As we arrive on the sixth floor of the Sofitel Hotel at Ponte 16, a female voice begins to echo, repeating numbers in Mandarin. At the door of the room, a policeman watches over the proceedings as around 60 people raise pieces of paper in the air, signaling their bid for the coins that the woman on stage is presenting. We are at Champion Auction’s Spring Numismatic Auction in Macau, offering collectors the opportunity to buy coins from the auspicious Nelson Chang collection – an auction that generated sales worth millions of US dollars and has now put Macau on the numismatic map, with a new world record bid.
Images and details of the 123 coins up for auction are displayed on a screen, along with the amount each person is bidding for a particular piece. Among those present, there are those participating attentively, and those who are just socializing and sharing food at the back of the room. There are also potential buyers following the events and bidding online. The participants are almost all from Mainland China.
One bidder, Kevin is sitting next to his friends with his catalogue open to the page displaying the coin he wants to buy. With surprising ease he says that he is willing to bid US$200,000 for this particular coin. The starting bid in this case is US$30,000, so he is feeling confident. Born and raised in Shenzhen, he now studies Mathematics and Economics at Boston University in the US. He is only 20 years old and says his interest in ancient coins started four years ago, when he was 16.
“It’s a need I have,” he says in a clear American accent. “Collections serve to fulfill our spiritual needs. It is the possession of the object above all. Collecting is all about fulfilling our need to possess objects”.
Kevin came to Macau specifically for this auction and makes a point of saying that he does not want to resell the coins or make a profit. “That’s not my goal,” he stresses, explaining, “I just want the coins I like.”
Ian, on the other hand, leans against the doorframe of the entrance chatting with friends, but he is not here as a buyer. He has come from Shanghai for the Macau auction because he works for the company that values each coin, North American NGC.
“We grade them after we analyze their condition. This is then used to assess the value of each coin,” he explains. In the expert’s opinion, the current market conditions are likely to cause the value of the coins to rise. The assessment of their value is based on the rarity of the pieces presented, their state of preservation and the fact that they are coming from a famous collector.
Ian explains the sudden interest in coin collecting on the part of the Chinese: “After the pandemic, prices increased a lot. They almost tripled. Investors have nowhere else to invest because of Covid because the borders have closed. And also, the grading company guarantees that there are no counterfeits.”
“People are crazy to invest,” he says. “Since prices are going up, everyone wants a piece of the action. A lot of people have been coming to coin auctions for the first time. They are not regular buyers, they are not familiar with coins, but they see that the market is growing exponentially and they want to invest.”
Another buyer, Hongrui is from Shanghai. He is 26 years old and says he has been interested in numismatics since he was 11. He plans to bid on a one-dollar coin that was once in circulation in Taiwan, and is willing to bid up to US$100,000.
Like Kevin, Hongrui says he doesn’t want to resell the coins he buys. “I’ll put the coin in my office,” he says. In the distant future, “I might try to resell it,” he eventually confesses.
Halfway across the room is Grandby, still wearing his Sofitel room slippers. He arrived two days ago from Chengdu. He says that after studying Finance in Sheffield, UK, he is taking his first steps in the business of buying and selling historical coins. He has already invested US$760,000 in one coin and US$385,000 in another.
“Maybe in the future, three or four years from now, I can get two or three times the amount I paid now,” he points out, explaining that his parents are also collectors. “This is the future. We have to pay more attention to auctions, this is growing and growing. That’s why there are so many young people here,” he says, directing his attention back to the stage, where the lady continues to quote numbers and descriptions of old coins.
At this auction, the coins from the collection of Nelson Chang, who has one of the largest numismatic collections in China, are being sold. Chang begun creating his collection in the 1970s, when he returned to his hometown of Shanghai, from New York, where he was working. Nelson Chang’s parents were already collectors of numismatics. The Chinese coins now up for auction in Macau are rarities from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Michael Chou, president of Champion Auction, notes that Nelson Chang is “one of the most famous collectors from one of China’s best known families. His great uncle was a great supporter of Sun Yat-Sen. His father had a large inheritance and his wife’s family was also one of the richest in China.”
After the auction is over and all the accounts are done, Michael proudly announces that the record for the most money-generating numismatic auction day in history has just been broken. The auction has generated almost US$20 million, or around 160 million patacas.
The most expensive coin was bought for US$1.34 million – the Xuantong Three Year Dollar coin, from the Qing Dynasty, used in the late 19th century. It is 36 millimeters in diameter and weighs 26.51 grams. The value, explains Michael Chou, has much to do with the quality of the coin’s preservation.
Chou also acknowledges the recent boom in coin collecting, and highlights that a coin similar to the Xuantong coin was sold in November last year for around US$312,000. Now its value has grown to US$1.34 million.
“Because of Covid, many more people have been buying coins, and also because there is the grading company’s guarantee of authenticity. Many other collectibles don’t have a guarantee and that makes a big difference. People even bid over the phone because they trust us.”
Champion Auctions has been holding auctions in Macau since 2014. There have been eight in the past seven years. The next one is already scheduled for November, says Michael Chou.