In our 10 Year Anniversary Sale at the Mira Hotel in Hong Kong, we will be once again be offering a few Ming Dynasty notes in various conditions. However, one note will stand out from the group,but not for the typical reasons like vermillion overprints or bold impressions.

While the note may be extensively circulated with minor paper repairs and visible paper loss, it accompanied by a story that propels its desirability well beyond the typical example. Understandingwhy however, requires insight of the modern history of this note. These notes were once great rarities, but two modern finds have supplied interested collectors with the opportunity to own what wouldotherwise seem destined for a museum. the first was a bundle found in 1900 by forces intervening in the Boxer Rebellion; the second find occured in 1936 as one of the walls that surrounded Beijingwas being torn down, The note we offer in our upcoming Hong Kong auction, however is one of the few notes known that predate those finds, and is likely the only example outside of a museum with theaccompanying documentation to prove it!

Dated November 19, 1888, the first letter accompanying this note reads:

Mr. Gunther, made wealthy by his success in the candy business, obviously couldn't turn down the opportunity to add this intriguing historical artifact to his museum. This museum, among otherthings, came to hold such American relics as Abraham Lincoln's deathbed and the table that Robert E. Lee used to sign the Confederate surrender documents at the Appomattox Court House. AfterGunther's passing in 1920, the Chicago Historical Society would buy his collection in whole for $150,000. It later became the foundation for what is today known as the Chicago History Museum.

To read the complete article, see:
A Ming Note with Historical Provenance(https://www.stacksbowers.com/News/Pages/Blogs.aspx?ArticleID=ming-note-history)