Watch List notes:

(t) CHINA. Silvered Bronze Uniface Cent Trail, ND (ca. 1895). Soho (Birmingham) Mint. NGC Unc Details--Corrosion.
Sweeny-Adv 22; Wright-E1. The noted spots or corrosion are quite trivial, and this VERY RARE and interesting trial presents a pleasing steely gray-amber hue throughout. Compare to a seemingly inferior example, though graded PCGS SPECIMEN-62, that realized a total of over $2,900 in November 2019.

According to numismatic author and researcher Richard N.J. Wright in his work The Modern Coinage of China 1866-1949: The Evidence in Western Archives he discusses a letter from the Birmingham mint from 1977. Here in full is the passage pertaining to these issues: "Information furnished by The Birmingham Mint in 1977 indicates that E1 and E2 were somehow involved with the production of dies or presses for the China in 1895, although certain specific points in that 1977 letter are questionable in the light of other factual information. It is the authors' opinion that both may have been produced in the course of demonstrating that dollar presses ordered by China performed to specification. The mating of these particular obverse and reverse dies would seem to support such a conclusion."

It is also interesting to note that in his book "A Numismatic History of the Birmingham Mint", author James O. Sweeny lists these among several other distinctly Chinese issues as advertising pieces struck at the Birmingham Mint.

Estimate: $2000.00- $3000.00