07 June 2021
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A China YR 3 (1911) Silver Dollar Long Whiskered Dragon more than quadrupled its pre-auction estimate recently, selling for $1.34 million at a Champion Auction held in Macau.
The finest-known example of a Chinese coin designed by Italian coin engraver Luigi Giorgi sold for $1.34 million (approximately £950,000) at the recent Champion Macau auction, that's more than four times its pre-auction estimate of $150,000 to $300,000.
The China YR 3 (1911) Silver Dollar Long Whiskered Dragon, graded NGC MS 64, features a fully struck dragon with stunning detail and rims with sharp, raised leaves.
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According to NGC, who certified the rare coin, it is possibly one of the first coins struck off a new die design created by Giorgi, an Italian artist, who was Chief Engraver at the Tientsin Central Mint from 1910 to 1917.
The Long Whiskered Dragon and other coins in the sale were from the Nelson Chang (NC) Collection — an outstanding group of vintage Chinese rarities graded by NGC.
Distinguished with the NC Collection pedigree on the NGC certification label, many of the coins are the most desirable in Chinese numismatics, carefully collected by one of China’s most famous families.
Chinese dragon Tael coin
Another NGC-certified coin from the NC Collection that also surpassed $1 million was a China YR 33 (1907) Tael Chihli graded NGC MS 63.
One of the finest known and one of the most coveted of the Chinese dragon Tael series, the coin flew past its estimate of $200,000 to $400,000 to realise $1.1 million (£780,000).
