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(t) CHINA. Mei-Feng Yinhang Xiaobao. American Oriental Bank Small Ingots. Silver 1 Tael Ingot, ND (ca. 1921-35). Graded "UNC" by Zhong Qian Ping Ji Grading Company.

BMC-Class XXXII Group A # 349. Weight: 34.3 gms. "A.O.B.C." (American Oriental Banking Corporation), "Mei Feng" (Mei Feng Bank) below all within circular border. This charming little ingot is quite RARE, deceptively interesting and highly important to the history of international banking in modern China. The stamp is bold and clear with good definition of the letters and characters leaving nothing to the imagination. This nicely preserved small size ingot exhibits lustrous surfaces displaying rich old cabinet patina indicative of sitting for a prolonged period of time undisturbed adding to its desirability; clearly this piece was plucked from circulation early on and treated with great care. This type seldom appears in the marketplace sure to catch the attention of many collectors worthy of serious consideration from potential bidders looking to add unusual numismatic treasures to their collections. The issuing authority of this type, The American Oriental Banking Corporation, was the largest of all of the American banks in China. They became incorporated in 1917 and opened four branches; The American Oriental Bank of Shanghai (ca. 1917-35), The American Oriental Bank of Fukien (1922-35), The American Oriental Bank of Szechuan (1921-32) and The American Oriental Bank of Tientsin (ca. 1924-35); but by 1935 all of four branches were either bought out by their Chinese investors as in the case of the Szechuan branch or closed due to China's departure from the silver standard which caused their foreign exchange business to fail terribly.

Estimate: $ 1000.00 - 2000.00

美豐銀行小寶。 美國東方銀行一兩小錠。

重34.3克。"A.O.B.C."、"美豐"均於圓圈内。罕見的小銀錠，對現代中國國際銀行業富含歷史價值的一枚。戳記深打，字體清晰，筆劃分明。保存良好，表面亮澤，有濃厚的老窯藏包漿，顯然在流通初期已經被妥善保存，並經長時間靜置。此版鮮少現身市場，定能引起收藏特殊版別的藏家競奪。由美豐銀行授權發行，其為中國最大的美國銀行。開業於 1917 年，有四家分行：上海美豐銀行 (ca. 1917-35)、福建美豐銀行 (1922-35)，四川美豐銀行 (1921-32) 及天津美豐銀行 (ca. 1924-35)。1935 年，中國退出銀本位系統，四家分行不是被中國投資者收購，就是因外匯業務拖累而倒閉。