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Hong Kong Signature Sale 3100 7-9 Jul 2022
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Republic Sun Yat-sen silver Pattern 50 Cents Year 26 (1937)-S MS62 NGC, San Francisco mint, KM-Pn184, L&M-118, Kann-637, Shih-D3-34, Hsu-105, WS-0157, Wenchao-935 (rarity 4 stars), Shanghai Museum-731, Shi Jiagan Collection-631. Hands down one of the rarest Sun Yat-sen minors of the mid-20th century Chinese series, only very seldom coming to market and generally not in very appreciable condition. An ideal "sister" piece to the full Dollar Pattern we offered as part of our last installment of the Glorium Collection in December, we would note that this type was similarly missing from the Ultima, Wright, Wa She Wong, Ching, and Von Halle collections, with the present piece representing the second finest yet recognized in the certified population. In the course of our research, just 5 others have come to light, including: Norman Jacobs Collection (Baldwin's-Ma Tak Wo Auction 44, August 2008, Lot 582) - Now certified SP61 by PCGS; Irving Goodman Collection (Superior June 1991, Lot 946); Cheng Xuan Autumn Auction (November 2006, Lot 2851) [part]; Champion Macau Auction (January 2011, Lot 260) - Certified SP63 by PCGS; Heritage Auction #3058 (December 2017, Lot 37117) - Certified AU Details (Scratches) by NGC. From a visual standpoint, the offering exudes frosty finish unencumbered by any notable tone, just a few light obverse marks bounding the grade shy of choice. We would note that NGC and PCGS maintain differing standards for how they designate this Pattern, with the former assigning Mint State and the latter Specimen grades, though there is no observable difference in the overall finish.
Featuring the motif of the P'u (ancient spade coin) on the reverse that would become the trademark of the so-called "universal" series of the late Republic, both the 1936 and 1937 Sun Yat-sen coinage is now known to have been part of a more-or-less secret political program between the United States government and China aimed at artificially driving up the price of silver. Seeking to aid the Chinese in their resistance to the Japanese, the US had been buying up enormous amounts of Chinese silver following the outlawing of silver coins there in 1935. Official records document that on June 17, 1936, the Chinese Ministry of Finance elected to utilize 3 million ounces of this silver held on account in the US to produce silver Dollars, meant to be a token coinage of lesser intrinsic value, containing only 0.720 fineness. As revealed by "The True Story of China's 1936 and 1937 Silver Dollars" published in the Journal of East Asian Numismatics in 1995, an initial run of Pattern Dollars and Half Dollars were produced in either Philadelphia or Shanghai in 1936, with a later batch of coins--carrying the S mintmark--produced in San Francisco in 1938 (dated 1937) to a figure of around 10 million pieces. Contrary to the information relayed by Kann (Wright does not mention the S-signed Patterns), the 1937-dated coins were never shipped to Shanghai, but were almost entirely melted by the San Francisco mint, with the few pieces that survive today likely representing samples sent to mint officials in Shanghai. From the Glorium Collection
https://coins.ha.com/itm/china/china-republic-sun-yat-sen-silver-pattern-50-cents-year-26-1937-s-ms62-ngc-/a/3100-34089.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3100-07072022
HID02906262019
© 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 100000-150000 USD
Republic Sun Yat-sen silver Pattern 50 Cents Year 26 (1937)-S MS62 NGC, San Francisco mint, KM-Pn184, L&M-118, Kann-637, Shih-D3-34, Hsu-105, WS-0157, Wenchao-935 (rarity 4 stars), Shanghai Museum-731, Shi Jiagan Collection-631. Hands down one of the rarest Sun Yat-sen minors of the mid-20th century Chinese series, only very seldom coming to market and generally not in very appreciable condition. An ideal "sister" piece to the full Dollar Pattern we offered as part of our last installment of the Glorium Collection in December, we would note that this type was similarly missing from the Ultima, Wright, Wa She Wong, Ching, and Von Halle collections, with the present piece representing the second finest yet recognized in the certified population. In the course of our research, just 5 others have come to light, including: Norman Jacobs Collection (Baldwin's-Ma Tak Wo Auction 44, August 2008, Lot 582) - Now certified SP61 by PCGS; Irving Goodman Collection (Superior June 1991, Lot 946); Cheng Xuan Autumn Auction (November 2006, Lot 2851) [part]; Champion Macau Auction (January 2011, Lot 260) - Certified SP63 by PCGS; Heritage Auction #3058 (December 2017, Lot 37117) - Certified AU Details (Scratches) by NGC. From a visual standpoint, the offering exudes frosty finish unencumbered by any notable tone, just a few light obverse marks bounding the grade shy of choice. We would note that NGC and PCGS maintain differing standards for how they designate this Pattern, with the former assigning Mint State and the latter Specimen grades, though there is no observable difference in the overall finish.
Featuring the motif of the P'u (ancient spade coin) on the reverse that would become the trademark of the so-called "universal" series of the late Republic, both the 1936 and 1937 Sun Yat-sen coinage is now known to have been part of a more-or-less secret political program between the United States government and China aimed at artificially driving up the price of silver. Seeking to aid the Chinese in their resistance to the Japanese, the US had been buying up enormous amounts of Chinese silver following the outlawing of silver coins there in 1935. Official records document that on June 17, 1936, the Chinese Ministry of Finance elected to utilize 3 million ounces of this silver held on account in the US to produce silver Dollars, meant to be a token coinage of lesser intrinsic value, containing only 0.720 fineness. As revealed by "The True Story of China's 1936 and 1937 Silver Dollars" published in the Journal of East Asian Numismatics in 1995, an initial run of Pattern Dollars and Half Dollars were produced in either Philadelphia or Shanghai in 1936, with a later batch of coins--carrying the S mintmark--produced in San Francisco in 1938 (dated 1937) to a figure of around 10 million pieces. Contrary to the information relayed by Kann (Wright does not mention the S-signed Patterns), the 1937-dated coins were never shipped to Shanghai, but were almost entirely melted by the San Francisco mint, with the few pieces that survive today likely representing samples sent to mint officials in Shanghai. From the Glorium Collection
https://coins.ha.com/itm/china/china-republic-sun-yat-sen-silver-pattern-50-cents-year-26-1937-s-ms62-ngc-/a/3100-34089.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3100-07072022
HID02906262019
© 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 100000-150000 USD