CHINA-PEKING 1900 Siver Restrike Set (5), all Ex Kann Sweeny Collection, with Kann's coin envelope:

One Dollar, L&M6A, K233, NGC MS61;

50 Cents, L&M7A, K234, NGC MS61;

20 Cents, L&M8A, K235, NGC MS63;

10 Cents, L&M9A, K236, NGC MS61;

5 Cents, L&M10A, K237, NGC MS61.

Plate Coin of "TOP CHINESE COINS-SILVER COINAGE - Silver Edition".

The 1900 Peking Dragon Silver Dollar series is one of the most famous sets among collectors of Chinese coins. Kann published information about the Peking Dollar for the first time in his 1954 catalog. In 2011, in Top Chinese Coins – Silver Edition the 1900 Peking series was elected as the number one series of Chinese struck coinage.

In 1995, The Journal of East Asian Numismatics published James Sweeny‘s article on the Peking 1900 coins based on his extensive research of over 20 years. The journal was published by Michael Chou with chief editor, Bruce Smith, from 1994 to 1999.

This legendary 1900 Peking set was part of the Eduard Kann collection and was sold in the auction of Kann's collection in 1971. Sweeny purchased this set and consigned it to Champion for Champion's Sweeny 1900 collection auction in 1995. The Sweeny 1900 Peking set sold for USD 46,000 to its current owner, who has consigned the set back to Champion after almost 20 years.

This 1900 Peking set was sent with the other Kann specimen of the 1900 Peking dollar to the chief curator of British Royal Mint, G. Dryer, for metallurgic testing and study in 1981. Champion sold this Kann example of the Peking 1900 dollar in its first sale in 1994 to a collector who still has it today.

In Kann's account of how the dies were bought and sold, it seems that the final sale of the Peking Dragon Dollar dies was to a Shanghai collector, Chen Ren-tao, who moved to Hong Kong in 1947. Four dies for these coins (the 10-cent die is missing) were purchased in the early 1950s in Hong Kong from Chen Ren-tao for HKD 90,000 by a directive of Chinese Premier Chou En-lai for the Chinese Culture Ministry. The dies are currently on display at the China National Museum in Beijing.

According to the great Chinese collector Irving Goodman, Mrs. Wong of Hong Kong told him that she and her husband had owned 8 Peking 1900 sets because the dies broke after these strikes. Three sets were sold to Irving Goodman between 1962 and 1967, who resold two sets to Japan in the 1970s and the third set was included in the 1991 Goodman Auction. The coins owned by Kann (and sold in the 1971 auction) may be from the earliest strikes from the original dies as they are sharper in detail than the Goodman coins and other examples we have seen. According to Sweeny there is an estimate of 10-15 sets of the 1900 Peking restrikes in existence, we suggest it is closer to 10 overall restrike sets.

This is a great opportunity to own this historic set of Chinese Numismatic history. The dies for these coins were taken during the 1900 Boxer Rebellion during the destruction of the Peking Mint. The Peking Mint was setup by Allan Wyon, the designer of the first Kwangtung 7 mace 3 reverse coinage. The Wyon family were a legendary minting family in England and who were involved in many aspects of minting history in Europe and Asia. In the 1980s England’s Spink and Son obtained from the Wyon family 2 and 1/2 sets of plain edge matte proof 1900 coins. Two sets were sold to a Taiwan collector and a set of 20, 10, and 5 cents were sold to another Taiwan collector.

James Sweeny was also the author of the History of the Birmingham Mint. The Birmingham Mint (Heaton) produced some of the rarest series in Chinese Numismatics such as Hunan, Shensi, Chehkiang, and Kiangnan provinces patterns. Mr. Sweeny, as compensation for writing the book for the mint, was allowed to select duplicates from the mint’s archive collection. Since Mr. Sweeny only collects coins from 1900 he did not select any coins from the Chinese series because they were not of this date. He selected the 1900 pattern proof set of Sarawak (two sets known) and Straits Settlements (three sets known) from the Heaton archive.

Other coins from Champion's Sweeny 1900 collection auction included a 1900 Kiangnan province dollar early strike in superb condition which sold for a record price of USD 8,000. This coin was later graded by PCGS as MS-66+ and auctioned in 2012 in China for a world record price for a Chinese circulating dollar coin for RMB 3,600,000 (USD 550,000). One of the finest known 1900 Kiangnan province 50 cents was also in the collection and set a record price for this series. Both the extremely rare Heaton 1900 Sarawak and the Straits Settlements Proof sets were also part of the sale and also established record prices of USD 5,000 and USD 16,000 respectfully.

NGC MS61 & MS63