Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

Stolen coin:

The Nine-fold script Huang Song tongbao coin

 

Summary

A recent systematic check revealed that a Chinese coin of AD 1038 from Western Xia deriving from the collection of KutsukiMasatuna, an eighteenth century Japanese prince, went missing from the Oxford collection sometime after 1940-1941 but before 2005. This looks to have been a theft through the substitution of a superficially similar coin. A rubbing of the coin exists (see p. 2). This was a significant loss, with a current value of perhaps £100,000. As the coin is so rare it may come to attention. Should anyone have any information about its whereabouts please contact:

Chris Howgego, Keeper of the Heberden Coin Room, Ashmolean Museum, Beaumont Street, Oxford, OX1 2PH, UK:

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 0044 (0)1865 278063

 

Further information

The calligraphic style is called Nine-fold script. The coin was similar to, but not the same as, the following onesold at an auction 14/11/2010:

 

The Nine-fold Huang Song tongbao of the Ashmolean Museum originally belonged to KutuskiMasatsuna (1750-1802) daimyo of Fukushiyama, also called Tamba Prince. He published this coin in 1798 in his Wakan kokonsenkakan和漢古今泉貨鑑(Album of Chinese and Japanese coins old and new).

Here is the rubbing of themissing Nine-fold Huang Song tongbao coin.

 

The Nine-fold Huang Song tongbaocoins are very rare. One coin was sold at an auction in Beijing in 2010 (14th November) for the price of 952,000 RMB, which is equivalent to 109,047GBP.

 

Chris Howgego, 1 October 2018