Exceptionally Rare Korean Coin to be Offered at Auction!

Dallas, Texas: During the latter part of the Nineteenth Century and the earliest years of the Twentieth, the end of the Korean Choson Dynasty, several nations competed for influence in the Korean Peninsula, including the United States, China, Russia and Japan. For a short period, Russian influence became ascendant, leading Alexiey of the Russo-Korean bank to issue new coinage, proudly displaying the Imperial Eagle of Russia instead of the Japanese-style dragon that had graced previous coins. Three types of coins were issued, including the 1 Chon, the 5 Chon and the 1/2 Won.

However, due to overwhelming anti-Russian sentiment, and an anti-Russian movement led by the Korean Independence Association, the Russo-Korean Bank was closed after a short time, and virtually all the coins that had been issued were collected by the Japanese, who took over the country, resulting in a true scarcity of examples available to collectors today.

According to Warren Tucker, Director of world Coin Auctions for Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries, "The ½ Won is, undoubtedly, the rarest of the three types of coins struck bearing the Russian Eagle. The example in our upcoming auction is one that we offered in our June 2000 sale of the Piedmont Collection, and we can trace no other offerings of this exceptionally rare coin in the intervening years. This may very well be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the collector of this elusive coinage."

Heritage Auction Galleries will present the Kuang Mu Russian domination silver 1/2 Won year 5 (1901) MS64 NGC in their upcoming Signature Auction, to be held June 1 & 2, 2006 as the official auctioneer of the Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectible Expo, at the Long Beach Convention Center, 100 South Pine Avenue, Long Beach, CA, 90802.

(Korea) Kuang Mu Russian domination silver 1/2 Won year 5 (1901) MS64 NGC

The Kuang Mu Russian domination silver 1/2 Won year 5 (1901) MS64 NGC bears a pre-auction estimate of $35,000 - $45,000.

Images, descriptions, and prices realized from all of Heritage's previous auctions are available in the Permanent Auction Archives at the Heritage website.

To reserve your copy of a catalog for any upcoming Heritage auction, please contact Nicole Jewell, c/o Heritage Auction Galleries, 3500 Maple Avenue, 17th Floor, Dallas, TX 75219, or call 1-800-872-6467, ext. 272.