By Dr. Kelvin Cheung – Director and Senior Numismatist, Stack’s Bowers ……
Stack’s Bowers and Ponterio is proud to present a consecutive quartet of the 1953 ‘Large Black Ten’ Yuan from the Second Series Renminbi. This quartet will be offered as one lot from the ‘London Chelsea Collection of People’s Bank Banknotes’, which will be sold live on Thursday, October 5, 2023 in our Hong Kong sale.
In 1950, shortly after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Central Government decided to replace the First Series Renminbi banknotes that had been in circulation since 1948. The First Series consisted of many designs and denominations and were often poorly printed and heavily devalued due to the Chinese Civil War; it was long overdue to be replaced. The Central Academy of Fine Arts was tasked with the design of the Second Series, and the Soviet Union printed the first batch of 3 Yuan and 5 Yuan notes between 1953 and 1954. The 10 Yuan notes were conceptualized a little later in 1954.
The Second Series was officially issued on March 1, 1955 and replaced the First Series at the exchange rate of 1 to 10,000. The 10 Yuan was issued later, on December 1, 1957.
This featured collection in our Hong Kong sale comprises 60 lots, many of which are from the First Series Renminbi. It is the first time in many years that such a high-quality collection is auctioned at unreserved prices. The star lot is, of course, the quartet of 1953 Ten Yuan, each graded PMG About Uncirculated 55 EPQ, which will feature an opening price of $300,000 USD. At the time of writing, of the 729 of these notes graded by PMG, only 36 have the EPQ status–this group represents 1/9 of this tiny and exclusive cohort. Never has a group like this been offered in a public auction and we are sure this lot will excite and energize the Chinese notaphily market. This sale will soon be posted online at StacksBowers.com.
For further questions related to our October Hong Kong Auction or to inquire about consigning to our next auction in early December please call +852 2117 1191 or email [email protected].
