This preview for our upcoming Stack’s Bowers and Ponterio
August Hong Kong Showcase Auction features a lovely Hupeh Tael, a perennially
popular issue. The Hupeh Tael was part of a projected coinage reform based on
the traditional Chinese weight standard rather than the dollar system. In the
initial proposal to produce these coins it was also suggested to produce
smaller denominations in the values of 5, 2 and 1 Mace. However, no such pieces
have surfaced (even in pattern form) and it is unlikely they were ever made.
The general population found converting two distinctly different coinage
systems complicated, especially when making change. A Hupeh Tael housed in the
British Museum supports this by showing evidence of cutting to make change. The
British Museum specimen is essentially Mint State with a large pie shape
section cut from the coin in a similar manner to the "broken dollars"
pictured on page 121; figure 4.10 of Joe Cribb’s reference "Money in the
Bank." This short-lived series circulated for only a brief time and was
soon replaced by the unified Tai Ching Ti Kuo silver coinage. The Hupeh Tael
has a mintage of 648,000 coins, which includes both large and small character
types, however it is unknown exactly how many of each were struck. Despite the
fairly large mintage, most likely many were melted down to be made into later
coinage. It is interesting to note that the Hupeh Taels were struck in 0.877
fine silver as opposed to the 0.960 fine silver set forth by the currency
regulations of 1905.
The obverse of this coin features the Chinese dragon, but this design
surpasses the standard by incorporating two of the awe-inspiring beasts. Two
dragons are depicted flying and striving towards a flaming pearl that is
descending towards the middle of the coin’s design. The dragons appear to
mirror each other, with spiraling clouds placed intermittently around them.
Within the circle formed by these two flying dragons the Chinese characters
denoting One Tael are found. Manchu characters at the right and left also state
the denomination of One Tael. The upper and lower English legends convey the
location of Hu-peh Province and One Tael. The reverse of the coin displays an
all Chinese and Manchu legend. The upper portion states in Chinese: “Made in
Hupeh Province (in the) 30th Year (of emperor) Kuang Hsu.” The lower legend
reads: Kuping (weight) 1 Tael and these legends are separated by a rosette composed
of seven dots. The inner inscription is surrounded by a border of dots, and
dominates most of the reverse field. The center legend contains four Chinese symbols
that denote: “Valuable Coin (of the) Kuang Hsu (regime).” Four Manchu
characters appear within the larger Chinese characters and convey the same
meaning as the central inscription.
Though our Stack’s Bowers August Hong Kong Showcase Auction is no longer
open for consignments, we are now accepting consignments of world and ancient
coins for our January 2017 New York International Auction as well as Chinese
and other Asian coins and currency for our April 2017 Hong Kong Showcase
Auction. If you are interested in consigning your coins and paper currency
(whether a whole collection or a single rarity) be sure to contact one of our
consignment directors.
