A lot of rare Chinese coins and banknotes will be presented at Champion Galleries sale, which will take place at Holiday Inn Golden Mile in Kowloon, Hong Kong, on June 22. The information was provided by Champion Galleries President, Michael Chou. It is worth mentioning that Holiday Inn Golden Mile in Kowloon is the place where major numismatics auctions take place for over 25 years.

People wishing to participate in the auction are provided catalogs given in both English and Chinese languages.

The star of the auction and the top rarity is considered to be the 1867 Shanghai Tael pattern (Kann 911a), which was struck by the Hong Kong Mint. The coin comes from the Wayte Raymond Collection and it is certified Proof-64 by PCGS and NGC. The 1867 Shanghai Tael pattern is expected to account $100,000 or more. Despite the fact that the coin features the inscriptions of Shanghai and Hong Kong, it was not intended to be used in circulation in any of the two. The coin was meant to become the national coinage of China. In this particular case Hong Kong was just a mintmark. The Shanghai inscription is given because the coin was minted according to the standard of the Shanghai Tael.

The 1903 Hupoo Tael is another popular rarity that will be presented at the auction. The coin is certified by NGC as Specimen-64 (Kann 927). It would be interesting to note that the dies for this particular coin include a unique type of dragon. Most probably these dies were engraved at Osaka Mint. However, the coin itself was minted in Tientsin. Experts believe the coin could realize about $70,000.

The same realization could bring the 1907 Peiyang Tael (Kann 938a), a coin that earlier was presented in 1991, during the sale of the Goodman Collection. This coin was issued by the Tientsin Mint. In order to strike this coin it was necessary to apply the same Japanese style dragon, which was used to strike the Hupoo Tael. NGC graded this coin as MS-62.

Another rare coin is the undated Dragon Dollar, struck by the Nanking Mint from Kiangnan back in 1897. The coin is similar to Kann 66. The difference is in its plain edge and the fact that it was struck in copper. Despite the fact that a coin in silver with a plain edge exists, this coin is not listed as being with the plain edge. Kann does not include in the list any copper dollar coins that date back to 1897. Dollar coins with a plain edge dated 1897 are listed in silver and copper in the catalog of H. Chang from 1981, entitled "Silver Dollars and Taels of China". This undated Dragon Dollar is expected to account about $50,000.

The auction will also present the Kiangnan 1897 Dollars, featuring ornamented edges (Kann 66a). NGD rated the coin MS63. In addition there will be 50, 10 and 5 cent coins dated 1897, these being graded by NGC Proof-67(Kann 69 and 70). A very rare coin that dates from the same period is the Chekiang Dragon Dollar copper coin, which is considered to be one of a kind. The inscription on the coin states CHE-KIANG PROVINCE and not Cheh-Kiang, as it supposed to. It illustrates what has been dubbed "drunken dragon". Such design was only applied on this set of patterns. Coins from this set where never minted for circulation. The coin struck in copper for the first time appeared in a Pacific Coast Auction, held in Hong Kong in September 1989. Two decades later the coin returns to bring from $30,000 to $60,000.

Another rarity considered the star of the auction is the Hunan Province Dragon Half Dollar in Proof. The Dragon Dollar and this coin were unknown till the moment when the first dollar was presented in 1975 at Paramount auction. In 1977 NASCA sale auctioned the first half dollar and today it is believed that there are 6 specimens of the half dollars. It's interesting to note that both, dollar and half dollar coins were cast at the Heaton Mint in Birmingham, England. They served as samples for the Changsha Mint. Both coins were never meant to be issued for circulation. The Hunan Province Dragon Half Dollar in Proof is expected to bring from $50,000 to $80,000.

The Champion Galleries sale will also include two rare pattern coins, cast at Tientsin Mint. One coin is the 1906 Gold Tael (Kann 1540). The coin was rate by NGC MS63 and it is expected to account $70,000. The second coin a 1911 Long Whiskers Dragon Dollar, featuring standard reverse (Kann 223b) and certified by the NGC Proof-63. The 1911 Long Whiskers Dragon Dollar is expected to bring $40,000.

In addition the sale will feature five coins from the Republican China, including: $20 Shantung Province Gold Coin dated 1926 and graded by NGC MS64 and $10 Shantung Province Gold Coin, graded MS65 (Kann 1535 and 1536). Both coins on their obverse depict the images of dragon and phoenix. Presumably these coins were cast at the Tientsin Mint, the same mint that produced other coins featuring the images of the dragon and phoenix in 1920s. Both coins are expected to bring about $100,000. The other pair of coins from the Republican China includes 1936 Small Size Silver Dollar, rated MS63 and Half Dollar, rated MS65, depicting the image of Sun Yat Sen on the obverse, while the reverse features a sailing junk (Kann 634 and 635). Each of the two rarities is expected to account about $20,000.

The 1919 Yuan Shih-kai Dollar (Kann 665 type) is the final Chinese rarity presented at the sale. The coin was cast at Heaton Mint presumably in 1949, the year that China passed from gold Yuan currency system to silver Yuan currency, which is why it needed silver dollars to serve as reserve for paper currency. It is considered that the Heaton Mint struck this particular coin as a sample to sign a contract for minting millions of such coins. In the end the contract was signed by the United States. It is believed that the U.S. agreed to ship the currency by air and not by sea. In 1949 the Chinese Sun Yat Sen Junk Dollars, dated 1934, were struck by all three mints from the United States. The mints also managed to cast a lot of Mexican pesos, dated 1898.

The Heaton Yuan Shih-Kai Dollar specimen, which will be presented in the Champion Hong Kong Auction is certified as Specimen-65 by NGC. It is expected to be acquired for more than $20,000.

Besides rare Chinese coins, the sale will also feature a collection of more than 100 Chinese banknotes. The collection includes: Peoples Republic of China 10,000 Yuan Camel banknote and Peoples Republic of China 10 Yuan note, dated 1953. The 10 Yuan note is a very rare specimen since it was printed in the Soviet Union.

Coins minted in Hong Kong will also be offered for sale. There are over 60 lots. The most impressive feature a 1905 Gem BU 10 Cent coin, which is expected to be sold for $5,000 to $10,000, and a very rare 1941 One Cent coin. All the lots that will be presented at the auction will be available to viewers at the Baltimore coin show, which will be held in June 5-7; in Taipei, in the period between June 11 and 12; in Shanghai between June 14 and 15; and in Hong Kong between June 20 and 22.