2013 Champion Fall Online Auction Features Chinese Numismatics

Champion's 2013 Fall online auction is scheduled for Sunday, October 27, 2013, in Hong Kong, China. This auction features hard-to-find Chinese and East Asian coins and banknotes. Some of the NGC-certified highlights include the China Heilungkiang Dragon 50 Cents Struck in Brass, the China Kirin 1908 Silver Dollar and the 1995 1000 Yuan 12 Ounce .9999 Gold Proof Panda.

Extremely Rare China-Heilungkiang Dragon 50 Cents Struck in Brass
Kann Unlisted, Otto Beh Mint, L&M 586, NGC AU 55
One of the rarest coins of China and of four or five known. Highest graded by a grading service. Recent research reveals that the Heilungkiang dies were made using generic punches and hubs in common with the Anhwei, Chekiang, Fengtien and Sinkiang series of dies manufactured by Otto Beh during 1897-99. As a total of 260 dies were made, not counting the rejects, the wear and tear on the punches and hubs explains the softness or lack of details on some of the patterns of the series.

Otto Beh was a specialist in the production of seals and dies. From neighboring Goppingen, Louis Schuler received an order for coining presses in 1895 and commissioned Otto Beh to manufacture the dies. In 1897 and 1898, Beh supplied Schuler with over 200 dies for Chinese coins. At the time, this was the largest order that the company had ever received. Schuler, which started as a locksmith’s shop in 1839, had grown to become one of the world’s leaders in metal forming and in fact supplied the aforementioned mints with coining presses. An Otto Beh Sinkiang Dollar (VF) sold for US $206,500 in August 2013 Hong Kong auction.
Lot 320 RMB 200,000-400,000

Finest Known China-Kirin 1908 One Dollar Silver, Vase in Center
L&M 572, Y183, K565, NGC AU 58 W&B Capital Collection
Source: Hong Kong Auction 17, JUN 1994
As the first province to take advantage of its arsenal’s machines for minting, Kirin was considered the birthplace of modern Chinese struck coins. Later, the official Kirin mint opened and began producing silver dollars. In 1907, the Kirin mint combined with the Fengtien mint and reopened as the “general mint of the three Northeast provinces.” Consequently, the inscriptions on silver dollars made in late 1908 by the Kirin mint were all changed to “Made in Kirin” from the previous “Made in Kirin Province.”

The 1908 Kirin Silver Dragon Dollar appears in three major varieties: 1) Manchu words; 2) Vase in center; 3) Number 11 in center. From this table, we know that all three varieties are very rare to extremely rare to find in high grade. In addition, the vase variety is the rarest of the three. Most of the vase variety coins are chopmarked. The only known examples in high grades are from the W&B Capital Collection and Taiwan, Province of China Liu Collection. The W&B Capital example has a full strike on the vase obverse with sharp details, while the Liu example is very weakly struck on the left of the vase obverse and right of dragon reverse. NGC has graded one example each. This W&B Capital example is the highest graded by NGC.

An NGC MS 64 with "11" in center sold for US $276,000 in January 2011 CNG sale. An NGC XF 45 with Manchu words in center sold for US $73,000 (RMB 448,500) in 2011 Autumn Sale in Beijing.
Lot 356 RMB 600,000-1,200,000

Extremely Rare 1995 1000 Yuan 12 oz .9999 Gold Proof Panda
Mintage Only 49, Coin Number 015, NGC PF 69 Ultra Cameo
According to Peter Anthony, publisher of the China Pricepedia, in his interview with Marty Weiss, founder of Panda America and distributor of the original 12 oz. Gold Panda coins in the United States, the 1995 issue is the rarest date of the 12 ounce Gold Panda series. At one time he owned four or five of the 1994 date while only two of the 1995 date. A 1994 12 ounce Gold Panda sold at a May 2012 auction in Japan for over USD 200,000 and another one sold in China for over US $240,000 in 2012.
Lot 548 RMB 800,000-1,600,000

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This is a guest article. The thoughts and opinions in this piece are those of their author and are not necessarily the thoughts of the Certified Collectibles Group.