Chinese Numismatics (Graded and Raw) - Qing and Republican

CHINA (Republic): Szechuan Province | 1912 Dollar (民國元年) | Lovely Gunmetal Toning and Rainbows on the Peripheries | Light Handling and Nice Toning with Considerable Underlying Luster | NGC MS-61 | (Freshly Graded!)

A beautiful Chinese Republican era dollar, struck in 1912, the first year of the Republic by the Military Government of Szechuan Province. There are many varieties, in terms of the characters. I will go and write more about this coin later. This coin was received raw to me earlier this year and is a a pleasing type. Overall, it is sharply struck with minimal chatter and damage.There are sharp details in terms of the details of the central HAN 漢 character and the interlocking circles for this lightly circulated, mint-state piece.

I want to definitely highlight the beautiful, old collector's toning in the gunmetal toning, with hints of rainbows on the peripheries. I was so happy to have this coin from Richard Margolis of Teaneck, NJ, and hence, this coin is part of an old American dealer's inventory.

The coin has an even toning that shows originality, perhaps from an old cabinet or envelope. The periphery has a beautiful rainbow tone, more evident on the reverse with the character "HAN" or “漢." We see the luster that seems to blend well with the toning, which is overall even and gunmetal. The coin also has sharp denticles which, by its strike and form, seems rather crude. I feel this is a characteristic of these Szechuan Republican dollars.

Overall this coin is quite rare to find nicely toned coins these days. In fact, I have looked at some auction catalogs and offered pieces, and they are usually the strong and bright pieces with minimal toning. I personally appreciate the original patina that still has underlying luster especially on the character, non HAN, side, and how we can see the colors change gracefully under various lights.

This coin is graded by NGC as MS 61 and is a conditional rarity and commands rather high auction prices. One of my best finds this year!

References: Lin and Ma 366. ex. Richard Margolis Collection.

 

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That's an excellent coin with nice old toning. The demand for virtually all Chinese coins, even cash, just keeps on booming.

I remember owning a junk dollar, with the three birds above it, purchased from Hal Blackburn back in the early 80s. I sold it many years ago when raising money for the down payment for the house. That was a worthwhile investment, but I really miss that coin! It is now way out of my range.

The few remaining Chinese dollars are all raw. I have a thick, chunky tael from Hunan that probably needs to be certified or returned as a fake.

China, Hunan Province, tael, (1906).
KM 942
36.08 grams

 

Does that old tag say $5!

 

Thank you for your comments! Glad to have this piece raw and sent for grading with NGC. And that Hunan looks good--definitely get that graded! Heard there are some fantasy types, from the 1906 series, in NGC holders.

 

Yep! Indeed, it is!

 

None of my Chinese coins approach yours, but here are the most significant ones that I have. All except the 1914 dollar were junk bin finds, so that's an aspect that I enjoy. And if anyone tells me any of the are fake, well, I'm not out much.

1914 1 dollar "fat man"



1914 1 jiao


1923 Yunnan 5 cents



1926 Kansu 50 cash


1931 Honan 50 cash

 

Very nice mix! What a great lot of Coppers too, including the Honan 50 Cash you have at the end. I do think that the Kansu 50 cash is dubious. It looks off.

 

Thanks. Yeah, I thought the Kansu 50 cash looked a little weird but I don't know enough about them to say for sure.

 

CHINA (QING) | Kirin Province 吉林省 | 1901 (CD=辛丑）10 Cents (7.2 Candareens) | NGC VF 30 | Nicely struck and evenly toned gray or “circy cameo | KRAUSE PLATE COIN | ex. Scott Semans, ex. Daniel K.E. Ching

Here is a nice and scarce Chinese 10 cents from Kirin Province! It is also the Krause Plate Coin and I was honored to acquired this from the great coin dealer, Scott Semans, and this piece is pedigreed to the Dan Ching Collection!

This is a pleasing Chinese minor denomination and from a scarcer year. The Kirin issues are flourishing with varieties and there is a long year run, starting with the undated 1898 series and the professing with the cyclical dates from 1899 to 1908. This piece is from 1901 or the Xin Chou year (辛丑年）and features the iconic Tai Chi or Yin Yang center for this year—which is a redesigned type from say, the Keng Tze 1900 figure eight type from the year before.

This piece is handsomely toned gray and hence, has that even and circy look. Many of these pieces are toned ugly or feature some sort of environmental damage. This piece is a problem free example with a sharp and non worn dragon face. The Kirin issues were known to have a poor strike with many of the key features like the denticles and of course, the dragon’s scales worn. Luckily, this piece still has a good amount left. The other focal point is the details on the Tai Chi or Yin Yang center, where we still see the contrasting designs. Quite a neat feature of these Kirin pieces.

No glaring spelling errors except the “A” in Candarins (which in and of itself is also spelled incorrect I guess)! Sharp legends and details for this nice addition to my Provincial Chinese collection.

So glad to have this piece has the Krause Plate! Will definitely have this reholdered too and even add the Dan Ching Pedigree in the distant future!

References: Lin and Ma 540; Krause Y-180A; WS-0445

 

The only Qing coin I have is the Brass 1 Wen/Cash Kangxi Tongbao Boo-chiowan (minted sometime between 1662 and 1722):

 

That's a lovely example, with a great provenance.

Many years ago I was luck to purchase a coin from the Daniel K. E. Ching collection through Scott Seamen. I've kept it in the original envelope since then.

This coin is a variety with the "E" in Province punched over a retrograde of this character.

China, Kirin Province, 50 cents, 1899.
KM 388
13.12 grams

 

This is so beautiful, and the old tone that I love about the coins I have got from Scott. The nice tone and man, the eye appeal on yours is BEAUTIFUL! The Kirin strikes were notorious for their errors, in their spelling and inverted spelling/letters, as well as varieties too! Thank you for sharing this and I am glad I have a good amount of Ex. Scott Semans and Ex. Dan Ching pieces I have accumulated over the past five or six years!

 

Very nice! I like them. Amazing coins!

I'll have to get around compiling the Chinese coins that I have...