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Auction: 7005 - Quintin Tan China Dowagers Collection
Lot: 164

1897 New Currency Surcharges Large Figures Surcharge, Wide Setting on Dowager First Print The Golden Dragon 10c. on 12ca. deep orange, showing retouched upper corners and broken frame line at right (pane 4 [15]) as well as large mark in gin of the surcharge, right pane [15]. Rich colour and with fine perforations being typically wide from the right side of the sheet, large part original gum. A magnificent and highly desirable example of this legendary stamp and the unique combination of setting varieties makes this the pre-eminent of the Golden Dragons and a worthy addition to a collection of the highest calibre. S.G. 55; Chan 54. Photo Estimate HK$ 500,000-600,000The survey of Golden Dragon´s in our 2004 Hong Kong catalogue showed eight mint examples (the block of four has been lost in a plane crash), of which three were with straight edge or reperforated at foot. Other examples which have appeared in auction catalogues have either been shown to be forgeries or there is still some doubt as to their genuiness, The 12ca. has proved to be a very difficult stamp to study the setting varieties as there is a lack of sheets and large plating blocks, particularly from panes 4 and 6. However, a vertical pair of Small Figures 10c. on 12ca. variety imperforate horizontally (Spink Nov. 2000) clearly exhibit the retouched corners, as with this example, and shows the central cross in margin, fixing the position of this stamp. This upper stamp of this plating pair shows the characteristics of the lower right stamp in the Warren Kauder/Lyons Livingston block of four. Indeed, close comparison of the perforations reveals that this stamp originally joined the famous block. Not only providing an important pedigree for this stamp but also demonstrates that some, or all, of the first printing stamps were surcharged using the right surcharge pane. The other mint examples are from Ningpo Surcharge slightly low: Sotheby´s sale (Nov. 98) Chen Shih-Jen (straight edge) Surcharge low: Sir David Roseway (straight edge) Surcharge high and right: Warren Kauder Surcharge slightly right: Sir Percival David/Quintin Tan/Wilson Te/Tony Kwan Surcharge right: [15] Quintin Tan (offered here) James Senior/´Ming´/Eric Beckeman/Chen Tiung Ching (reperforated at foot) Soochow Surcharge a fraction right and low: E.D. Finney/Robert Lee/J.K.C. Wong Surcharge slightly left: Alolphous Diercking/G.T.Baines

Sold for
HK$400,000