Description

Brilliant Proof Long-Whiskered Dragon Pattern That is Rarely Seen FinerHsüan-t'ung silver Proof Pattern "Long-Whiskered Dragon" Dollar Year 3 (1911) PR63 NGC, Tientsin mint, KM-Pn305, L&M-28, Kann-223a, Chang-CH26, Shanghai Museum-592, WS-0040 var. (different obverse die), Wenchao-106 (rarity 3 stars), Chang Foundation-33, Shi Jiagan Collection-67. Variety with incuse veins on outer leaves. Among the most famous Patterns from the end of the Qing Dynasty, the so-called "Long-Whiskered" Dragon Dollars from 1911 represent what is perhaps the culmination of late Imperial art as expressed in a numismatic medium. The product of the famed Central Mint engraver, Luigi Giorgi--who also stood behind many of the most famed designs of the early Republic--this type represented a program on the part of the Emperor to unify the national currency, formally abolish the disparate standards of the different provinces, and finally supplant the circulation of foreign silver Dollars that had so long frustrated central Chinese monetary policy. Though the Dragon design observed here was ultimately destined to remain only a trial concept, it undoubtedly left its imprint on the imaginations of collectors of the Chinese series by and large. Altogether missing from the Irving Goodman Collection, and surprisingly absent from Hans Schulman and Quality Sales Corp's June 1971 sale of the Kann Collection in this die pairing; we would note that the Wa She Wong specimen certified at a mere MS61 by comparison, with the highest grade awarded across all varieties for the issue being an MS65.

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