Stack’s Bowers & Ponterio, HK-Hong Kong

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Many Chinese Rarities in Stack’s Bowers’ Hong Kong Auction

Stack’s Bowers & Ponterio announced their fall Hong Kong auction comprising seven sessions over five days, split between live and online portions. This sale stands as the firm’s largest Hong Kong offering to date with respect to total lots, with over 4,600 lots of coins, medals, and currency, mostly focusing upon the East Asian region. This also represents the company’s first Hong Kong sale since their highly successful 10th anniversary auction this past May. Although the ongoing pandemic has continued to cause disruptions and diminished travel, the coin market – especially for quality Chinese issues and British Trade Dollars, for example – remains rather robust, and Stack’s Bowers & Ponterio expects this trend to continue. The live portions of the sale will be held October 5-7, while the online sessions will round out the sale on October 8-9 (all dates and times are Hong Kong local).

The live sessions begin with coinage native to Hong Kong, then move on to other non-Chinese issues from around the region. Hong Kong herself is highlighted by some rather challenging Victorian pieces, such as an 1867/6 Dollar (lot 40003), an 1863/33 10 Cents (lot 40022), and an 1874-H 5 Cents (lot 40029).

Lot 40299: Macau. 5 Ounce Gold 10000 Patacas, 1988. 35th Anniversary of Macau Grand Prix. Estimate: $12,000-$16,000.

The regional foreign selections range from modern issues such as a 1970 10-piece Independence Proof Set from Indonesia (lot 40263) and an always popular 1988 5 ounce gold 10000 Patacas from Macau (lot 40299), to more vintage offerings like an 1856 Commodore Matthew Perry silver Japanese Peace Treaty Medal from the United States (lot 40370). One of the more impressive runs is a selection of British Trade Dollars that offers something for any collector and budget, while three different BE 2544 (2001) off-metal strikes in gold from Thailand present a seldom-seen opportunity.

Lot 41436: China. Gold Presentation Dollar. Year 10 (1921). Tientsin Mint. Estimate: $40,000-$60,000.

Moving on to the vintage and modern Chinese sessions, early patterns dominate, with magnificent pieces like a year 3 (1911) silver “long-whisker dragon” Dollar Pattern (lot 41244), a year 3 (1911) silver 50 Cents Pattern (lot 41251), and a year 3 of the Republic (1914) silver Yuan Shih-kai Dollar Pattern (lot 41371).

Highlights among the vintage offerings continue with an undated (1916) Hung Hsien Dollar (lot 41378), a year 10 of the Republic (1921) gold presentation Dollar (lot 41436), a year 16 of the Republic (1927) silver “Mausoleum” Dollar Pattern (lot 41466), and a cyclically dated (1907) silver “interlocking wave” Dollar Pattern (lot 41242). Of particular note is a delightful offering of the “pavilion dollars” on the opening of the Peking Union Medical College.

Lot 42019: China. Chihli (Pei Yang). Tael, Year 33 (1907). Tientsin Mint. PCGS Genuine–Tooled, Unc Details Gold Shield. Estimate: $150,000-$225,000.

Among the modern issues, always eclectic and highly sought-after, the standouts include a 1989 silver “dragon & phoenix” 5 Jiao Pattern (lot 41067), a 2005 kilo gold Panda 10000 Yuan (lot 41030), a 1992 gold Panda 500 Yuan (lot 41017), and a 1995 gold Unicorn 500 Yuan (lot 41068).

The sale is particularly strong among the Chinese Provincial issues, with a quartet of silver denominations bearing low-end estimates in the six figures. These incredible coins are led by a Year 33 (1907) Tael from Chihli (Pei Yang) (lot 42019), with a Year 23 (1897) silver 20 cents Pattern from Chekiang (lot 42013), followed by an undated (1897) Dollar from Kiangnan (lot 42176), and an undated (1901-08) Dollar from Szechuan (lot 42372).

Lot 42302: China. Kweichow. Auto Dollar, Year 17 (1928). Estimate: $50,000-$70,000.

Other popular and interesting pieces include pattern issues such as an undated (1897) brass Dollar Pattern from Fengtien (lot 42088) and an undated (1902) brass 10 Cash Pattern from Hunan (lot 42133) that features large English letters, along with the ever-popular Kweichow “Auto Dollar” from year 17 of the Republic (1928) (lot 42302).

Additionally, this sale presents what is likely the largest group of the so-called “horse gaming tokens” from early 19th century Szechuan, offering incredible variation for the beginner or specialist in these fascinating pieces.

Additional October Hong Kong Highlights include:

Hong Kong & Foreign Coins:

  • Lot 40069: Bhutan. 5 Ounce Gold 50000 Ngultrum, 1996. Endangered Wildlife Series, Snow Leopard. NGC PROOF-68 Ultra Cameo.
  • Lot 40294: Korea. Choson Dynasty. Openwork “Tang Dynasty Flower” Chatelaine, ND (ca. 19th Century). VERY FINE.
  • Lot 40314: Netherlands East Indies. Holland. Ducaton, 1738. PCGS EF-45 Gold Shield.
  • Lot 40334: Russia. Gold Olympics Proof Set (6 pieces), 1977-80. Moscow and Leningrad Mints. GEM PROOF.
  • Lot 40342: Singapore. 5 Ounce Gold Medal, 1988. Lunar Series, Year of the Dragon. NGC PROOF-69 Ultra Cameo.
  • Lot 40362: Thailand. 5000 Baht, BE 2517 (1974). London Mint. NGC PROOF-69 Ultra Cameo.

Modern & Vintage Chinese Coins:

  • Lot 41116: China. 15 Ounce Gold Vault Protector Medal, ND (1989). PCGS PROOF-67 Deep Cameo Gold Shield.
  • Lot 41182: China. Qing (Ch’ing) Dynasty. Gold 10 Tael Ingot, ND (ca. 1750). Graded “UNC” by Zhong Qian Ping Ji Grading Company.
  • Lot 41241: China. Silver 5 Mace Pattern Restrike, CD (1906). Tientsin Mint. PCGS SPECIMEN-64 Gold Shield.
  • Lot 41243: China. Silver Dollar Pattern, ND (1910). Tientsin Mint. PCGS MS-62 Gold Shield.
  • Lot 41252: China. 10 Cents, Year 3 (1911). Tientsin Mint. PCGS MS-66 Gold Shield.
  • Lot 41384: China. Dollar, ND (1916). NGC AU-58.
  • Lot 41441: China. Dollar, Year 10 (1921). PCGS SPECIMEN-62 Gold Shield.
  • Lot 41443: China. Silver Dollar Pattern, Year 12 (1923). NGC MS-64.
  • Lot 41453: China. Dollar, ND (1924). NGC MS-65.
  • Lot 41507: China. Copper Cent Pattern, Year 5 (1916). Tientsin Mint. PCGS SPECIMEN-64 Red Brown Gold Shield.
  • Lot 41510: China. Szechuan-Shensi Soviet. Dollar, 1934. NGC MS-62.
  • Lot 41539: China. Li Hung Chang’s Visit to Hamburg Silver Medal, 1896. PCGS SPECIMEN-64 Gold Shield.

Chinese Provincial Issues:

  • Lot 42007: China. Anhwei. 7 Mace 2 Candareens (Dollar), Year 24 (1898). PCGS MS-64 Gold Shield.
  • Lot 42014: China. Chekiang. Silver 3.6 Candareens (5 Cents) Pattern, ND (1902). Heaton Mint. PCGS SPECIMEN-66 Gold Shield.
  • Lot 42015: China. Chekiang. 3 Mace 6 Candareens (50 Cents), ND (1898-99). NGC MS-67.
  • Lot 42040: China. Chihli (Pei Yang). Dollar, Year 24 (1898). PCGS MS-65 Gold Shield.
  • Lot 42061: China. Chihli (Pei Yang). 7 Mace 2 Candareens (Dollar), Year 34 (1908). NGC MS-66.
  • Lot 42138: China. Hupeh. Tael, Year 30 (1904). PCGS MS-61 Gold Shield.
  • Lot 42141: China. Hupeh. Tael, Year 30 (1904). PCGS AU-58 Gold Shield.
  • Lot 42179: China. Kiangnan. Silver 1 Mace 4.4 Candareens (20 Cents) Pattern, ND (1897). Heaton Mint. PCGS SPECIMEN-67+ Gold Shield.

 

All lots can be found online on the Stack’s Bowers website.

Lot viewing for the event will be available, by appointment only, at the firm’s Santa Ana California headquarters from September 10 through 13, and at their Hong Kong office from September 20 through October 4. For more information, visit StacksBowers website, or email.