IRVINE, Calif. — The Stack’s Bowers and Ponterio August 2015 Hong Kong Currency Auction will showcase an incredible array of rare banknotes from the Far East. The sale will lead with Chinese material starting with an impressive selection of Empirical issues with many examples of the popular “Ming Note,” as well as pieces from the Ch’ing Dynasty and Board of Revenue issues. Republic era notes are a focal point of the sale as well, with many rare issued notes from the 1910s being offered. Key Provincial Chinese banknote rarities are also included and the sale finishes out with impressive offerings of Hong Kong currency and notes of British Commonwealths.

The highlight of the sale is an important Banque de L’Indo-Chine One Piastre that is from the Canton-Shemeen branch dated 1902. This branch is extremely rare in any denomination; we have only ever offered  a single other in our past auctions, a Five Piastres specimen note, also of the 1902 date, that brought $57,500 in our December 2010 Hong Kong sale. This issued One Piastre is a true prize for any collection, with the Maurice Kolsky reference describing the note as “Nearly unique, two or three known.” The note is also plated in the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money.

An always popular Pick S2135r, Hupeh Government Mint 7 Mace, 2 Candareens is offered in an impressive Very Fine state, showing the intricate large vertical format design in strong detail. Another large vertical format rarity to be offered is a 100,000 Cash Ch’ing Dynasty piece dated 1858. A pair of rare Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation notes on Chinese branches comprise an issued Five Dollar note from 1920 and a scarce specimen $100 design dated 1922. One of the last few lots to be sold is also one of the most important and a piece we have not previously handled. This $10,000 specimen note from Malaya features a portrait vignette of King George VI and will certainly garner significant attention when it crosses the auction block.

Highlights of the August 2015 Stack’s Bowers and Ponterio Hong Kong Auction:

Lot 50001 – Ming Dynasty. 1 Kuan, ND (1368-1399). P-AA10. CMC Extremely Fine 40.
Lot 50008 – Ch’ing Dynasty. 100,000 Cash, Yr. 8 (1858). P-A8b. PCGS Very Fine 30 Apparent.
Lot 50010 – Board of Revenue. 10 Taels, Yr. 4 (1854). P-A12b. CMC Very Fine 25.
Lot 50014 – Ningpo Commercial Bank Limited. 5 Dollars, 22.1.1909. P-A61C. PMG Very Good 10.
Lot 50016 – Commercial Bank of China. 5 Taels, 1.1.1920. P-A135a. PMG Choice Very Fine 35.
Lot 50020 – Bank of China. 1 Dollar, 1.6.1912. P-25t. PMG Choice Fine 15 Net.
Lot 50022 – Bank of China. 5 Dollars, 1.6.1913. P-31s. Specimen. PMG Choice Uncirculated 64 EPQ.
Lot 50032 – Bank of China. 10 Yuan, 1939. P-81Cs. Specimen. PMG Choice Uncirculated 63 EPQ.
Lot 50092 – Federal Reserve Bank of China. 100 Dollars, 1938. P-J58s. Specimen. PMG Gem Uncirculated 65 EPQ.
Lot 50100 – Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation. 100 Dollars, 1.1.1922. P-S343. Specimen. PMG Choice Uncirculated 64.
Lot 50102 – Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation. 5 Dollars, 1.1.1920. P-S382. PMG Choice Very Fine 35.
Lot 50106 – Banque de L’Indo-Chine. 1 Dollar, 15.1.1902. P-S436. Fine-Very Fine.
Lot 50112 – Kiang-Nan Yu-Ning Government Bank. 1 Dollar, 1.7.1907. P-S1180b. PMG Choice Very Fine 35 Net.
Lot 50119 – Hupeh Government Mint. 7 Mace 2 Candareens, Yr. 25 (1899). P-S2135r. Remainder. PMG Very Fine 30.
Lot 50153 – Banque de L’Indo-Chine. 50 Roupies, ND (1936). P-7s. Specimen. PCGS Superb Gem New 67 PPQ.
Lot 50164 – Bank of Japan. 10 Yen, ND (1890). P-28. PMG Very Fine 25 Net.
Lot 50190 – Board of Commissioners of Currency. 10,000 Dollars, ND (1942). P-17s. Specimen. PCGS About New 53 Apparent.

About Stack’s Bowers Galleries
Stack’s Bowers Galleries conducts live, Internet and specialized auctions of rare U.S. and world coins and currency and ancient coins, as well as direct sales through retail and wholesale channels. The company’s 80-year legacy includes the cataloging and sale of many of the most valuable United States coin and currency collections to ever cross an auction block — The John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, The Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection, The Harry W. Bass, Jr. Collection, The Norweb Collection, The Cardinal Collection and The Battle Born Collection — to name just a few. World coin and currency collections include The Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection of World Gold Coins, The Kroisos Collection, The Alicia and Sidney Belzberg Collection, The Wa She Wong Collection, The Guia Collection, The Thos. H. Law Collection, and The Robert O. Ebert Collection.
Topping off this amazing numismatic history is the inclusion of the world record for the highest price ever realized at auction for a rare coin, the 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar graded Specimen-66 (PCGS) that realized over $10 million, part of their sale of the famed Cardinal Collection. The company is headquartered in Irvine, California, with offices in New York, Wolfeboro, Hong Kong, and Paris. Stack’s Bowers Galleries is an Official Auctioneer for several important numismatic conventions, including American Numismatic Association events, the New York International Numismatic Convention, the Professional Numismatists Guild New York Invitational, the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Spring, Summer and Winter Expos, and its April and August Hong Kong Auctions.