Manchukuo: Confucius Obscene Yuan!

It's definitely a vulgar imposition on the sagely Confucius with his hand showing an  indecent gesture on a 1 Yuan note of 1938 issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of China in the Japanese Autonomous State of Manchukuo (1931-1945).

It would be unthinkable for a Central Bank to have had condoned such an issue in contemporary notaphily. Interestingly, it happened in the puppet state of Manchukuo in 1938 and Confucius was innocently implicated!

Brief History of Manchukuo's Bank Notes

No sooner had Japan taken over the province of Manchuria (1932) and subsequently East Hobei (1936)  and Meng Chiang(Inner Mongolia - 1935) to form her various autonomous governments, the respective new Central Banks were granted rights to issue coins and notes. 

In the case of Manchukuo, the Japanese government formed the Central Bank of Manchukuo in 1932 with vested sole legal rights to issue coins and notes after relieving and having taken over 4 other notes/coins-issuing banks then in former Manchuria. New high quality Manchukuo bank notes in denominations of 1, 5 and 100 Yuan began to be printed by Bank of Japan and later with close collaboration with the Manchu Imperial Printing Bureau. 

As the war progressed further and deteriorated into 1938, the Japanese sub-contracted all notes issuing jobs back to the former Chinese Bureau of Printing and Engraving.

It was a God-given opportunity for either 1 or a few patriotic anti-Japanese Chinese engravers presumably acting in connivance to have had clandestinely reworked on some of the vignettes on the notes and engraved the famous (infamous?) Confucius with the 'indecent gesture'! 

Curiously, these 'indecent gestures' 1 Yuan notes were approved and managed to be circulated before the Japanese government realised their oversight and overt psychological propaganda launched by the Chinese who were then mostly anti-Japanese. What happened to those Chinese engravers, you asked? You just pray and hope they were also not swiftly executed indecently there and then!

How rare are these notes?

They are now deemed pretty scarce obviously and prices seems to be escalating since most of them could've had been confiscated and a new 1 Yuan series with a reworked Confucius vignette (with his clasped hand in prayer) was issued for general circulation.  Estimated present market value US1200-US2000. 

I can't afford this piece and hope you can collect one if interested. Indecency is always expensive! 

Cheers to possible indecency in our albums?

Buying Investment Grade Coins

Over the course of our  numismatic journey, it is a matter of  natural progression to develop an investment grade coins portfolio: coins which hopefully can appreciate in value over a period of time to compensate for our time and effort other than mere aesthetic appreciation. Thus, careful selection of coins for our collection may preoccupy a major part of collection time. Obviously good selection means skilful technical grading of coins all the way! 

Grading coins encompasses the initial processes of authentication and assigning a grade before purchasing them for our  aesthetic and investment appreciation.  An experienced collector would be equipped with some criteria in mind in singling out good coins for their collections: technical criteria which can only enhance its value upon disposal in the future or investment grade per se.  Of course, some collectors are proactive enough to factor in some market criteria: criteria which presumably appears to be in conformity with current market trend in terms of selective coins popularity or selective country popularity.  

Most collectors are comfortable to start off with technical criteria before others. Except coins which are to be bought solely as temporary album fillers, picking good investment grade coins can be challenging to one's grading skills. 


In the context of contemporary numismatics, all coins would be ‘judged’ accordingly in the slabbed coins market by third party authenticators either with a good 'slab' or a bad slap unless they remain as raw coins in the non-slabbed secondary market. Unless one can trust the raw market authentication expertise available, recognised slabbed coin is a  good alternative. 

As such picking and buying coins in line with the criteria adopted by those  top authenticators is deemed too important not only for one's common coins collection but specifically for those interested in  developing each very own valued investment portfolio. 


The following categories highlights only but some of the technical criteria used by US authenticators.  
Most counterfeits and badly damaged coins would have had been filtered out by authorised dealers before submission for authentication. 

1. Cleaned coins 

Cleaned coins would be heavily penalized without a grade or sometimes with a full grade down especially if they were being harshly cleaned with ugly excessive surface hairlines. Being able to detect a raw cleaned coin therefore is a skill to master just to avoid a possibly big dent in your selling price later. Cleaning in numismatics term involves a deliberate attempt to alter the surface of a coin with fraudulent intent. 
A skilled collector should be able to detect and differentiate between genuine bag marks, cleaning hairlines and genuine circulation marks/lines and wear.  Specifically, he is expected to be able to enlighten you on the difference between a knock, bumps, cuts or a nasty scratch.


Fraudulent methods like thumbing, whizzing and polishing too leave metal displacement trails on coins' surfaces. 

Whizzing with fine metal brush can easily remove a thin layer of metal from your coin much so with impaired luster. Pick up some whizzing diagnostics lessons and you should be safe or else be whizzed accordingly. Artificially altered surfaces with chemicals and stuffs should fall under this category too. 

2. Corroded coins

All coins are subject to environmental damage or corrosion if not well preserved.  On the other hand, well preserved raw copper coins of between 30-100 years old can be deceiving too especially found in the tropics. Greenish porosity  on the surface of coins with copper content can be corrosive for years to come. Copper coins can be well preserved the right way if you know how. 








Authenticators wouldn't label a coin as such without good reasons and an experienced collector too would have to brush up their skills.  This category normally includes coins with imperceptible 'porous surface' either due to improper alloys or the environment. Copper coins can easily be damaged with environmental oxidation. A collector is not expected to be a good metallurgist but some basic knowledge of metal is sufficient. 

3. Graffiti and Chopmarks

Some chopmarks are desirable for genuine coin authentication and accepted as a customary practise of a certain era for a certain culture. Too many can be damaging and awkward to a coin's topography and can be heavily penalized. Chopmarks can be in written forms but usually ended up  as 'chopmarked scratch' or literally 'graffiti' at least to most institutionalised authenticators.  Risk can be very high for higher value coins. 

During consolidation periods, experienced collectors would love to dispose of all these previously undetected 'scratched' coins at a bargain while saving better ones for their own portfolios. Artificial toning can be disguised to hide certain scratches. Re-visiting natural and artificial toning diagnostics can be helpful here. 

4. Mounted coins

Old silver coins were usually well treasured for its content as well as for aesthetic reasons compatible to some cultures. Nevertheless, all old raw coins are  good suspects unless ethically declared by the seller in case you never bother to view its rim closely. Repaired coins as such would have some evidence of metal displacement and obliteration and your skill could be brought up for testing. 

5. Not Gradable for other reasons

Some coins can easily end up as 'genuine not gradable' for all other reasons other than the above mentioned. Catching up with the authenticators' lists can be healthy for future coins value. 


Nevertheless, most slabbed ungradable coins can still be marketed to lower budget collectors although mostly sidelined by experienced and affluent collectors except maybe for the super rare categories. Prices for some rare ungradable coins can be bought at a bargain naturally with much regret and remorse on the part of the seller's skill.  It's safe to only presume that most, if not all, technically-flawed slabbed coins would be bought for trading by dealers as long as it is profitable. Purchasing these coins is  a choice. 


Upon completion of the first level filtering hopefully, one can undertake the second subsequent series of technical grading based on the coins' surface preservation, strikes, lustre  and eye appeal. And that would call for a totally different story to unfold.

In the context of Malaysia, selective Parliament/Bunga Raya/Proof coins are now suitable for slabbing with their seemingly rising values ahead of the cost of slabbing. Successful slabbing with a good grade lends testimony to one's skilful grading.

A note collector can probably learned to be an excellent note grader in an hour or so if taught well by an experienced grader.
On the other hand, an experienced coin grader would have to accumulate at least more than 10 years or more of hands-on grading experience. As such, superior coins selection can be challenging but is manageable.  The question is; are we ready for this trend?


Cheers!








  

VAMMING Malaysian Coins: More Than A Matter of Differentiation!

Calling themselves proudly as VAMMERS, these numismatic communities of US Morgan Dollars and Peace Dollars in US and many around the world have been ‘vamming’ their coins and already progressed way into the advanced stage backed by detailed reference books and guidance. New varieties have been constantly found and well catalogued each year thus fueling and again firing new hope and passion into their coins hitherto possibly hidden in their old foxed albums and dusty drawers. What is VAMMING to them anyway?

Spearheaded by Leroy C. Van Allen and A. George Mallis some 45 years ago commencing with the Morgan Dollars and later the Peace Dollars, they researched and catalogued all the possible variations and varieties relating to these coins for the benefits and needs of the numismatic communities and hence deriving the acronym VAM. Thus VAMMING has now been universally accepted, quoted and referred to for all the varieties found on these series of coins by collectors and even well known third parties authenticators.

Michael S.Fey later narrowed down all these varieties to the Top 100 in 1996 to avoid the issue of micro-vamming.

Nearer to home, how far have we progressed for our Malaysian coins varieties especially our Parliament and Bunga Raya coin series really? In other words, is it time or rather premature to even VAM our coins too for the benefits of the present or even the next generation of collectors? New varieties have been found but yet none has been acknowledged least included in their new catalogues or maybe they are more numismatically-inclined or learned than I or we do?


Present catalogues barely touch the surface of our coins varieties and are explicitly lame in every aspect of coin varieties research. Local cataloguers appear to be least interested in updating their varieties category/ies for reasons totally baffling even to a numismatic-simpleton like me! The onus then lies with the local Association  and again sadly, nothing much is on or expected from them in years to come, again very sadly!  Public auctions seems to be their only major preoccupation of local numismatics and nothing much really (all these years!) has been done to numismatic education much least, education and publication  on new-found varieties.

The present generation of web-connected, varieties-thirsty and Parliament/BungaRaya-targeted group of collectors has been shouting on many so called new-found varieties and on many occasions even venture inevitably into micro-vamming and whatever 'mming' they thought should be correct among themselves. We can excuse them for crying out loud much so without a proper catalogue in hand for guidance. Excuse me, this is the extra-metal, extra-dot and double dies error you know!!

Differentiating the possible varieties for our own coins is really not that difficult considering their ease of accessibility to coins facts in auctions, authentication submissions and the Mint by the local association or clubs. Nonetheless,  Vamming our coins can possibly be planned and coordinated by any new club or NEW local Association as follows:-

- Determination of all possible coin candidates in the Parliament and Bunga Raya series for vamming in terms of scarcity and expected values.

- Collection and requisition of targeted coins varieties facts and pictorial representation.

- Tabulations and presentation of these varieties via online web or periodic blog newsletters.

- Allowance for periodical updates and discussion.


Varieties which are of interest should include but not least, all genuine Doubled Dies, significant Die gouges, Font and main devices varieties and many others along the way. These important varieties  are much needed by the present generation of collectors (happily for me too!) much so their  direct translation to better Ringgit and Sens or even their numismatic senses!

Without an authoritative guidance, collectors maybe invariably confused or blurred by some loudmouths and worst, by your nearest and much locally-acclaimed collecting seniors!

VAMming maybe just a term proudly used by the Americans and hopefully we can derive our own ‘mmming’ in the near offing.

If a group by the name Dick, Dato Izuan, Chen and a Mr. Koh came up with their own varieties catalogue and finally calling themselves as the DICKERS is ridiculously gross and not deemed good enough, another suitable acronym can be proudly adopted to finally address and fit our very own varieties requirement. Maybe try MACAM or BOLEH!


I have been ‘mming’ for so long on my own and wonder how long do I have to wait. Or should I just remain a peripheral VAMMER for the time being?

Oh well…

Yunnan 50 Cents : Rising Dragons and Sunken Legends!

Besides all the fuss about the unlisted 30 minor known varieties and the debatable classification of the circles within the rosettes of the Yunnan 50 cents restruck imperial coinage, a rather distinct feature emerged which could easily send many collectors back to their catalogues and research reference books before attempting to take up any more bid purchase positions on this interesting series.

Many of these 50 cents series of that period exhibited glaring weak strikes especially along the rim areas which adversely affected the legends and the chinese letterings. See some of the random slabbed specimens here. Many , if not all were so weakly struck up with only partial letterings while the denticles were sometimes somewhat intact.

Inexperienced collectors would easily be turned off when faced with such glaring weak defective strikes especially on RAW coins and could easily take them as contemporary fakes given such rampant emergence of fake chinese coins in recent years. Their Gurus/sifus already forewarned not to touch suspicious coins remember? Temptation to buy is always high in view of the potential of chinese dragon silvers and so is the risk involved! But many experienced collectors willingly snapped up these somewhat weakly struck-up coins through the net without a hitch and those slabbed ones if they can even afford the seemingly escalating prices. Of course they do their homework well on genuine coins authentications and diagnostics.

Many Chinese provincial coins, if not all, are known for their weak strikes especially near the rims. Accordingly, this could only happen if their dies blanks were not made out of good hard quality steel or tungsten and the rim areas around the die could've had easily sunk in from repeated striking. Struck coins from such dies would certainly reveal glaring weaknesses around the rim. Dies as such are now known as sunken dies and it was rather prevalent among the Chinese Mint of that period.

The question of why the denticles were still in order if they were indeed sunken can in fact be easily explained. If one can look at a real die blank, the relief denticles found on a coin would be the incuse section on a die blank and thus the exposed rim area could have easily sunk-in from repeated striking. The struck coin nevertheless could be even worse if both the anvil and hammer dies suffered the same fate.

Weakly struck coins would definitely affect its grade more so if they were to be authenticated by US graders. Clearly, many MS coins barely made it to MS64 and many if not all just got happily stuck at MS63 even though with blazing cartwheels! Blame the weak strikes!

 Just SYNC with these RISING DRAGONS AND SUNKEN LEGENDS if you are interested just like me! It can be a legend among your collecting peers if you SINK though!!

 Cheers to the dragons!

Yunnan 50 Cents 1911-1945: Seeing circles !

Anyone collecting these Yunnan 50 cents 1911-1945 so called Restruck Imperial Coinage would have recognised the small circle in the rosettes next to the dragon on the obverse. Krause Mishler catalogued these series of 50 cents as " coins were apparently struck from previously unused dies at intervals from 1911 through to 1949 and with a progressively reduced silver content." Under Y#257, 2 varieties of the 2 circles below the pearl exist; Y#257 (1911-1915)with 0.800 silver while Y#257.3 (1949) with only 0.500 silver. It appears that PCGS has consistently listed Y#257.3 as it should be according to KM where these 1949 series has another large circle around the center circle of the rosettes

On the other hand, NGC listed maybe some? of these 2 circles Y#257.3 variety under Y#257.

NGC also slabbed those without the large circle around the center circle in the rosettes as Y#257.

Does it matter whether it should be listed according to KM based on the 2 circles variety? So don't be surprised if your slabbed Yunnan 50 cents 2 circles varieties differ from KM listing. I even have the '2 little balls stuck within the 2 circles below the pearls' variety in my own collection! Talking about crop circles on the surface of these silver coins!!

Malaysia: Rolling Fold Error 10 Sen 2011

Sometimes mistaken for a retained cud, a die break or extra metal, a rolling fold error does happen and it can be among your pocket change just in case you are interested!


The blanking press, especially its blanking dies, is supposed to be very well maintained so as to punch out crisp, smooth and clean blanks. Sometimes, the blanking dies can be damaged, dulled or even chipped from prolonged usage resulting in a raised piece of metal or a burr at the edge of the blanks. Upon upsetted subsequently, any raised pieces of metal on the blanks would be folded over and struck over in the coining press. Now we have a rolling fold error coin!



A "rim burr" can also be mistaken for a rolling fold error since a piece of metal is also present and intrudes into the field. However, it seems a rolling fold has some unique characteristics as listed by Mike Diamond (CONECA);

1) low, broad, symmetrical tongue of metal that intrudes a short distance into the field and few are larger than this.
2) the fold is flush with the field and surrounded by a fissure
3) no disturbance is seen on the edge adjacent to the fold.

Category location > Planchet errors >Damaged & Defective planchets > damaged planchet > punching & processing errors > rolling fold planchet ( AH refers)

Scarcity: Defective planchet, Rarity level 6 (AH refers)

That's it, done!

Cheers!

Bicentennial Medal Of The 12 Great Americans Series

Not much information can be obtained in respect of Letcher Mint but they did mint some series of silver medallions for the American collecting communities.
The Bicentennial of "12 Great Americans" Medallions were minted in the 80s' with 24gm of 0.999 silver and 5 grains of 24k gold for the bust.





Letcher Mint, a private Mint just like Franklin Mint and Washington Mint, operated for only a couple of years before it ceased operation.






Never intended to collect many medallions, I probably bought these 2 out of the 12 just for the fun of it many years ago or probably just attracted to some awesome Americans.



And here, purplish black patinas in view of its silver content seems to be kicking in at the edges of these pieces.

Lindberg seems to be flying high again while Tom Sawyer seems to rock n roll again in the Mississippi river attributed mainly to the rising silver prices otherwise they just have to stay put like dead ducks in my miscellaneous album!

Cheers!