G091 Rare 1932 Manchukuo gold tael PCGS UNC Details - Damaged. LM-1067; K-1595; KMX-1.2; WS-1346. This gold tael was produced as a specie reserve for the Bank of Manchukuo, the central bank in the Japanese puppet state that was created after the 1931 Japanese annexation of Manchuria. This is a rarely seen type, and it has never circulated on the market. Even through it never circulated, it is full of history. When the Soviet Red Army took over Manchuria in 1945, they took all of the gold coins found in Manchukuo. However, the Japanese military moved 4000 pieces of those coins to Taiwan in early 1945. In October 1945, US army Lieutenant Colonel K.W. Evone -- a US military liaison officer in Taiwan --received 4000 gold medallions from the Japanese military in Taiwan (8 boxes). Then, he handed over 2000 pieces of such gold coins (10 different varieties) to the Taiwan provincial government administration office. Later he was accused of privately smuggling the remaining 2000 pieces to Shanghai in order to sell to the private businessmen and collectors. 1921 pieces were sold. There were 79 pieces left unaccounted for. These returned coins were likely melted down to gold bars for use in the market during 1949 or the early 50s since the Republic needed money for the government. Most of the 1921 pieces that were sold to the private businessmen and collectors were also likely melted down into bars during the Chinese civil war and Cultural Revolution. The auction of the well-regarded Irving Goodman Chinese coin collection auction in January 1991 included a total of 2105 lots but lacked these Manchukuo gold taels. Shanghai Museum did not have this coin in their collection. Additionally, PCGS has only graded 18 of them (LM-1067). This tells you how rare these coins are. One PCGS AU Details - Scratch sold for USD $20,400 in a May 2022 Hong Kong Auction. Another different variety (LM-1068) PCGS MS60 sold for USD $216,000 in the same May 2022 Hong Kong auction. This coin is a must have for Japanese Chinese coin collectors.

The Bank of Manchukuo was established in 1932 in the Japanese occupied provinces in Northern China. A major aim of the Bank was to introduce a standardized currency, which they took up almost immediately. The bank initially had sufficient gold reserves and consistently paid a 6% dividend to investors. The Bank continued until the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War, by which time the economic situation had deteriorated into rapid inflation in Manchukuo. China gold coins usually is pretty small in size. This is one of the few coins that come as one-ounce large size.

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