Hong Kong 1890 10 cents
This specimen was lot 75014 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, September 2024), where it sold for $125. The catalog description[1] noted, "HONG KONG (SAR). 10 Cents, 1890. London Mint. Victoria. NGC AU-53. Featuring an almond-gray hue and very little in the way of wear or handling, this minor is a charming representative of the type." The British set up a mint in Hong Kong in 1866 which struck mils through dollars. It does not seem to have been a success as the mint was closed in 1868. In 1872, Hong Kong began receiving ten cent coins from the Heaton mint and in 1869 from the Royal mint. This type was minted steadily until the queen's death in 1901 and it is common in all grades. This "Gothic" bust of the queen was used on the cent and ten cents and a more conventional bare bust on the five, twenty and fifty cents.
Recorded mintage: 1,500,000 (a somewhat better date).
Specification: 2.71 g, 0.800 fine silver, 17.84 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-6.3; Mars-C18; Prid-82.
- Illustrated Catalog of Hong Kong Currency, Hong Kong: Mars Numismatic Co., 2012.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, September 2024 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2024.
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