Home World & Ancient Coins Forum

19th century English silver tankard, made for Shanghai club, adorned with Japanese coins

WeissWeiss Posts: 9,935 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited November 19, 2020 2:54PM in World & Ancient Coins Forum

I've posted some of my 18th century silver beer mugs, tankards, and canns. This one is outside of my area of interest, but it's pretty fantastic with some lovely history. Price is great (probably negotiable, you didn't hear that from me ;) ), and I can't recommend the dealer in London enough--they're top notch.

_A rare antique sterling silver coin tankard with Chinese coins and an interesting inscription from (most likely) the exclusive little Bowling Club No. 49 Nanking Road, Shanghai. Contains 760 ml.

Weight 622 grams, 20 troy ounces.

Height 19.3 cm (to thumbpiece).

Diameter 9.8 cm. Spread 16.6 cm.

London 1888.

Maker Thomas Johnson.

Literature: The most exclusive club in Shanghai... was the little Bowling Club on Nanking Road, at No. 49, close to the corner of Honan Road. It was established in 1857 at what was then the outskirts of the city. The club maintained its exclusivity by keeping the membership numbers low; in the 1920s the club still only had 24 members. 'Here the game has many patrons among the older generations,' as Wright phrased it in 1908. According to the recollections of the Club's members, 'whiskey was practically unknown in the club.' Instead, brandy and sherry were consumed in enormous quantities.

In 1924, the building of the Bowling Alley had 'old decrepit walls, the ancient door and uneven steps.' Visitors acknowledged that this 'very shabby-looking old building' had 'a strange air of reserve and secrecy.' This was the last rent-controlled site in the settlement: for seventy years since its inception, the club only paid 25 taels a month in rent.

In April 1924, the site was sold to a developer, and one of the oldest buildings in the foreign settlements was mercilessly torn down. The press lamented: 'Old Shanghai is breathing its last breath: old customs have died, old buildings razed to the ground to make way for new, even the old residents have subtly changed.' As Hawks Pott mentions in 1928, 'although this old historic site has recently been sold and the building torn down, it is interesting to note that the Chinese still call that part of Nanking Road by the Chinese words pau-jeu-dzang meaning 'Bowling Alley.'_

https://www.waxantiques.com/silver-cups-goblets-porringers-jugs/tankards-mugs/antique-silver-tankard.html

We are like children who look at print and see a serpent in the last letter but one, and a sword in the last.
--Severian the Lame

Comments

  • TwoKopeikiTwoKopeiki Posts: 9,528 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Pretty damn cool

  • KliaoKliao Posts: 5,445 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Pretty neat. But the website got the coins wrong. It’s a 1 yen on the lid, 20 sen on the side of the body, and 10 sen at the base. All silver Japanese coins, not chinese.

    Young Numismatist/collector
    75 Positive BST transactions buying and selling with 45 members and counting!
    instagram.com/klnumismatics

  • WeissWeiss Posts: 9,935 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Kliao said:
    Pretty neat. But the website got the coins wrong. It’s a 1 yen on the lid, 20 sen on the side of the body, and 10 sen at the base. All silver Japanese coins, not chinese.

    Yep.

    We are like children who look at print and see a serpent in the last letter but one, and a sword in the last.
    --Severian the Lame
  • coinkatcoinkat Posts: 22,721 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Steins

    Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.

  • WeissWeiss Posts: 9,935 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Technically a stein is made of earthenware--fired clay, porcelain, china, etc.
    Tankards are lidded and more often (but not always) made of metal.
    Mugs and canns are a little more difficult to differentiate.

    My collection of 18th century English and American silver:

    We are like children who look at print and see a serpent in the last letter but one, and a sword in the last.
    --Severian the Lame
  • Namvet69Namvet69 Posts: 8,624 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I can see me eating wonton egg drop soup out of that thing. Nice piece. Love the hinged lid. Peace Roy

    BST: endeavor1967, synchr, kliao, Outhaul, Donttellthewife, U1Chicago, ajaan, mCarney1173, SurfinHi, MWallace, Sandman70gt, mustanggt, Pittstate03, Lazybones, Walkerguy21D, coinandcurrency242 , thebigeng, Collectorcoins, JimTyler, USMarine6, Elkevvo, Coll3ctor, Yorkshireman, CUKevin, ranshdow, CoinHunter4, bennybravo, Centsearcher, braddick, Windycity, ZoidMeister, mirabela, JJM, RichURich, Bullsitter, jmski52

Sign In or Register to comment.