After the victory of the Northern Expedition in 1927, when the Government of the Republic of China achieved nominal unification, China's currency market was in a state of considerable chaos. First, there was a wide variety of coin types. In addition to the Yuan Shikai and Sun Yat-sen silver dollars commemorating the birth of the Republic of China, minted by the central mint, various provinces still circulated their own silver coins, and silver dollars from the Qing dynasty remained in use, resulting in over 20 major types of silver coins. Second, weight standards differed across the country: the Kuping tael (Treasury Standard) was used in the north, the Caoping tael (Tribute Standard) in the south, and accounts in Shanghai were kept in Guiyuan (the Shanghai Tael). This inconsistency raised transaction costs. Moreover, foreign banks such as the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited and the National City Bank of New York (currently Citibank) issued “silver dollar notes” that accounted for half of the currency in circulation. To regain monetary sovereignty, the government urgently needed to unify the currency. Thus, the policy of “Abolish the Tael, Adopt the Dollar” was proposed in order to end the silver tael system and make the silver dollar the sole legal tender. This was the background that led to the creation of the 1929 Sun Yat-sendollar with a three-sail junk design. Breaking from the tradition of local minting, the government commissioned five foreign mints—in the United States, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, and Austria—to design and engrave dies and produce pattern coins.
These were:
• the Philadelphia Mint (U.S.), known for high-relief work and
experience in designing national currencies;
• the British Royal Mint (U.K.), one of the world’s oldest mints,
famous for mirror surfaces and fine detail;
• the Rome Mint (Italy), celebrated for realistic portrait
engraving;
• the Osaka Mint (Japan); and
• the Vienna Mint (Austria).
The best design among the five was to be selected for mass production, sparking an international coinage competition.
Some earlier Vienna Mint documents (pre-1928) also contain references to Chinese coinage, but as they are not directly relevant to the topic of this article, they will not be detailed here. The focus of this article lies in the mint’s business minutes for 1928–1938, which include the following seven entries
concerning the 1929 Sun Yat-sen silver dollar:
1. 25 April 1928 – Franz Winkler, Austro-Hungarian Consul in Hong Kong and Shanghai, requests a cost estimate for Chinese one-dollar silver coins bearing the portrait of Dr. Sun Yatsen. Remark: quotation provided (handwritten amount details expenses).
2. 3 May 1928 – Franz Winkler, Austrian Consul in Hong Kong and Shanghai (via Gebr. Böhler & Co., Vienna), orders minting tools for the same coins. Advance payment (Ref. 1111/28); 13pages of documents sent (including cost details).
- 1 October 1928 – Austrian Consul Franz Winkler (Shanghai): (1) orders one Schubert commemorative medal; (2) orders punches and master dies for Chinese one-dollar silver coins;
- ; and (3) notifies that the coin dies will be remade. Advance payment (Ref. 1111/28); quotation (Ref. 1176/28); 2 pages sent (including cost details).
4. 16 August 1929 – Gebr. Böhler & Co. (Vienna) confirms that management has received the Chinese coin dies and that the three ordered original hubs have been delivered. Ref. 1111/28, etc.; includes cost details.
5. 27 August 1929 – Gebrüder Böhler & Co. (Vienna), 13 August 1929, regarding continuation of work on original dies for the Chinese Sun Yat-sen silver dollar (handwritten note: “Letter to the hotel”).
6. 3 October 1929 (dated 7 October) – The Chinese Legation in Vienna, through Commercial Attaché Dekien Toung, requests two additional patterns of the Sun Yat-sen dollar. (On 7 October 1929, the Legation, via the Chargéhd’Affaires ad interim, asked for one additional pattern coin of each of two Sun Yat-sen dollar types.)
7. 3 December 1929 – Order for China: one pair of dies for the Central Bank; two pairs of coinage dies; two pairs of punches for each of 10-cent, 20-cent and 50-cent copper coins (illustrations attached); and a request for quotation. VZ.2733/29.
The discovered Vienna Mint archives consist of two kinds of records: printed business minutes and handwritten purchase, processing, and handling notes. The handwritten documents also contain records of the Republic of China buying minting equipment and commissioning work, but those are not excerpted here.
The Vienna Mint was noted for its thick planchets and intricate edge designs, which offered advanced anti-counterfeiting protection. Its 1929 Sun Yat-sen dollar shows a side portrait of Dr. Sun on the obverse. The portrait features hair combed back, fairly distinct lips, a vertical inner-ear contour, a prominent square collar, and an emphasized neck. The upper rim isinscribed with “ 中華民國十八年 ” (18th Year of the Republic of China). The reverse depicts a three-sail junk. The hull has a raised circular porthole at the bow and stern; the sea waves are relatively gentle. The denomination “ 壹 元 ” (One Dollar) appears on either side of the junk. The dies were carefully engraved by the mint’s chief engraver, Richard Placht. Today, the silver and copper pattern coins from all five countries are extremely rare. Variations in the wave pattern below the junk are a key feature for telling the different national versions apart. Austria was the only mint among the five that produced both the standard (dollar) coin and subsidiary denominations for the Year 18 issue, with 10-cent, 20-cent, and half-dollar patterns known. Thanks to its fine portrait detail, the Austrian design is often regarded as the most beautiful of the five. After the dies reached China, the Hangzhou Mint struck a small number of trial pieces. In the end, for various reasons, none of the pattern coins from the five countries were put into production for official issuance.
The Vienna Mint also designed and trial-struck a Sun Yat-sen frontal-portrait silver dollar. The obverse shows a facing portrait of Dr. Sun; the reverse has a three-sail junk on waves, with “ 壹
元 ” on each side. Another view holds that this frontal-portrait dollar is a composite: the obverse uses dies designed or engraved by the Vienna Mint, while the reverse uses dies from the Philadelphia Mint. The portrait is finely engraved, with smooth lines and careful detail in the hair, beard and clothing patterns, demonstrating excellent craftsmanship. Records state that the Nanjing Mint later conducted trial strikes, producing only 480 pieces. Some also believe that the Sun Yat-sen portrait on the 1927 (Year 16) Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum commemorative coin, struck by the Nanjing Mint, was likewise struck from master dies supplied by Vienna.
From the documents, it appears that the Nationalist Government’s business with the Vienna Mint—designing and producing dies and patterns, and purchasing minting equipment—was handled in 1928 through the Austrian Consul in Shanghai, and in 1929 through Gebr. Böhler & Co. in Vienna. That firm was founded in Vienna in 1870 and opened offices in Tokyo, Shanghai, and the United States between 1886 and 1890. In 1870, it negotiated the exclusive agency for the Royal privileged steelworks in Kapfenberg; the name Böhler has since been synonymous worldwide with high-quality specialty steel. Arranging contacts between the Vienna Mint andforeign mintsappear to have been part of the company’s business.
The mint’s 1930 business minutes contain the following Chinarelated entries:
1. 17 January 1930 (Ref. V.A.I.0a.10408/79) – Gebr. Böhler & Co. (Vienna) forwards a copy of an official letter from the Currency Department of the Chinese Ministry of Finance to a Vice-Director of the Central Bank, concerning original dies supplied for a new Sun Yat-sen silver dollar (references include VZ.1900/27).
(The letter states that the Ministry and the Central Bank were preparing to issue a new Sun Yat-sen silver dollar.)
2. 4 February 1930 (Ref. Msy.10a 10408/79) – Gebr. Böhler & Co. (Vienna) places a supplementary order for dies for Chinese silver and nickel subsidiary coins. Letter reply. VZ.2733/29.
(Same entry notes dispatch of specialty steel blanks and a credit note for 4091.20 Austrian Schillings for returned steel.)
3. 8 March 1930 (dated 17 March, Ref. 21.10.408/79) – Gebr. Böhler & Co. (Vienna) confirms receipt of the coin dies made for Shanghai. VZ.2733/29.4. 18 March 1930 – Gebr. Böhler & Co. (Vienna) notifies that 4650 Schillings have been transferred for the delivered Chinese coin dies. Letter reply (1 enclosure), VZ.2733/29.
Regarding the new Sun Yatsen silver dollar mentioned in the January 1930 minutes, no images are shown. The dies for the 1932 (Year 21) Sun Yat-sen gold-standard dollar (with junk, sun, and three birds) were engraved by the Philadelphia Mint, and the 1933 Sun Yat-sen junk dollar was a modification of that design. Neither has any connection with the Vienna Mint. Therefore, the 1930 reference most likely still pertains to the earlier three-sail junk dollar. The other entries relate to minting materials.
Austria’s coinage history stretches back eight centuries. Though the mint has moved locations several times, the Vienna Mint stands as one of Europe’s oldest minting institutions and still possesses world-class engraving skill. The Qing government once invited the Vienna Mint to assist in designing and makingdies for the 1910 Empire Dollar. For the 1910 Empire Half Dollar, there are both patterns struck by the Austria Mint and versions from the Tientsin Mint of the Ministry of Revenue. After its involvement with the Sun Yat-sen dollar, records show that in 1938 the Vienna Mint produced 5-cent, 10-cent, and 20-cent nickel coins for the Republic of China.
The Year 18 Sun Yat-sen three-sail junk silver dollar was born of the Nationalist Government’s drive to end monetary fragmentation and chaos, and to unify the currency. It served as a test case for the “Abolish the Tael, Adopt the Dollar” policy. In 1929, the government invited five mints—American, British, Italian, Japanese, and Austrian—to design and trial strike the coin. For various reasons, none of the patterns were adopted. Yet, each version carriesits own distinct appeal and historical significance. Coupled with their innovative designs and superb workmanship, they are exceptionally precious today and are among the top ten rarities of Chinese machine-struck coinage. The discovery of the original records concerning this coin in the Austrian Mint archives adds a vivid and invaluable brushstroke to this chapter of numismatic history
