Coin Collection Returned to China

Howard Bowker began his Chinese coin collection while stationed in Hankou, China in 1923. Some coins in his collection date back to 200 B.C. Last week, two of Bowker’s grandchildren hand-carried their grandfather’s priceless collection to the Shanghai Mint Museum.

Interestingly, Bowker originally left the coin collection to the Smithsonian, but his descendants decided it would be more appreciated and better served in China.  There are no details on whether the Smithsonian agreed to the decision of Bowker’s descendants, which raises interesting questions about the decision to “relocate” the collection.

See Louisa Lim, Priceless Coin Collection Returns Home to China, NPR, April 16, 2010.    

Special thanks to Ann Murphy (associate professor of law, Gonzaga University) for bringing this to my attention.