Stack’s Bowers Offers Ultra-Rare 1911 Chinese Dollar Estimated at $500,000

Stack’s Bowers Galleries presents just two of the highlights of their upcoming New York sale at the New York International Numismatic Convention on January 17, 2020: a beautifully-minted and ultra-rare 1911 Chinese Silver Long-Whisker Dragon Dollar, and the most extensive group of Spanish Colonial-Era Chilean 8 Reales in decades. These important rarities will be presented in Stack’s Bowers’ World and Ancient Coin Auction, in Session One of the two-day event to be held at the Grand Hyatt in New York City.

1911 Chinese Dollar

The 1911 Chinese dollar (lot 20246), created at the Central Chinese Mint in Tientsin, features an extremely rare pattern and is the single finest certified of the type at either the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation or Professional Coin Grading Service.

Valued at as much as $500,000, this fantastic rarity is missing from most of the significant collections of Chinese coins, private or institutional, such as the famous Irving Goodman, Dr. Norman Jacobs and Chang foundation collections. This piece exhibits a needle-sharp strike with crisp well-defined devices, blocked off characters and smooth surfaces. Delicate light patina graces the peripherals of the obverse while the reverse displays a light mottled tone.

The head of the Central mint at Tientsin, Mr. Luigi Giorgi, served as head designer and chief-engraver from 1910-20. His many works are of outstanding quality in fine style and are very artistic.  Several of his pattern designs were adopted and placed into full production with two of the most widely recognized motifs in Chinese numismatics being the 1911 Dragon in the clouds Imperial Dollar and the 1914 Yuan Shih-kai Dollar. Mr. Giorgi had the privilege of designing and creating the last Chinese Imperial issue which saw use well into the Republic.

“The artistic details of this coin alone make it a stand out piece in any collection,” said Brian Kendrella, President of Stack’s Bowers Galleries. “Factor in the rarity as well and you have a collector’s piece that is seldom seen throughout the world. This will make an unparalleled addition to any collection.”

A Group of Spanish Colonial-Era Chilean 8 Reales

Anchored by the Santa Fe Collection, which includes an astounding 26 dates, Stack’s Bowers Galleries offers the most extensive group of Spanish Colonial-Era Chilean 8 Reales in decades. Perhaps the most challenging series within Latin American numismatics, a Chilean collection of this extent has not been offered at public auction since Ponterio and Associate’s 1991 sale of the Viceroy Amat Collection.

Presented in the January 2020 sale from the very rare period of Ferdinand VI (1746-1759) and Charles III (1759-1788) is an amazing run of nine different dates. These include an iconic Pillar Dollar and a 1789-dated issue that was struck posthumously in the name of Charles III and is considered the finest of the few known. Also rare – although not as rare as the earlier types on a relative basis – is an array of 16 coins offered from the reigns of Charles IV (1788-1808) and Ferdinand VII (1808-1821). On the whole, several coins are considered one of only a handful known, with even more qualifying as the finest known. Legendary pedigrees in the series – such as Norweb, Viceroy Amat, Johnson, Faistauer, and Freeman Craig – are also abundant.

Other Highlights Include:

• Lot 20214: CHILE. 8 Reales, 1777-So DA. NGC VF-35. The Finest of Three Recorded.
• Lot 20215: CHILE. 8 Reales, 1779-So DA. NGC AU-58. An Outstanding Near-Mint Example.
• Lot 20216: CHILE. 8 Reales, 1781-So DA. NGC VF-35. The Only Example Certified.
• Lot 20223: CHILE. 8 Reales, 1789-So DA. NGC EF-45. Transitional Charles IV Type – The Only Example Graded by NGC.

Here you can browse all session catalogs of the New York International Numismatic Convention sale.