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THE NICHOLAS RHODES COLLECTION - COINS OF TIBET491 493492491 Tibet, Dao Guang, dubious issue of ½-Sho, 1.94g, 1st year (YZM -; KM -; LM -), veryfine and very rarePROVENANCE:Ex. Wesley Halpert collection, Spink, New York, 11 December 2000, lot 110Ex The Money Company, Public Auction, Hong Kong, September 1986, lot 896.This coin was bought by the American collector Gilbert Richardson who sold it toWesley Halpert.It was discussed by Nicholas Rhodes in the following publication: Rhodes, Nicholas:“Some Sino-Tibetan Forgeries”. Numismatics International Bulletin, vol. 20, no. 11,1975, p. 254-257.492 Tibet, Xian Feng, forgery of 1-Sho, 3.23g, 3rd year (YZM 243-247; KM -; LM -; KannB78), very fineHK$7,000-10,000(US$900-1,200)HK$900-1,400(US$120-180)The fact that this coin was struck in a collar and has a weight which is below the standardweight gives it away as forgery.A similar coin is illustrated as WS0232 in the following catalogue: Wang Chun Li:Illustrated Catalogue of Chinese Gold & Silver Coins 1791-1949. Zhong Guo Shang YeChu Ban She, Beijing, 2012, p. 79. However, the coin illustrated by Wang Chun Liappears to be struck on a wavy flan without the use of a collar, similar to those foundamong genuine Sino-Tibetan coins. Yet the dies which were used to strike this piece seemto be the same as those used to strike the fake coin included in the present lot.493 Tibet, Xian Feng, dubious issue of ½-Sho, 1.79g, 3rd year (YZM 243-247; KM -; LM-), very fine and very rare HK$7,000-9,000(US$900-1,200)PROVENANCE:Ex. Wesley Halpert collection, Spink, New York, 11 December 2000, lot 111Ex. The Money Company, Public Auction, Hong Kong, September 1986, lot 895.This coin was bought by the American collector Gilbert Richardson who sold it toWesley Halpert.This coin was discussed by Nicholas Rhodes in the following publication: Rhodes,Nicholas: “Some Sino-Tibetan Forgeries”. Numismatics International Bulletin, vol. 20,no. 11, 1975, p. 254-257. Although Nicholas Rhodes is inclined to consider the Half-Sho coins of Xian Feng, 3rd year, of Dao Guang, 1st year (lots 490, 491) and of Jia Qing,8th year (lot 489) as forgeries, he mentions the following “theory” in his article: “Anotherpossible theory is that these pieces were made in China for presentation to the Emperor,as examples of the coins that were being issued (in theory, but not in practice) in variousparts of the Empire. A number of fine brass cash of this nature are known, but if this werethe case, surely these silver pieces for Tibet would have been recorded in Chinese sources,along with the similar brass cash? Indeed a number of silver Sino-Tibetan coins, reputedlypresented to the Emperor, were in the Peking Old Palace Museum, but none of the coinsdescribed above were there.”WWW.SPINK.COM