The Stack’s Bowers and Ponterio August Hong Kong Showcase Auction is just weeks away, and anticipation is building rapidly. If you have not yet browsed the auction online I welcome you to do so here. Today’s feature is a remarkable Central Mint 10 Tael gold ingot produced in 1945. It displays the bust of Sun Yat-sen. The specifications regarding the ingot can be found in the lot description here.
Sun Yat-sen’s life began when he was born in 1866 to a poor peasant family in the south of China, near Macau. His elder brother left China seeking work in Hawaii, and Sun Yat-sen followed him at the age of 12. Honolulu offered Sun Yat-sen an opportunity to learn English at an Anglican Church School, as well as receive a religious education. Upon returning to China, he studied in Hong Kong, officially converted to Christianity and married. By the time he attained his doctorate in medicine, revolutionary ideas had begun to form in him. An early initial attempt at fomenting rebellion in Canton failed as Sun Yat-sen and his associates were discovered. With great difficulty the group escaped capture and avoided execution. From this point Dr. Sun Yat-sen became a refugee, studying medicine in London and travelling throughout Europe, America, and the Far East. While on his travels, he spread his revolutionary ideas to overseas Chinese students and expatriates, many of whom donated funds towards the downfall of the Manchu Imperial dynasty. Sun Yat-sen settled in Japan, which proved a fertile staging ground for his revolutionary group.
On October 10th, 1911, revolution broke out in China. Just months later, the Manchu emperor abdicated and his government collapsed. Dr. Sun Yat-sen then led the country as the President of the Provisional Republican government in Nanking. An election was held sometime later, and Yuan Shih-kai became President, while accepting the Provisional Constitution provided by the National Council at Nanking. Despite this near-constant struggle and the frequent exile Dr. Sun Yat-sen faced in his life, he is still widely renowned for his role as a founding father of the Republic of China. He continued to lead revolutionary governments throughout the Warlord Era. Despite these setbacks, Sun’s legacy is positive due to his lifelong sacrifice in service of his people, as well as his political philosophy of nationalism, democracy and the people’s livelihood.
While we are no longer accepting consignments for our August 2018 Hong Kong Showcase Auction, we are accepting consignments for the April 2019 Hong Kong Showcase Auction. In addition, we are taking consignments of world and ancient coins and world paper money for our October 2018 Collector’s Choice Online Auction as well as the January 2019 New York International Auction. If you are interested in consigning your coins and paper currency (whether a whole collection or a single rarity) contact one of our consignment directors.
