CHINA. Anhwei. Brass 1 Mace 4.4 Candareens (20 Cents) Pattern, Year 23 (1897). NGC MS-61. cf. L&M-194; cf. K-50a; cf. KM-Y-43.1. With the initials "A.T.S.C." in the reverse field. EXTREMELY RARE. A neat and interesting issue from a series that was shrouded in mystery for decades. The piece exhibits a sharp strike clearly defining the intricate design features, every scale can be noticed without the aid of magnification. The bright brassy colored surfaces have developed a nice skin subsequently subduing the brilliance in the fields offering much originality. We do notice a portion of the obverse rim that has toned and small area of discoloration at the top right of the character side between "Er" and "Shi" mentioned for accuracy.This highly sought after type very seldom appears for sale in any condition and should be considered a real treat for the specialist. We sold an inferior example graded PCGS SP-50 in our Stacks Bowers & Ponterio Hong Kong Auction April 2, 2018 Lot # 50047 which hammered down for an impressive $25,000 (plus buyers fee). The discovery of production material in 2012 shed new light on the creation of this coinage. The findings included patterns, dies, hubs and a series of punches from the archives of the Otto Beh company, Esslingen, Germany. Before this, the origin of the dies used to produce coinage for the provinces of Anhwei, Chekiang, Fengtien, Heilungkiang and Sungarei was only speculated upon.Otto Beh was a specialist in the production of seals and dies. From neighboring Goppingen, Louis Schuler received an order for coining presses in 1895 and commissioned Otto Beh to manufacture the dies. In 1897 and 1898, Beh supplied Schuler with over 200 dies for Chinese coins. At the time, this was the largest order that the company had ever received. Schuler, which started as a Locksmiths shop in 1839, had grown to become one of the worlds leaders in metal forming and in fact supplied the aforementioned mints with coining presses.Ancient Chinese coins - Qing Dynasty - Guangxu gold coin