Kiangnan. Kuang-hsü 5 Cents CD 1899 MS64 PCGS, Nanking mint, KM-Y141a, L&M-228, Kann-80, WS-0814, Wenchao-663. Variety without circle around dragon. A shimmering near-gem, beautifully lustrous and virtually blemish-free with the lightest tinge of champagne-topaz tone to the luster. Tied with the W&B Capital Collection specimen—which brought $32,500 in Stack's April 2015 Hong Kong Auction—and just one other example as the finest certified, it would be incredibly difficult to imagine a finer piece. Entirely deserving of a place of prominence in the finest collection of Chinese coinage, and a minor that is set to stun.

HID09801242017

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