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Auction: CSS123B - China Banknotes and Coins
Lot: 1089

(x) Kwangsi Bank, China, 1 yuan, 2nd Year of Xuantong (1909), no serial number , black and grey, fantasy Kwangsi dollar at centre flanked by two dragons, with "lung" character stamps at top,
(Pick S2345), PMG 15. An excessively rare piece with only 3 examples known TO THIS DAY. Kwangsi has traditionally been an area heavy with trade to rest of Asia and rest of the world during the time. The Kwangsi mint was established in 1667 and stopped operation in 1861. After that, much of the currency used in the areas were trade dollars from other countries. There were always plans for local government officials to establish mints much like Kwangtung has successfully done but this was rejected by the central government. Therefore this note is one the first consolidation of currency in Kwangsi in over 50 years. Notes were printed in Japan with a print run of 100,000, whereas the 5 yuan of the same series had a print run of 200,000. Considering the volume of trade in the area of the time combined with the limited print run, it is no surprise only 3 survived to this day! At one point this note held the world record for a Chinese banknote sold in auction at Spink. Highly important in Chinese monetary history.


宣統二年廣西銀行壹圓「烏龍票」，黑灰底，中央為廣西銀元，兩側飾以雙龍，頂部印有「龍」字戳記。PMG 15。 極為罕見，迄今僅存3枚。廣西歷來是與亞洲乃至世界貿易往來頻繁的地區。寶桂錢局（廣西）建於1667年，於1861年停止營運。此後，該地區流通的貨幣大多為來自其他國家的貿易銀元。地方政府官員一直計劃效法廣東成功建立自己的造幣廠，但遭到中央政府的否決。因此，這張紙幣是廣西50多年來首次統一流通的貨幣。在日本印製，首印量為10萬張，而同系列的5元紙幣則印製了20萬張。考慮到當時該地區的貿易流通量以及有限的發行，如今僅存3張也就不足為奇了！這張紙幣一度為中國紙幣在拍賣的世界紀錄，在中國貨幣史上具有極為重要的意義。

Estimate
HK$360,000 to HK$420,000