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Jun 23, 2026

Ultra-rare ‘dragon’ coin from imperial China era sells for $4.87M

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Ultra-rare ‘dragon’ coin from imperial China era sells for $4.87M

By Charlie Fenton, SWNS Published June 22, 2026, 10:40 a.m. ET

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Originally Published by:

SWNS

An ultra‑rare experimental coin from the final days of imperial China has sold for $4.87 million.

The Hsüan-t’ung silver specimen pattern “short-whiskered dragon” dollar year 3 dates back to 1911 and was made at the Tientsin Mint in China.

Produced in the final year of the Qing Dynasty, the government was trying to create a modern, unified national currency system, and tasked Italian engraver Luigi Giorgi with modernising Chinese coinage.

Obverse of a 1911 Chinese silver dollar coin with a dragon design.
The Hsüan-t’ung silver specimen pattern “short-whiskered dragon” dollar year 3 dates back to 1911 and was made at the Tientsin Mint in China. Heritage Auctions / SWNS

Only one design was chosen for circulation, so the others became ultra‑rare patterns, and only three of the eight documented surviving coins are privately owned.

The lot was sold by Heritage Auctions in Hong Kong to a phone bidder on June 17.

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