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Sale 137
Pre-Long Beach Auction
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Realized |
Lot 1080 |
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Burma., silver 4-piece proof set struck for King Mindon Min, by the Heaton Mint at Birmingham, England, CS1214 (1852). KM-7.1, 8.1, 9 and 10. Peacock displaying plumage stands on a rock, legend in Burmese spaced around it. On reverse, a detailed wreath surrounding and encircled by inscriptions in Burmese, the values in rupees (or kyats and fractions) at center. The four proofs from largest to smallest are the Rupee (or Kyat), Half-rupee (or 5 Mu), Mat (or Quarter-rupee) and single Mu (or Eighth-rupee). The largest piece is illustrated. This is a very rare, complete proof set, splendidly preserved. Mu, No dot variety. Pop 1; The only example graded at NGC; Mat, Pop 1; None Finer; 5 Mu, Pop 1; 1 in 66; Kyat, Pop 3; 1 in 66. Mu, NGC graded Proof 65; Mat, NGC graded Proof 66; 5 Mu (½ Rupee), NGC graded Proof 64 and Kyat (Rupee), NGC graded Proof 65
. Estimated Value $7,500 - UP
Located northwest of Thailand, and today known as Myanmar, Burma was ruled for centuries by royal families. The king became ensnared in a war in 1852 as the result of poor relations with British merchants (mainly of the East India Company) at Rangoon. The British army invaded and removed him. The event is known to history as the Second Anglo-Burmese War. The capital became Mandalay. In 1853, the British installed a new king, Mindon Min, as a friendly ally. He was urged to modernize the country, which he accomplished over a period of years. He also issued new money based on the currency system used throughout British India, all of it dated 1852 in honor of the British victory. Seen here are very rare proof specimens made to commemorate his coinage, struck for him in Great Britain. More than 100 languages have been spoken for centuries by the plains and hills peoples of this heavily populated country. The "peacock" coins of 1852 displayed characters of the common language, Burmese. The beautiful bird was chosen for the coins because it had long been believed to bring good luck to the people for whom it signified beauty, happiness and honesty. Both green and grey peacocks are found all over Asia but they are most populous in Burma's tropical hill forests. They became the national symbol of the country, suggestive of dignity. After 1852, the money was often called "peacock coins" by the Burmese. These silver and smaller copper coins remained the currency for decades until outlying regions of Burma finally fell to British rule in 1885 following the Third Anglo-Burmese War, after which British Indian coins became predominant until the British separated Burma from India in 1937. After World War Two, an entirely new coinage was issued in the name of the Republic. The beautiful "peacock" money is rarely seen outside of Asia. Truly a collecting opportunity.
Ex St. James's Auction 4, May 2006, lot 643.
View details and enlarged photos
Realized
$108,000 |
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