A 1 Tael Year 29 of Kuang Hsu sold for $227,050 in Stack Bowers August 2013 Hong Kong Auction.The coin realized $227,050 including the buyer’s fee (all prices listed reflect the fee), against an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000.
The China Pattern Tael Struck in Silver issued by the Hu Poo (Board of Revenue) during the reign of Kuang Hsu, Year 29 (1903) graded by PCGS SP-63 Secure Holder.
Although struck at the Tientsin Mint, the original dies were ordered from and prepared by the Osaka Mint in Japan under the supervision of Robert Hart, Inspector General of Maritime Customs. The initial goal was an early attempt to unify Chinese coinage on the gold standard, producing denominations in 1 Tael, 5, 2, 1 and 1/2 Mace. The project never went into full production for several reasons. One being that the outlined plan called for one central mint to be responsible for coinage production to insure the uniformity of the new coinage, which the directors of the provincial mints heavily resisted due to potential profit cuts. Also, at this time in China, there was no plan in place to deal with the vastly different types of paper money circulating and how to accept them in exchange.
Some of the other coins highlight:
- Lot 51000 . CHINA. Pattern K'uping Tael Struck in Gold, CD (1907). Tientsin Mint. NGC MS-62. Sold : $101,575
- Lot 51003 . CHINA. Dollar, Year 10 (1921). Tientsin Mint. NGC MS-62. Sold : $31,070
- Lot 51006 . CHINA. Sinkiang. Ration Gold 1 Mace, ND (1907). Tihwa Mint. NGC MS-64. Sold : $35,850
- Lot 51012 . CHINA. Pattern 5 Mace, Year 29 (1903). PCGS SP-64 Secure Holder. Sold : $89,625
- Lot 51020 . CHINA. Pattern Dollar, ND (1910). NGC MS-65. Sold : $71,700
- Lot 51180 . CHINA. 1914. Tientsin Mint. NGC MS-65. Sold : $65,725
- Lot 51275 . CHINA. Hupeh. Pattern 10 Cents, Year 3 (1911). Wuchang Mint. PCGS SP-64 Secure Holder. Sold : $47,800
