Did you know Stack’s
Bowers Galleries is offering Part 1 of the Sang Lin Collection of Hong Kong and
Chinese coins in our August Hong Kong auction? Our August Hong Kong sale
will take place August 14-17, 2017, at the Mira Hotel. The entire sale is
available for viewing and bidding on our website.
Sang Lin was born in Hong
Kong in May 1914. At a young age he developed a passion for coin collecting and
began acquiring his collection in the late 1940s. At the same time he was the
owner and operator of the Tai Tung Match factory. His hard work led to
financial stability and enabled Sang to build a world-class collection,
focusing on the coins of China and Hong Kong.
Sang was a long-time
member of the Hong Kong Numismatic Society and in 1965 he began his first two-year
term as Vice Chairman of the society. He served as a committee member from 1967
through 1970 and in 1973 started his second two-year term as Vice Chairman.
Sang’s collection
attracted local fame and in the 1970s he was approached by the Hong Kong
government to display his coins in the government-run museum. Coverage of the
display appeared on Hong Kong television and featured interviews with Sang in
which he told about his collection and his experiences while acquiring the
coins.
Looking to give his
family even more opportunity, Sang moved to Quebec, Canada in 1975, although
the stay was brief as he returned to Hong Kong in 1976. Seven years later he
returned to Canada with his family, settling in Toronto, Ontario in 1983. His
documents noted that he was transferring to Canada over 15,000 numismatic
items. These pieces remained stored in 27 sealed wooden boxes until very recently.
Sang Lin passed away in
Toronto in November of 2000. He not only leaves a collecting legacy, but he
also instilled in one of his grandsons a love of numismatics.
