CHINA AND TIBET.
Trying to make a compendium, any summary whatever, of a country of almost 10 million square meters that is home to 1.4 billion inhabitants, which borders 14 sovereign states and a millenary culture seems like an arduous and complicated task. From a numismatic point of view, it is not easy, either, to cover a collection like the one we present in this auction, especially if we take into account that this collection is the result of the effort of a lifetime of collecting by a single transferor.
From the era of the Han dynasty (206 BC - 221 AD) which consolidated China as a political-administrative unit and promoted the wu zhu as the predominant circulating system until the Song dynasty with which a period considered to be of splendor that includes between Its main characteristics being the first government in the world to use paper money, going through the Tang, at the beginning of the 7th century AD, the representation of money from medieval China is extensive, highlighting a wide selection of the most used types throughout of all Chinese numismatics: Cash. This type of currency, usually copper, was used, not only by China but also by other Southeast Asian countries, between the 2nd century BC and the 20th century AD, preserving one of its main hallmarks: the central square hole. that allowed the coins to be tied together by string to create higher values since they were generally coins of little value.
After the Middle Ages and the Ming Dynasty, including its last and turbulent years of peasant rebellions, it is the Qing Dynasty that takes the lead in the collection. Not in vain, this line is perpetuated in the power of the country from 1644 to 1912. After them the interference of the West and various wars lead us to the beginning of a period of Republic until 1949 and a subsequent People's Republic. The “Fatman dollars”, minted with the purpose of imposing a certain order in the face of the chaotic situation of the Chinese monetary system at the beginning of the 20th century, together with trade dollars or dragon dollars are other good examples of the type of pieces that we can find in this compendium.
It goes without saying that in a collection of this magnitude, both quantitative and chronological, we will find a large number of mints, prefectures and provinces represented, as well as values, module and materials, also highlighting the inclusion of medals and amulets.
Special mention deserves one of the albums dedicated exclusively to Tibet currency, composed of 245 coins from the 19th and 20th centuries (stages of independent Tibet and Tibet under Chinese rule) where modules such as Tangka, Sho, Rupee and Srang, among others will undoubtedly call the attention of any collector worth his salt.
Important note: this lot includes both original coins and contemporary and / or modern reproductions. Different states of conservation throughout the collection. ESSENTIAL TO EXAMINE. This lot cannot be returned and is sold "as is".
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