Rare Chopmarked Half Eagle To Join Heritage's Long Beach Sale

Dallas, Texas: A chopmarked 1880-S half eagle has been consigned to Heritage's upcoming June 2000 Long Beach Signature Sale. "This coin was consigned directly from China as a result of the press surrounding the Piedmont Collection of Korean, Japanese, and Chinese rarities that will anchor the world coin section in June," noted Bob Korver, Director of Heritage Numismatic Auctions. "It is a wonderful feeling to know that the Piedmont Collection has caught the eye of collectors around the world. The consignor of this chopmarked half eagle rarity specifically requested that we sell the coin alongside the Piedmont Collection. Now, if that doesn't confirm the importance of this sale for world coin specialists, nothing will." Although the 1880-S half eagle will be offered among the world coins in the Long Beach Sale, Heritage will also cross-reference the piece in the U.S. half eagle section. "I will be interested to see whether the greater demand for this rarity comes from a collector U.S. or Chinese coins."

The word chopmark was derived from the Indian word chappa, the latter being an official seal used on documents. Sailors of the British East India Company most likely distorted this word into "chap" and, eventually, "chop." These same sailors then used "chop" to describe the counterstamps that they encountered on coins during their visits to Chinese ports in the late 18th century. By this time, chopping coins is thought to have become a widespread practice among Chinese merchants. The governor of Hong Kong officially recognized the use of these characters in a proclamation issued October 21, 1865.

Chopmarks entered the history of U.S. numismatics with the Trade dollar. Minted for circulation between 1873 and 1878, the Trade dollar was specifically intended to facilitate commercial relations between the United States and China. As such, many of the Trade dollars that circulated in the Orient were counterstamped with chopmarks that include Chinese and English characters, geometric patterns, and Roman and Arabic numerals. Numismatic scholars generally believe that these chopmarks represent the symbol of a specific Chinese merchant whose hands the coin passed through at one time. Upon assuring himself that the coin contained the requisite amount of silver bullion, the merchant affixed his personal stamp. If a future transaction returned the same piece to him, he would not have to scrutinize it again.

This explanation of chopmarks is not, however, universally accepted. "I disagree with the general consensus on chopmarks," noted Korver. "Even if a particular coin carried his personal symbol, would a merchant later accept it on blind faith? What if the coin had been defaced, drilled, or lowered in weight since he last handled it? It seems unlikely that a merchant would spend considerable time counterstamping a coin when, in reality, he would probably have to weigh it again the next time he received it. I believe, therefore, that chopmarks represented a form of personal advertisement. A circulating coin with the unique symbol of a Chinese merchant acted as a business card. As it passed through hundreds, maybe even thousands of different hands, the coin carried news of the merchant's enterprise to ports throughout the Orient."

The importance of Heritage's offering is not the chopmark itself, but rather its presence on a U.S. half eagle. "Numismatists may never agree on the exact meaning of these small characters," noted Warren Tucker, Heritage's World Coin Cataloger. "I do believe, however, that all scholars will agree that chopmarks are seldom encountered on U.S. coins other than the Trade dollar. In fact, this half eagle represents sort of a discovery coin for us at Heritage. Most of us had never seen chopmarks on a U.S. gold coin. It was a thrill to examine this coin and speculate about its enigmatic history." The small Chinese character is readily visible in the right obverse field of this 1880-S half eagle. It resembles the Chinese word for "Cinnamon" that Larry D. McNabb highlighted in his article "Chopped Trade Dollars: Orphans of Numismatics" in the May 1996 edition of The Numismatist. According to McNabb, this particular symbol has been linked to Chinese merchants in the ports of Canton, Foochow, Saigon, and Bangkok.

Heritage's upcoming Long Beach Signature Sale is the official auction of the Long Beach Coin Expo. The auction will be conducted June 8-9, 2000 at the Long Beach Convention Center in southern California. For details, please contact the Heritage Consignor Hotline (1-800-872-6467 Ext. 222) or bids@heritagecoin.com. The consignment deadline for the June sale is April 27th.