888 Sells Rare 1978 Gold Medal Commemorative $5,500
Richmond Hill, ON – 888 Auctions concluded a successful auction with a Rare People’s Republic of China gold medal commemorative coin exceeding its estimate high and selling for a crisp $5,000 at Lot 511. The rarity of the coin cannot be understated as it was one of 780 coins ordered from Peking for distribution during the 1978 Hong Kong Exhibition of Archaeological Finds.
The June 3rd 556-lot sale experienced healthy participation from around the world with bidders from over 30 countries.
For the first time, complimentary jadeite test results from 888 Auction’s JadeLab jadeite laboratory verified the quality of the jadeite carvings on offer in the sale. This assurance afforded bidders the comfort in bidding on the quality of the jadeite carvings rather than worrying about the authenticity of the jadeite on offer. Two emerald green jadeite carved bangles at Lot 160 and Lot 165 achieved a hammer price of $2,000 and $3,250, respectively. Not to be outdone, a charming 18th/19th Century Chinese jadeite carved snuff bottle at Lot 384 created a bidding war resulting in a final price of $3,500, nearly double its high estimate of $1,600.
Stone carvings also found new owners in the auction; Lot 316, a set of 3 Twelve and Nine Eyed Tibetan Tianzhu Beads exceeded its estimate high of $600 with a final hammer price of $1,300; Lot 333, a Chinese hardstone carved toggle of a swan hammered down at $1,000; Lot 339, a Chinese chicken bloodstone seal with incised script hit its estimate high of $600 much to the delight of its original owners.
Despite the high prices achieved in the sale, it was clear collectors around the world were thirsting for high quality items with provenance and jadeite authentication. For this auction, the numbers did not lie; high quality items with a high estimate of over $1,000 had an exceptional sell-through rate of over 50%.
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For consignment inquiries for our August auction or additional information, please contact 888 Auctions at 905-763-7201 or by email at [email protected]. For detailed post-auction results and hammer prices, please visit us at http://www.888auctions.com.