PMG-certified Voyager Collection of Chinese Banknotes Crossing the Auction Block
Posted on 3/24/2025
An exciting selection of more than 150 banknotes from the Voyager Collection of Foreign Banks in China and certified by Paper Money Guaranty® (PMG®) is available to bidders in a Stack’s Bowers Galleries auction on April 14, 2025. Additional notes will be offered in October 2025.
“The collection was meticulously assembled by a prominent and discerning collector over the last 25 years with a focus on obtaining all different designs, date runs, specimens and issued notes for each bank,” said Dr. Kelvin Cheung, Director and Senior Numismatist for Stack’s Bowers’ Hong Kong office. “The breadth of the collection is awesome, as are the grades of the notes, which are usually among the finest for type. It is not an exaggeration to state that the collection is one of the best, if not the best, collection of Foreign Banks extant today.”
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Among the highlights is a China, Asiatic Banking Corporation (ca. 1860) 50 Taels graded PMG 63 Choice Uncirculated (lot 30217), with an estimate of $12,000 to $18,000. The Asiatic Banking Corporation, founded in 1860, issued notes in several branches across Asia, including Shanghai, where denominations were in Taels. Because notes in the 50 Taels denomination represented a significant sum, they were likely used only sparingly in trade. This is the only example of this particular note in the PMG Population Report.
Other PMG-certified notes from the Voyager Collection in this auction include:
- a China, Banque de I’Indo-Chine 1901-02 100 Dollars = 100 Piastres Specimen graded PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated EPQ (lot 30378), with an estimate of $20,000 to $40,000
- a China, Russo-Chinese Bank 1903 5 Dollars graded PMG 35 Choice Very Fine (lot 30410), with an estimate of $12,500 to $20,000
- a China, Deutsch-Asiatische Bank 1907 10 Taels Specimen graded PMG 55 About Uncirculated (lot 30287), with an estimate of $12,000 to $18,000
- a China, Deutsch-Asiatische Bank 1907 50 Dollars Specimen graded PMG 58 Choice About Uncirculated (lot 30291), with an estimate of $12,000 to $18,000
- a China, Deutsch-Asiatische Bank 1907 25 Dollars Specimen graded PMG 58 Choice About Uncirculated (lot 30290), with an estimate of $10,000 to $15,000
- a China, Deutsch-Asiatische Bank 1907 1 Tael Specimen graded PMG 63 Choice Uncirculated (lot 30295), with an estimate of $10,000 to $15,000
- a China, Deutsch-Asiatische Bank 1907 5 Taels Specimen graded PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated (lot 30296), with an estimate of $10,000 to $15,000
- a China, HK & Shanghai Banking Corp. 1901 5 Dollars graded PMG 55 About Uncirculated (lot 30348), with an estimate of $10,000 to $15,000
- a China, Banque de l’Indo-Chine 1902 5 Dollars = 5 Piastres Specimen graded PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated EPQ (lot 30377), with an estimate of $10,000 to $15,000
- a China, Netherlands Trading Society 1909 5 Dollars graded PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated EPQ (lot 30393), with an estimate of $10,000 to $15,000
Other historic and high-grade Chinese world banknotes certified by PMG as well as coins certified by Numismatic Guaranty Company® (NGC®) are being offered in this auction series. Learn more here.
Estimates are provided by the auction house. The $ symbol indicates US Dollars.
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