Chihli. Kuang-hsü Tael Year 33 (1907) MS61 PCGS Pei Yang Arsenal (Tientsin) mint, KM-Y74.2, L&M-437, Kann-938, WS-0637, Wenchao-633 (rarity 4 stars), Chang Foundation-53. Variety with 3 dots on pearl, arranged in a semi-circle. The rarest emission of the Chihli series, and only the second type struck by newly reestablished Tientsin mint after its destruction during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. Reportedly part of a final push by the Central Mint authorities to introduce a tael standard, the Year 33 Taels saw only a relatively small number introduced into circulation, nearly all of which were quickly withdrawn and melted soon after issue due to competition with the contemporary dollar coinage already in circulation. Closely deriving from the Hu Poo taels of Year 29, the dies for which had been produced by a foreign mint, the overall quality of execution is exquisite with the details of the design finely contoured and fully expressed in a somewhat ornate style. One of just 7 certified examples at PCGS with only 3 ranking in Mint State, this is only the second example we have handled since 2009, and the price of $70,000 recently realized for an XF45 specimen suggests an enormous interest for this usually unattainable type.

HID09801242017

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