The coin collection formed over many decades by Asian numismatic expert Dr. Norman Jacobs is noted for its rarities from Korea and Japan, but it is a Chinese coin that leads the upcoming auction of the collection.

The 1910 Dragon or Yunnan Spring dollar of China, the finest of two known genuine examples, leads the Sept. 8 auction of Jacobs’ collection, which is being sold as part of Heritage Auctions’ Long Beach Signature World & Ancient Coins auction Sept. 7 to 9 and 12. The colorful “Yunnan Spring” name comes from the four Chinese characters across the top of the reverse that roughly translate to “made in the Spring 1910 in Yunnan Province.”

Warren Tucker, vice president of world coins at Heritage, said the “enigmatic issue” is one of China’s rarest coins, with only two genuine pieces known. “It’s been a coin of mystery and legend since its discovery around 1920. Despite near constant research in Chinese numismatics, time has yielded no definite reason or meaning for the term ‘Spring 1910,’” Tucker said.

The first genuine example of this issue to appear at public auction was sold in Beijing in April 2002 at the Hua Chen auction. That same piece later sold in a Cheng Xuan sale, also in Beijing, in 2007 where it brought 3,192,000 renminbi ($468,000 in U.S. funds).

Michael Chou, of Champion Hong Kong Auction, then sold it — now certified About Uncirculated 55 by Numismatic Guaranty Corp. — for $1,035,000, in August 2010 in Hong Kong.

Researchers cannot agree on what the Yunnan Spring dollar inscription references, though in 2010 Chou’s firm suggested the coin marked the opening of a railroad line.

The piece that Heritage is offering is the second known example of the Yunnan Spring dollar and the finest of the two known, having been graded and certified AU-58 by NGC. NGC and Chou have determined that it is from the exact same dies as the other coin, according to Heritage.

Cristiano Bierrenbach, vice president of international numismatics at Heritage, said that, if anything, “the grading by NGC is a bit conservative on this piece as Heritage graders noticed no circulation on the coin.”

According to Heritage, Jacobs acquired the example from the Tracey Woodward Collection, through Robert Friedberg in 1952.

The Yunnan Spring dollar is expected to bring in excess of $700,000, with Heritage officials suggesting it could even top $1 million, given the condition and state of the Chinese coin market.

Other notable rarities in Jacobs’ collection include the only set of Year 3 (1909) Korean Yung Hi gold 5-, 10- and 20-won coins available in private hands, the other set held in the Bank of Japan museum. The three members of the set have a collective estimate of $1.6 million to $2.4 million in the auction. The September offering is the first auction appearance for each of the three gold coins, according to Heritage.

NGC has graded all of the Korean Yung Hi coins as Mint State 64, though the lot descriptions suggest they would more correctly be described “as Proof, or Specimen, as [they are] definitely not a normal circulation striking.”

Heritage considers the trio some “of the most important coins in all Korean numismatics.”

The 5-won coin is estimated at between $600,000 and $900,000, while the 10- and 20-won coins are both estimated at between $500,000 and $750,000 each.

The auction will also offer patterns, Proof issues and regular numismatic issues from Asia, including Japanese coins and bank notes and Korean coins and bank notes.

A total of 367 lots on Sept. 8 are dedicated to the collection formed by Jacobs, whose interest in Asia was reportedly spurred by a worker at the neighborhood Chinese laundry.

Dr. Norman Jacobs was a young boy in New York City when his collecting took root, his interest fed by seeking and searching change from one vendor to the next. After graduating high school at 15, Jacobs graduated City College at 18 years old, his interest in Asian studies ignited by the aforementioned neighborhood factotum.

After college Jacobs joined the Army, where he applied for Japanese language school and was accepted, narrowly missing being deployed with a unit that never came home.

Upon completing training Jacobs was sent to the Philippines, where he translated intercepted documents and provided the initial translation of the 1945 surrender document.

His collection grew while he served in Tokyo with occupation forces, Jacobs spending hours sorting through all the coins and paper money he could find, his education assisted by a Isao Gunji, curator of the Bank of Japan’s coins and a friend of a friend of a fellow officer.

Jacobs was able, with other numismatic friends, to rescue some of the Osaka Mint coins and patterns that would have otherwise been melted by U.S. forces. He returned to the United States and earned his doctorate in sociology at Harvard University.

Unable to secure a faculty position, Jacobs began working for Robert Friedberg of Capitol Coin Co., using his specialized Asian numismatic knowledge.

While there, Jacobs authored Japanese Coinage and contributed to Friedberg’s opus, Gold Coins of the World, expanding his collection with purchases that included the Meiji Year 3 gold 10-yen pattern from the famous 1954 Palace Collection auction of deposed ruler King Farouk of Egypt.

Jacobs, with Cornelius Vermeule, in 1953 completed the first English language book on Japanese coinage that covered both ancient and modern coinage, and was the first to catalog the coins by date and type.

In 1955 Jacobs moved to Taiwan (where he met his wife) before working in Washington, D.C., and later, for two years in Iran. His Japanese language skills proved useful when the crown prince (now Emperor Akihito) was visiting, as Jacobs was the only government employee in Iran who spoke Japanese.

After returning to the United States, Jacobs entered academia, as professor of Asian Sociology at the University of Kansas, followed by the University of Illinois, before retiring in 1990.

Jacobs’ interest in numismatics never waned, and he remained active in research and collecting until he died in 2004.

A part of the collection was sold in 2008 by Baldwin’s and Ma Tak Wo, but Heritage appears to have access to the marquee lots. The Baldwin’s/Ma Tak Wo portion of the collection realized $3,371,800 with the 15 percent buyer’s fee.

Tucker said cataloging the collection was “a great deal of fun. In all the years we’ve been running world coin auctions, we’ve never had as many rarities and ultra rarities in a single auction like there are in this one,” Tucker said.

Numerous other highlights proliferate.

The full collection is posted online at www.HeritageAuctions.com, and a catalog may also be ordered from the firm.

For more information, or to order a catalog, telephone the auction house at 800-872-6467 or visit its website. ¦