Rare Artist's Sketches of Vintage Chinese Coins Offered in Champion Auctions Sale

A Champion Macau auction this month features three artist's sketches of dragons on coins dating to when famed engraver Luigi Giorgi's innovative designs greatly enhanced Chinese numismatics. Certified by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation® (NGC®), the sketches have an estimate of $300,000 to $600,000 in the sale ending May 30, 2021.

Echos of vintage Chinese coins

The first sketch shows a dragon facing the viewer, and it closely resembles Giorgi's renowned Silver Dollar design when he was chief engraver at the Tientsin Mint from 1910 to 1917. The sketches were likely part of a presentation to the imperial Chinese government in Beijing, with this head-on view of the dragon's face listed as the top recommendation for a coin design.

LEFT: Artist Pencil Sketch of Design Proposal certified by NGC as genuine and from the Arthur Coole Collection. This design showing a dragon facing forward was adopted for Silver Dollar coins and dates to around 1911, when Liugi Giorgi was Chief Engraver at the Tientsin Mint. RIGHT: This China (1911) L&M-29 Silver Dollar (which is not part of this auction) shows the design. Click images to enlarge.

As China transitioned from an Empire to a Republic, Giorgi later famously designed the coins featuring Yuan Shih-kai, who was president (and briefly emperor) from 1912 until his death in 1916. Giorgi's name or initials appear on a number of important patterns from this time.

The second sketch shows a dragon facing to the left. This design was recommended as the second-best design of the three options, and it was adopted for smaller denominations: 10, 20 and 50 Cents.

LEFT: Artist Pencil Sketch of Design Proposal certified by NGC as genuine and from the Arthur Coole Collection. This design showing a dragon facing left was adopted for 10, 20 and 50 Cent coins and dates to around 1911, when Liugi Giorgi was Chief Engraver at the Tientsin Mint. RIGHT: This China 1911 20 Cents (which is not part of this auction) shows the design. Click images to enlarge.

Luigi Giorgi's connection

The third sketch in the auction lot shows a design where the dragon is facing to the right. It was recommended as the third option, so it is not surprising it was not used for a coin design. Also included in the lot is a paper on gold coinage of Xinjiang Province.

Artist Pencil Sketch of Design Proposal certified by NGC as genuine and from the Arthur Coole Collection. This shows an ultimately unapproved design with a dragon facing right, and dates to around 1911, when Liugi Giorgi was Chief Engraver at the Tientsin Mint. A close-up of the emblem of Arthur Coole is shown at right. Click images to enlarge.

Because Giorgi designed the 1911 Dollars and Half Dollars from patterns that bear his name, these sketches are believed to be his. These are the only sketches of Chinese coins known to be in private hands except for one artist's sketch of 1923 Dragon and Phoenix dollar.

Who is Arthur Coole?

The sketches are pedigreed to the collection of Arthur Coole, a U.S.-born Methodist missionary active in China until 1948. His intense interest in Chinese coins led him to publish books about them in 1936 and 1967.

In Coole's inventory of his collection, he listed these three sketches and the paper on gold coinage as part of a "presentation to Prince Regent Zai Feng." He was the father of Puyi, the last emperor of China who was later forced to abdicate at age 6. In addition to the sketches, Coole also listed an artist's biography and passes to the Imperial Palace, but unfortunately their whereabouts are unknown.

The Champion auction also features over 100 NGC-certified rarities from the NC Collection, an incredible group of vintage Chinese coins, including a 1916 Yuan Shih-kai Dollar graded NGC MS 64 with an estimate of $200,000 to $400,000. To learn more about those coins, click here.

All estimates are provided by the auction house.