowers & Ponterio
April 2021 Hong Kong Auction 5-8 Apr 2021
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CHINA. Hubei Yuanbao. Provincial Principal Ingots. Silver 50 Tael Provincial Tax Ingot, ND (ca. 1875-1908). Emperor De Zong (Guang Xu). EXTREMELY FINE.
BMC-Class XIV Group A. Weight: 2,235 gms. Left: "Guang xu yuan bao" (Guangxu era, principal ingot), Right: "Hu bei sheng zao" (Made in Hubei province), Center: "Shang hai" (Shanghai city, Jiangsu), Upper right: "Kai feng" (Kaifeng city, Henan), Upper left: "Dong jing" (Eastern Capital [Beijing], Hebai), Lower right: "Nan jing" (Nanjing city, Jiangsu), Lower left: "Xiang gang" (Hong Kong, British colony). This nicely preserved large-size ingot exhibits deeply applied stamps that are clear and bold, though the central stamp does have a natural void in the center. The surfaces show minor signs of handling as one would expect to see on these massive ingots now displaying lovely light delicate iridescent patina on the face. The outer surfaces are a bit of a brighter silver color with slate patination in the crevasses adding to its originality. These highly desirable types seldom appear on the market and always command a premium certain to see spirited bidding.
From the Colorado School of Mines Museum of Earth Science, donated by Gerald Carl Herfurth (1930-1998).
BMC-Class XIV Group A. Weight: 2,235 gms. Left: "Guang xu yuan bao" (Guangxu era, principal ingot), Right: "Hu bei sheng zao" (Made in Hubei province), Center: "Shang hai" (Shanghai city, Jiangsu), Upper right: "Kai feng" (Kaifeng city, Henan), Upper left: "Dong jing" (Eastern Capital [Beijing], Hebai), Lower right: "Nan jing" (Nanjing city, Jiangsu), Lower left: "Xiang gang" (Hong Kong, British colony). This nicely preserved large-size ingot exhibits deeply applied stamps that are clear and bold, though the central stamp does have a natural void in the center. The surfaces show minor signs of handling as one would expect to see on these massive ingots now displaying lovely light delicate iridescent patina on the face. The outer surfaces are a bit of a brighter silver color with slate patination in the crevasses adding to its originality. These highly desirable types seldom appear on the market and always command a premium certain to see spirited bidding.
From the Colorado School of Mines Museum of Earth Science, donated by Gerald Carl Herfurth (1930-1998).
Gerald Carl "Gerry" Herfurth was born in Glendale, Los Angeles County, California on June 26, 1930, the son of Geraldine Wylie and Carl E. Herfurth (1887-1978).
Herfurth served as a second lieutenant in the National Guard (1948-1955) while attending Regis College in Denver from 1949 to 1953, earning a B.S. Degree in Business Administration. He worked in financial investments for the rest of his life. Having an interest in Chemistry, and possible also minerals, he was a member of the college's Chemistry Club. The 1965-1970 Denver City Directory lists him as a "mineralogist," living with his parents; around 1966 he married Hilja Karen ___, a native of Switzerland and an opera enthusiast. She became interested in minerals as well, especially in the realm of fine lapidary art.
Herfurth built a very fine collection of minerals, meteorites, and gems. He also collected Native American artifacts. He was a member of the Meteoritical Society. He died in Lakewood, Colorado on December 16, 1998 at the age of 68. His wife, Hilja, donated about 600 specimens (valued at $350,000) from his collection to the Colorado School of Mines Museum of Earth Science in 1999, and the rest, another 800 specimens (valued at $1.75 million), along with a cash bequest of $200,000, at the time of her death in 2016.
Estimate: $7000.00- $9000.00