The Peh Family Collection led a $23.67 million World & Ancient Coins auction and helped push Heritage’s Hong Kong week to nearly $27 million.
By Intelligent Collector Staff | June 22, 2026
A legendary Chinese pattern coin reset Heritage’s world-coin record when the Hsüan-t’ung silver Specimen Pattern “Short-Whiskered Dragon” Dollar Year 3 (1911) SP64+ PCGS sold for $4.88 million in Heritage’s June HKINF World & Ancient Coins auction.
The result made the coin one of the three most expensive world coins ever sold and the most valuable world coin ever sold at Heritage. It also surpassed the $4.32 million paid in December 2025 for a Republic Chang Tso-lin pattern dollar, another major Peh Family Collection result at Heritage.
The Short-Whiskered Dragon is part of the 1911 Ta Ching dollar pattern series from the Central Mint in Tientsin, produced during the final phase of Qing Dynasty coinage. Heritage described the type as one of the rarest and most coveted pattern coins in Chinese numismatics, with only eight documented survivors and only three in private hands.
The sale’s depth confirmed that the result was not isolated. A Chihli. Kuang-hsü Tael Year 33 (1907) MS62 PCGS realized $1.769 million, setting a record for the type. A British Colony. Victoria Proof Pattern Tael 1867 PR64 PCGS brought $1.037 million, while a Hsüan-t’ung silver Specimen Pattern “Long-Whiskered Dragon” Dollar Year 3 (1911) SP63 PCGS sold for $671,000.
For consignors, the lesson is clear: elite numismatics rewards provenance, certification and global reach. When a collection carries the weight of the Peh Family Collection and includes coins with true rarity, Heritage can be the best place to sell world coins because it brings those pieces to a deep international audience that understands the difference between scarce and irreplaceable.
Source: Heritage Auctions press release (June 22, 2026).