DALLAS, TX.- An extraordinary coin from one of the world’s elite numismatic collections achieved a result befitting its pedigree to lead Heritage’s June 18-20 HKINF World Coins Platinum Session and Signature® Auction to $11,879,022.


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That result, coupled with Heritage’s $3,332,575 HKINF World Paper Money Signature® Auction that was led by a record-setting Netherlands Bank 100 Gulden (1814-1838) Pick A6 AV74.8 PL90h PMG Very Fine 25 that brought a winning bid of $114,000 drove the combined total to $15,211,597.

A Kuang-hsü silver Restrike Specimen Pattern Tael CD 1906 SP66 PCGS led the superb Peh Family Collection, and the entire World Coins event, at $810,000. The highest-graded representative across major certification companies for both the original and restrike varieties, it is widely recognized as a cardinal rarity among the Chinese series, and was one of 21 lots in the auction that produced a six-figure result.


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“The Peh Family Collection is one of the finest numismatic collections in the world, and it is only fitting that this magnificent coin set the pace in this auction,” says Cris Bierrenbach, Executive Vice President of International Numismatics at Heritage Auctions. “It was a packed auction room for The Peh Collection with bidding wars so fierce that lots sometimes took minutes to close. This was a record-breaking event for our team and we hope to do it again in our HKINF World & Ancient Coins Platinum Session and Signature® Auction in December!”

The Peh Family Collection also produced two 1911 “Long-Whiskered Dragon” dollars that enjoyed great popularity among bidders: A Hsüan-t'ung silver Restrike Specimen Pattern “Long-Whiskered Dragon” Dollar Year 3 (1911) SP63 NGC drew a winning bid of $504,000, while a Hsüan-t’ung silver Restrike Specimen Pattern “Long-Whiskered Dragon” Dollar Year 3 (1911) SP63+ NGC lured 20 bids on its way to $408,000.

An Engraved Master from the Qing Dynasty, a Wen Zong (Xian Feng) Engraved Master 500 Cash ND (March-August 1854) Certified 85 by Gong Bo Grading, tripled its high pre-auction estimate when it finished at $360,000 — the highest result for any Cash coin realized outside of Japan. Diaomu are unquestionably scarce, but to find such a large denomination of these hand-engraved Pattern-like pieces is even more rare. Heritage experts have not found a record of a single 500 Cash Diaomu in recent decades, elevating this example to trophy status.

Also soaring past pre-auction estimates was a Meiji 3 1870 Pattern Yen that prompted 21 bids before ending at $288,000. An exceedingly rare Pattern for the first machine-struck silver Yen of Japan, it was minted shortly after the newly restored Meiji government established an official silver standard in 1870 as part of a radical adoption of round and decimalized coinage. The example sold in this auction carries the second-highest certified grade among the few known remaining examples.

A commemorative People’s Republic gold Proof “50th Anniversary - Taiwan's Return to China” 2000 Yuan (1 Kilo) 1995 PR69 Ultra Cameo NGC showcasing both the map of the Taiwan Province and the Great Wall of China achieved $264,000. This example is graded at the very peak of the certified population on the NGC census.

A Meiji silver Proof Pattern Trade Dollar Year 7 (1874) PR62 NGC that is the rarer of just two known types, realized $240,000. An unquestioned highlight among the Japanese selections in the Peh Family Collection, this is the better of only two representatives at NGC and the only one that has appeared at auction in recent memory.

A flurry of 23 bids lifted a Victoria gold Proof “Una and the Lion” 5 Pounds 1839 PR60 Ultra Cameo NGC past pre-auction expectations until it landed at $228,000. This beauty, by William Wyon, was struck exclusively for inclusion in Victoria’s 1839 Proof set. Famous for its exceptional composition and engraving quality, collector interest has been strong from the moment this type was first struck, and the Royal Mint found it necessary to produce examples to-order for almost 50 years until 1886 in order to meet demand.

Produced in commemoration of Tuan Chi-jui taking office as the provisional Chief Executive of the Republic of China at the outset of the “Peaceful Unification” and the abolition of the presidency, a Republic Tuan Chi-jui gold Specimen Pattern Dollar ND (1924) SP61 PCGS smashed pre-auction estimates when it reached $216,000. Gold examples like this one, the first offered at Heritage since 2020, are significantly rarer than their silver counterparts.

World Paper Money

The $114,000 for the Netherlands Bank 100 Gulden (1814-1838) Pick A6 AV74.8 PL90h PMG Very Fine 25 set a new record for any Dutch/Netherlands note to lead the World Paper Money event, which was the highest value-based auction Heritage ever has offered in Hong Kong for currency. This magnificent note is arguably the key banknote from the collection of Alphons Toele, whose assemblage of Dutch banknotes is widely regarded as perhaps the finest to reach the collecting market in the last three decades, and is the first and only example graded in the PMG Population Report. It is one of the rarest and most important world banknotes ever offered at Heritage, and perhaps the only extant example in this format.

Other notes from the Toele collection fared exceptionally well, including a Netherlands Bank 25 Gulden 1814 (11.1.1857) Pick A2 PL54.h AV44.8 PMG Very Fine 20 that more than doubled its pre-auction estimate when it achieved $78,000. This rare and important “Red Robin” 25 Gulden is part of the cheque-style series that was issued from 1814-62. It is the seventh variety of this long-running type, without black security print, but with two designs in the watermark, a key banknote for the Netherlands and one that almost never reaches the collecting market.

Another top selection from the Toele collection was a Netherlands Bank 1000 Gulden 15.7.1956 Pick 89 PMG Gem Uncirculated 65 EPQ that closed at $60,000, which is a record for a Dutch/Netherlands post-World War II or modern note. Also a standout: a Netherlands Bank 1000 Gulden 19.3.1825 Pick A10 PL119.c AV102.3 PMG Choice Very Fine 35 drew a winning bid of $57,600.

“The results for the banknotes from the Toele collection are as impressive as the collection itself, and it might stand alone as the finest assemblage of Dutch banknotes in existence,” says Dustin Johnston, Senior Vice President of Numismatics at Heritage Auctions. “Alphons Toele was meticulous and thorough in the way he built it, with a discerning eye for signature and date varieties from the Netherlands and Netherlands Indies.”

A China Asiatic Banking Corporation, Shanghai 25 Taels ND (ca. 1860s) Pick S117Br Remainder PCGS Choice About New 58 took top honors among banknotes from the Norman Lin Collection when it ended at $50,400. It is a rare branch remainder, prepared for the Shanghai branch of the Asiatic Banking Corporation between 1862 and 1866. This 25 Taels, which is in remarkable condition for a note that is more than 150 years old, rarely reaches the collecting market.

Also from the Lin collection and reaching $50,400 was a China Asiatic Banking Corporation, Shanghai 100 Taels ND (ca. 1860s) Pick UNL Remainder PCGS Choice About New 58PPQ, a high-denomination rarity from the Asiatic Banking Corporation that was famous, but did not last long, suddenly liquidating its assets in 1866, just a few years after its inception. Other than a few issued examples from Ceylon, only remainders and Specimen remain, including this large-format type, for which the demand only grows because it is a higher denomination prepared for the Shanghai branch. The $50,400 result more than doubled the pre-auction estimate for both notes.

A Low Serial Number 6 British North Borneo Nissan Estate 25 Dollars ND (1942) Pick UNL KNB5 PMG Choice Very Fine 35, considered a crowning note from British North Borneo and the entire region and arguably the scarcest of all British North Borneo $25 notes, brought $43,200. Part of the demand for this extraordinary note comes from its tiny, one-digit serial number.

A beautiful Palestine Currency Board 10 Pounds 30.9.1929 Pick 9b PMG About Uncirculated 55 EPQ drew 23 bids before reaching $36,000. It is among the top examples of a piece that is among the Palestine notes of the British era that are notoriously challenging to obtain in the best of collector grades. PMG has graded 57 examples of this date, with only two others grading 55 EPQ, with one finer.