I have a particular interest in old Chinese coins. I have quite a few from the Ching Dynasty, and Chinese girl at school translated them for me. I find the history of the pre-republic of China very interesting. Anyhow, so I was at my first coin show about a month ago in Vienna Virginia, and was inquiring about my gold piece. A couple of people directed me over to a gentleman with quite a display of high value coins. He was (the gold expert). He ended up being a very nice and knowledgeable guy on all matters concerning coins. After talking for a while, I brought up the Chinese coins I had, and he kind of leaned over the counter and said “I would hold on to those if I were you." The tone of his voice was like he was telling me where Jimmy Hoffa was buried. I got the impression that he knew what he was talking about, and that demand for old Chinese Coinage was on the rise? What are your thoughts on this? Thanks, ~Jason
Very much so. Now, chinese cash has both rare varieties and those common as dirt. I don't think I will get rich selling off my 5,000 sung cash anytime soon. However, scarcer pieces, if authentic, definitely are moving up considerably. The largest chinese dealer in the US just quit because of rising prices. So far the greatest appreciation has been struck coins and spades and the like, but I am expecting more appreciation across the board to follow. If you like Chinese cash, I definitely recommend getting Hartill's book. Its only about $40 and the best english language resource for these ever. I have all of the other references, (Fisher's Ding, Schjoth, Coole, etc), and never use them really. Chris
The Chinese market has already risen. If it's going to go the way of the Russian market, now would be the best time to sell (unless you are interested purely in collecting). Personally, I'm still holding on to some Chinese coins, and expecting the prices to level off from the current peak. When the demand surges, the supply follows and things level off, it's the natural progression for all things. That's what I see happening now, specialists emerging that are bringing 10 times as many high end Chinese coins to market that were available just a few years ago. I agree with medoraman that some types are still undervalued, but most of it seems to have already peaked over the past year.
China has moved up so much the only reasonably priced coins I see nowadays, (excluding post-communists), is some of the interesting yet common cash. Everything else is sky high. I have some rare cash that has increased dramatically but they are part of my collection and I do not wish to sell. However, if they weren't, or if I were holding some high grade silver, prices are so high I may have to look at selling at these prices. A US dealer friend, who has dealt in Chinese for 40 years, is selling off all of his collection into these prices. He knows more about chinese coins in his little pinky than I will ever know, so I have to wonder if he knows something we don't.
I suspect the high prices are the result of more Chinese collectors wanting high grade examples of their countries earlier coinage. This has been the trend for China coins for the last couple years. I don't know when or if the increase will subside. Check-out this coin I got last month- http://www.cointalk.com/t194429/#ixzz1duFA6V3D If you had told me 2 years ago this coin was going to be valued where it is today, I would have thought you were crazy. This was a $50 coin a few years ago & one in AU just sold on Heritage for half a thousand dollars. If you have some genuine high grade China gold coins, then you might want to review some recently past Heritage auction catalogs & decide if you should get them slabbed. I have one Heritage catalog from 2011 that depicts only Chinese coins. It was from an auction about 3 months ago I think. You will find it on the Heritage Website.
There was actually a point in time a year ago where you could see the prices on eBay rising dramatically from one week to the next. I sold a VF Hupeh dollar for around $170, and 3 weeks later another in the same grade with similar eye appeal that did $290, and to the same buyer as the previous coin. I asked if the first one turned out to be a really good deal, and was in formed that the prices are running wild and collectors can barely keep up. I'm keeping a few China Empire silver pieces for the time being, and will be selling off provincial silver and some copper. Normally I would keep coins valued at a few hundred to over a thousand dollars each, but I see it as a temporary opportunity. If it looked like the prices would hold and appreciate with time, I would certainly not sell any of them. The coins I am keeping seem to not have been affected as much, so maybe they have yet to peak.
IMO Chinese coins are too risky for anyone other than the most experienced collectors, due to large amount of fakes and run up in prices for lot of the coins.
The time to actively collect and accumulate early 20th century Chinese coins was back when I was a kid going around in Chinatown badgering all the shopkeepers for old Chinese coins. I was picking up provincial minor coins in bronze and silver for a pittance. I was taken aback a few years ago looking up the values on some of the minor silver coins, and some of the nicer bronze 10 and 20 cash coins have appreciated considerably. But, having travelled to China a few years ago, I found out why. Previously under communism it was an offense to collect coins - but not now. There are even state run coin shops in many of the larger cities, not to mention all the individual sellers of coins and paper money I saw in the markets. Curiously for me the authentic stuff was more flexible in price - but the fakes of American coins etc those were fixed price and no bargaining. I did manage to find a few Tang dynasty era coins, a few Wang Mang era coins - but I stuck to buying mostly the modern PRoC stuff like this: Which commemorates the Tang dynasty. Unfortunately this, as well as the many other coins and banknotes I bought there have been appropriated by my 7yr old daughter. They are now her "Chinese pennies" and she absolutely loves them.
I understand the thought, but to me usually the best time to collect something is NOW. If I had worried 8 years ago how the deals I could get then were not as good as I could have got in the 80's I never would have bought a coin. Now, I wish I would have bought more than I did. I was buying group lots of the heavy, large Pan Liang's, (early ones), for $7 a coin just a few years ago. I am not even sure if you can buy an EBay fake for that today. Regardless, if you like coins, never worry about how much cheaper they were in the past, buy what you like today. Chris
True, but it is nice to reminisce about the good days when the stuff could be bought in handfuls for pitiful sums. In particular now I collect from the Kiangsi/Jiangxi province - but I used to collect Guangdong/Canton. The one area I wish I had ventured into was the early communist stuff from the 1920's and 1930's. One of the factors that led to the growth of the communist forces in China during that era was that they were paying in silver dollars - not paper money.
Very true sir. Reminisce and kick your own behind for not buying more. For new collectors, though, these are the "gold old days" that you will look back on 20 years from now. For most people, coins will never be as cheap as they are today. Its just a matter of inflation and new collectors entering the hobby. Chris
