I'm a longtime collector of things connected with the Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia, founded in 1860 in the south of what is now Chile and Argentina.

The first king -- Orelie-Antoine de Tounens -- issued a few coins, which are quite collectible and pricey.

The sixth king -- Prince Philippe -- was responsible for a number of coins in two separate series.

The first series, from 1988 until 1997, was created by Serge Huard, a numismatist from Montreal, Canada.

The second series, from 2007 until 2013, was created by a different mint, under the guidance of Klaus-Peter Pohland, the Vice Chancellor of the Kingdom.

Recently, there have been a number of coins, rather similar to the ones created by Serge Huard, coming out of China, dated 1998 to 2013.

The Chinese dealer claims they are from Serge Huard and they are not made in China. But several things seem odd.

First, I have not seen nor heard from Serge Huard since 1997, and these coins have modified the definitive Serge Huard coins of 1988 to 1997.

So, a couple of questions: does anyone have any news of Serge Huard? Second, does anyone have any information about these coins being sold from China.

Many thanks!

-- Daniel Morrison