Over the past 30 years, the market for Asian coins, particularly those of China, has experienced an unprecedented explosion in demand and popularity. Long ago, few people envisioned the possibility of a $100,000 Asian coin, yet now many Chinese coins have broken the million dollar mark. Through a series of fortunate events, and thanks to my good friend, Michael Chou of Champion Auctions, I have been blessed with the opportunity to participate in this exploding market for Chinese coins, not so much as a purveyor of the coins, but as a facilitator for those who want to collect and deal in these fascinating pieces of numismatic history. The following narrative is derived in large part from the forewords in the second and third editions of Top Chinese Coins, two incredible coffee table books that have helped promote and document the rise of the Asian and Chinese coin markets.
In the foreword to the third edition of Top Chinese coins, I recounted my initial exposure to the much smaller market of the 1990:
“I have been fortunate to experience the rise in Chinese numismatics firsthand. My inaugural trip to Hong Kong was in 1996, when Michael Chou asked me to serve as an auctioneer for his first sale and to review the grades of the coins in the auction. Keep in mind that Hong Kong was still under British control in 1996. Pre-handover and post-handover Hong Kong were two very different places – both were bustling centers of commerce but with completely different vibes. When China entered the World Trade Organization in 2001, the economy took off like a rocket, the Chinese middle class grew, the entire country prospered, and China became the economic powerhouse that it is today. Collectors in China, flush with disposable income, began repatriating coins that had been taken overseas by Western collectors and tourists decades earlier. This is why Chinese coins have risen so dramatically in price – Chinese collectors are feverishly hungry to own relics of their country’s numismatic history.”
One major change since I wrote those words is that the traffic for some Chinese coins is now one way: for instance, it remains perfectly legal to import coins into China, but it is now illegal to export classic, pre-modern coins from China. This makes it increasingly difficult for collectors outside of China to assemble meaningful collections of Chinese rarities. It also means that a worldwide hunt for important Chinese coins is underway.
My recollections in the foreword to the second edition (2010) of Top Chinese Coins were similar:
“As of this writing, the market for China coins is ‘on fire.’ Everyone wants to get in on the action, especially in areas where the true rarity of some of the coins is now being recognized. Collectors pay attention to (and big premiums for) coins that are condition-rarities – coins where high-grade examples are either very rare or are vastly superior to all other survivors. The increasing wealth of collectors in Asia creates exceptional demand for all coins, but especially for the finest and the rarest. In the search for quality, grading services help establish rigorous grading standards and identify both actual rarity and condition-rarity coins. Increased demand draws coins from collections all over the world back to their source. In recent years, large numbers of individual, high-grade rarities and exceptional collections have made their way back to China. The same is true in the modern market, where coins that were once exported are now being repatriated by eager collectors.”
Thus, it can be seen that the one-way traffic in Chinese coins has been a reality for many years. Now, it has been codified into Chinese law.
Coin grading in China, now seemingly ubiquitous, was not always so. From the foreword in the third edition:
“In 2007 and 2008, Michael Chou hosted third-party coin grading seminars in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Taipei where experts such as Karl Stephens, Bruce Smith, Bob Johnson, Zhou Xiang (of the Shanghai Museum), Chou Chien Fu (of the Taipei Numismatic Society), and I introduced third-party grading to the Chinese market. One of the biggest benefits of third-party grading has been consumer protection, particularly in the area of anti-counterfeiting. This, in turn, has inspired confidence in the market, which brings in more collectors and helps to create higher prices and increased liquidity.”
The trips in 2007 and 2008, where I represented the Professional Coin Grading Service, were revolutionary, as third-party coin grading was yet unknown in China. During those trips, we held seminars in Beijing and Shagnhai, met with the Beijing Chengxuan Auction Company and the China Gold Coin, Inc., and attended meetings of the Hong Kong and Taipei numismatic societies. We also visited the Shanghai Museum and saw many rare coins in the vault. As a result of those efforts, revenues from the grading of Chinese and other Asian coins comprise significant portions of revenues enjoyed by the grading companies. The synergy of online auctions and third-party grading benefitted from Michael’s early experience with Ebay on their Taiwan and Eachnet sites.
When coin grading companies first established connections with the Asian market, collectors and dealers shipped their coins to America for certification or the grading services sent staff to Hong Kong and China for special grading events. Now, the major certification services have standalone operations in China, partly to satisfy local demand for coin grading, and partly to comply with the one-way traffic laws previously mentioned. In addition, home-grown Chinese certification companies compete for a piece of the grading pie.
In the intervening years since the first trip to Hong Kong in 1996, Michael has asked me to work with him on several books, primarily as an editor. Typically, Michael and his wonderful staff provide an English version that was translated from the original Chinese. This leads to some interesting “losses in translation”. For instance, when editing the first Top Chinese Coins book, I came across a Silver Dollar described as having a “Bountiful Harvest” on the reverse. Not having ever run into that term used to describe a coin in the English language, I was at a loss to figure out what it meant. However, when looking at an image of the actual coin, the answer became obvious. The “Bountiful Harvest” was the wreath, which represented the different agricultural products gathered at harvest time. Other, similar terms appeared in the text, most of which were resolved with a quick analysis or an email or phone call to Michael’s staff. Converting the Chinese terms, which tended to be effusive and uplifting, into English, which is more dispassionate, was both challenging and enjoyable. And, of course, it became easier with each new book.
One of the more interesting books I worked on with Michael was the 2014 biography of Howard Bowker. The Bowker collection had lain dormant for decades, only to be discovered by Michael through a pure stroke of luck. Though Bowker was well-known as a scholar in Asian numismatics before his death in 1970, he might have become a footnote in history were it not for this serendipitous event. Bowker’s amazing collection has since been disbursed via generous donations to various museums throughout the world, including the Shanghai Mint Museum, China Banknote Printing and Minting Museum, Shenyang Mint, Art Museum of Moritzburg Halle, and the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution. Select rarities in the collection were sold over several auctions. Bowker’s library was one of the largest and most important in the world and he himself was a prolific writer. To preserve the Bowker legacy, Michael asked me to write a biography that eventually turned into a book entitled Howard Franklin Bowker: Numismatic Pioneer. The Bowker heirs generously provided background information, images, and personal stories that became the basis for the book. After writing the book in English, I turned it over to Michael’s staff, who probably encountered the same problems in translation that I described earlier. This time the tables were turned. However, as a result of their superb work, this book received the Numismatic Literary Guild’s “Extraordinary Merit” Award in 2015.
Another fun book was the 2019 catalog of Show Panda Medals co-edited with King Chan of Hong Kong. Unlike regular Panda coins, which bear a denomination, Show Pandas have no face value and were made to commemorate various events -- usually numismatic conventions - throughout the world. First issued in 1984, Show Pandas have become an extremely popular collecting area. Most have very low mintages. Several of the Show Pandas with high intrinsic gold and silver values feature mintages in the single or double-digits. As the editor of this book, I was struck by the variety of creative designs that separate Show Pandas from their regular-issue sisters.
In 2021, Michael began a book project to promote the incredible collection of Chinese rarities formed by Mr. Nelson Chang. Again, I was asked to edit the book. This was a particularly enjoyable project because Mr. Chang collected only the rarest of the rare, the best of the best, and the finest of the finest. Mr. Chang knew his collection better than anyone else, he knew the stories of the coins he had purchased, so it was logical that he become the lead author. Though the collection was small in terms of the total number, the coins themselves were stunning. In many cases, they were coins that had been off the market for so many years that few people even knew they existed. Subsequently, Michael sold the collection through Champion Auctions, where the coins set numerous price records, including the highest per-lot prices ever realized in an auction of Chinese and Asian coins – a record that still stands today. The Chang book went on to become the Numismatic Literary Guild’s Best World Coin Book (1500 to date), making it the first Chinese-authored book to win an NLG award.
Later in 2021, work began on the third edition of Top Chinese Coins, this time focusing on the Silver Coinage. This book includes sixty of the finest and rarest Chinese coins, ranked in order based on a 2009 survey in which 102 numismatic experts and collectors participated. This bilingual (Chinese and English) book is both an important reference work for collectors but also a visually impressive work that impresses even non-collectors with its vibrant designs and images.
It is hard to believe that it has been 27 years since my first trip to Hong Kong. None of this would have been possible without the support and insistence of Michael Chou, who continues to be a force in Asian and Chinese numismatics. In recent discussions with Michael, it is clear that he has no intention of slowing down. You will soon hear and learn of his new projects and I look forward to working with him and his staff for many more years come. Thank you Michael and thank you Champion Auctions.
In the foreword to the third edition of Top Chinese coins, I recounted my initial exposure to the much smaller market of the 1990:
“I have been fortunate to experience the rise in Chinese numismatics firsthand. My inaugural trip to Hong Kong was in 1996, when Michael Chou asked me to serve as an auctioneer for his first sale and to review the grades of the coins in the auction. Keep in mind that Hong Kong was still under British control in 1996. Pre-handover and post-handover Hong Kong were two very different places – both were bustling centers of commerce but with completely different vibes. When China entered the World Trade Organization in 2001, the economy took off like a rocket, the Chinese middle class grew, the entire country prospered, and China became the economic powerhouse that it is today. Collectors in China, flush with disposable income, began repatriating coins that had been taken overseas by Western collectors and tourists decades earlier. This is why Chinese coins have risen so dramatically in price – Chinese collectors are feverishly hungry to own relics of their country’s numismatic history.”
One major change since I wrote those words is that the traffic for some Chinese coins is now one way: for instance, it remains perfectly legal to import coins into China, but it is now illegal to export classic, pre-modern coins from China. This makes it increasingly difficult for collectors outside of China to assemble meaningful collections of Chinese rarities. It also means that a worldwide hunt for important Chinese coins is underway.
My recollections in the foreword to the second edition (2010) of Top Chinese Coins were similar:
“As of this writing, the market for China coins is ‘on fire.’ Everyone wants to get in on the action, especially in areas where the true rarity of some of the coins is now being recognized. Collectors pay attention to (and big premiums for) coins that are condition-rarities – coins where high-grade examples are either very rare or are vastly superior to all other survivors. The increasing wealth of collectors in Asia creates exceptional demand for all coins, but especially for the finest and the rarest. In the search for quality, grading services help establish rigorous grading standards and identify both actual rarity and condition-rarity coins. Increased demand draws coins from collections all over the world back to their source. In recent years, large numbers of individual, high-grade rarities and exceptional collections have made their way back to China. The same is true in the modern market, where coins that were once exported are now being repatriated by eager collectors.”
Thus, it can be seen that the one-way traffic in Chinese coins has been a reality for many years. Now, it has been codified into Chinese law.
Coin grading in China, now seemingly ubiquitous, was not always so. From the foreword in the third edition:
“In 2007 and 2008, Michael Chou hosted third-party coin grading seminars in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Taipei where experts such as Karl Stephens, Bruce Smith, Bob Johnson, Zhou Xiang (of the Shanghai Museum), Chou Chien Fu (of the Taipei Numismatic Society), and I introduced third-party grading to the Chinese market. One of the biggest benefits of third-party grading has been consumer protection, particularly in the area of anti-counterfeiting. This, in turn, has inspired confidence in the market, which brings in more collectors and helps to create higher prices and increased liquidity.”
The trips in 2007 and 2008, where I represented the Professional Coin Grading Service, were revolutionary, as third-party coin grading was yet unknown in China. During those trips, we held seminars in Beijing and Shagnhai, met with the Beijing Chengxuan Auction Company and the China Gold Coin, Inc., and attended meetings of the Hong Kong and Taipei numismatic societies. We also visited the Shanghai Museum and saw many rare coins in the vault. As a result of those efforts, revenues from the grading of Chinese and other Asian coins comprise significant portions of revenues enjoyed by the grading companies. The synergy of online auctions and third-party grading benefitted from Michael’s early experience with Ebay on their Taiwan and Eachnet sites.
When coin grading companies first established connections with the Asian market, collectors and dealers shipped their coins to America for certification or the grading services sent staff to Hong Kong and China for special grading events. Now, the major certification services have standalone operations in China, partly to satisfy local demand for coin grading, and partly to comply with the one-way traffic laws previously mentioned. In addition, home-grown Chinese certification companies compete for a piece of the grading pie.
In the intervening years since the first trip to Hong Kong in 1996, Michael has asked me to work with him on several books, primarily as an editor. Typically, Michael and his wonderful staff provide an English version that was translated from the original Chinese. This leads to some interesting “losses in translation”. For instance, when editing the first Top Chinese Coins book, I came across a Silver Dollar described as having a “Bountiful Harvest” on the reverse. Not having ever run into that term used to describe a coin in the English language, I was at a loss to figure out what it meant. However, when looking at an image of the actual coin, the answer became obvious. The “Bountiful Harvest” was the wreath, which represented the different agricultural products gathered at harvest time. Other, similar terms appeared in the text, most of which were resolved with a quick analysis or an email or phone call to Michael’s staff. Converting the Chinese terms, which tended to be effusive and uplifting, into English, which is more dispassionate, was both challenging and enjoyable. And, of course, it became easier with each new book.
One of the more interesting books I worked on with Michael was the 2014 biography of Howard Bowker. The Bowker collection had lain dormant for decades, only to be discovered by Michael through a pure stroke of luck. Though Bowker was well-known as a scholar in Asian numismatics before his death in 1970, he might have become a footnote in history were it not for this serendipitous event. Bowker’s amazing collection has since been disbursed via generous donations to various museums throughout the world, including the Shanghai Mint Museum, China Banknote Printing and Minting Museum, Shenyang Mint, Art Museum of Moritzburg Halle, and the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution. Select rarities in the collection were sold over several auctions. Bowker’s library was one of the largest and most important in the world and he himself was a prolific writer. To preserve the Bowker legacy, Michael asked me to write a biography that eventually turned into a book entitled Howard Franklin Bowker: Numismatic Pioneer. The Bowker heirs generously provided background information, images, and personal stories that became the basis for the book. After writing the book in English, I turned it over to Michael’s staff, who probably encountered the same problems in translation that I described earlier. This time the tables were turned. However, as a result of their superb work, this book received the Numismatic Literary Guild’s “Extraordinary Merit” Award in 2015.
Another fun book was the 2019 catalog of Show Panda Medals co-edited with King Chan of Hong Kong. Unlike regular Panda coins, which bear a denomination, Show Pandas have no face value and were made to commemorate various events -- usually numismatic conventions - throughout the world. First issued in 1984, Show Pandas have become an extremely popular collecting area. Most have very low mintages. Several of the Show Pandas with high intrinsic gold and silver values feature mintages in the single or double-digits. As the editor of this book, I was struck by the variety of creative designs that separate Show Pandas from their regular-issue sisters.
In 2021, Michael began a book project to promote the incredible collection of Chinese rarities formed by Mr. Nelson Chang. Again, I was asked to edit the book. This was a particularly enjoyable project because Mr. Chang collected only the rarest of the rare, the best of the best, and the finest of the finest. Mr. Chang knew his collection better than anyone else, he knew the stories of the coins he had purchased, so it was logical that he become the lead author. Though the collection was small in terms of the total number, the coins themselves were stunning. In many cases, they were coins that had been off the market for so many years that few people even knew they existed. Subsequently, Michael sold the collection through Champion Auctions, where the coins set numerous price records, including the highest per-lot prices ever realized in an auction of Chinese and Asian coins – a record that still stands today. The Chang book went on to become the Numismatic Literary Guild’s Best World Coin Book (1500 to date), making it the first Chinese-authored book to win an NLG award.
Later in 2021, work began on the third edition of Top Chinese Coins, this time focusing on the Silver Coinage. This book includes sixty of the finest and rarest Chinese coins, ranked in order based on a 2009 survey in which 102 numismatic experts and collectors participated. This bilingual (Chinese and English) book is both an important reference work for collectors but also a visually impressive work that impresses even non-collectors with its vibrant designs and images.
It is hard to believe that it has been 27 years since my first trip to Hong Kong. None of this would have been possible without the support and insistence of Michael Chou, who continues to be a force in Asian and Chinese numismatics. In recent discussions with Michael, it is clear that he has no intention of slowing down. You will soon hear and learn of his new projects and I look forward to working with him and his staff for many more years come. Thank you Michael and thank you Champion Auctions.
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| Chinese Show Panda Catalogue (1984—2019) & |
2021 Top Chinese Coins: Third Edition (Chief Editor) |
Ron Guth
is a recognized authority on United States and German coins. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant who has been involved professionally in numismatics for over fifty years as a collector, dealer, researcher, and writer. His books and articles have earned numerous awards, including the American Numismatic Association's Heath Literary award and the Olga & Wayte Raymond awards, the Numismatic Literary Guild's Best Numismatic Investment Book and Best Book of the Year awards, and the Professional Numismatic Guild's Best Book of the Year award. In 2003, Ron received the prestigious President's Award from the American Numismatic Association in recognition of his numerous contributions to numismatics. In 2021, Coin World named Ron as one of the Top Ten Most Influential People in Numismatics for the sixty-year period from 1960-2020.
Ron created the CoinFacts website (now PCGS CoinFacts) in 1999 and sold the website to Collectors Universe in 2004 (where it is now presented as PCGS CoinFacts. Ron served in various capacities at Collectors Universe, including Director of Numismatic Research, President of the Professional Coin Grading Service, and President of PCGS CoinFacts.
Currently, Ron serves as Chief Investigator at the Numismatic Detective Agency, providing expert provenance on high-end coins.
Ron is a familiar face in the Chinese coin market, having served as auctioneer for many of Champion Auctions beginning in 1996. In 2007 and 2008, Ron represented PCGS and certified coin grading at numismatic seminars hosted by Champion Auctions/iAsure in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Taiwan.
Ron has been a contributor for many years to Krause Publications' Standard Catalog of World Coins, with emphasis on German coins.