Chinese coin i.d. assistance please

Swampboy · July 27, 2014 11:02AM

Pardon the poor cell phone images.

A friend of mine came across some coins his Mom picked up during her world travels and I've managed to i.d. all but this coin which I can't attribute.

My buddy's Mom lived in China in the late 40s and bought back a few lovely pieces of porcelain, a few paintings, a lovely rug and this one coin, all of which she left to him.
Any help appreciated.

harasha · July 27, 2014 12:47PM

The obverse on the left needs to be rotated 90 degrees counter clockwise. It appears to have been minted by the Gao Zong emperor of the Qing (Ching) dynasty. 1736 to 1796. The obverse states his reign title as Qian Long.

The reverse seems to refer to the Bao Yuan, or Board of Works, mint, but I am not sure about that. The script is Manchu.

Swampboy · July 27, 2014 1:57PM

Thank you very much Harasha.

I also flipped the reverse 180 degrees after referring to my 1701-1800 Krause. I think that's the correct orientation.

Would a traveller have encountered this piece in circulation mid 20th Century?

harasha · July 27, 2014 11:03PM

You know, that is a very interesting question. What WERE the old cash coins used for, if anything, after the introduction of "modern" currency?
Does anyone on the Forum know?

sumnom · July 28, 2014 2:07PM

I would be surprised if these were still in circulation in the mid-20th century but you never know. Cash coins were still in circulation in rural Korea well into the 1910s.

Sapyx · July 29, 2014 10:04PM

<< <i>You know, that is a very interesting question. What WERE the old cash coins used for, if anything, after the introduction of "modern" currency?
Does anyone on the Forum know? >>

There were, at least officially, 1000 cash to a silver dollar or 10 cash to a cent. Since by 1912 there was nearly a cent's worth of metal in an old large-style cash coin like this, inflation soon made the cash worthless as a circulating coin.

However, to the traditional Chinese, a cash coin was more than just a piece of money, or scrap metal - the coins had been endowed with spiritual meaning that exceeded their monetary value. Once they disappeared from circulation, they retained their ritual usage in ornaments and decorations, a tradition continued to the present; in traditional Chinese markets and from "Feng Shui" supply stores here in the West, you can still buy "coin swords" and similar charms, made from either genuine old cash coins or modern replicas.

Swampboy · July 30, 2014 1:02AM

Thank you summon, harasha and Sapyx.

sumnom · July 30, 2014 3:06AM

I don't really know much about the fate of Chinese cash coins but in Korea, authorities of the Japanese Residency-General began the process of redeeming Korean cast and milled coinage for Japanese milled coinage in 1905. By November 20, 1909, 1,204,079,994 cash coins had been exchanged. I believe they were all melted down. Even with 1.2 billion coins melted, they are still quite common. Who knows how many were minted in total?

If you want to read more (in Japanese) you can find it all in the official report: 韓國貨弊整理報告書. In case anyone is interested, there is a 1988 reprint of the report published in Korea by 亞細亞文化社.

santelia · August 3, 2014 8:43AM

Cash coins were also exported as currency to Vietnam and Korea. I know maybe 10 years back a lot of dealers were getting Chinese cash in bulk from Indonesia through scrap metal dealers. Given that millions and millions were made, it is very common to hear of farmers digging them up, or bulk lots from archeological digs. (similar to Roman coins). I bought a 100 coin lot from a friend that had relatives in Vietnam. It came wrapped in newspaper with dirt still on them. There have been a number of shipwrecks too, that have been carrying coins.

sumnom · August 6, 2014 6:00AM

Korea imported Qing coinage only for a brief time in the nineteenth century. If anyone would like to read about it, there is an excellent account of the of this policy and its revocation in Politics and Policy in Traditional Korea by James Palais.

harasha · August 6, 2014 1:18PM

Politics and Policy in Traditional Korea by James Palais.
Available as a book, through Amazon, but not as a Kindle download.
I checked my local libraries, but the title is not available.

sumnom · August 7, 2014 2:14AM

Harasha,

I am sure you can get it through inter-library loan if you do not want to purchase it and cannot find it locally. It is not a rare book.

Also, Amazon has a used copy for four bucks.

sumnom · August 7, 2014 2:16AM

There is a lot info in there on the 100-cash coin the Korean government minted in the 1860s. It's not a numismatic text but knowing the context makes collecting all the more interesting.

harasha · August 8, 2014 12:39PM

Book ordered.

sumnom · August 9, 2014 4:14PM

Cool.

sumnom · August 9, 2014 4:24PM

Palais also wrote a text entitled, Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions that has close to 150 pages (out of 1200) on monetary policy during the Choson period, with reference to particular issues of cash coinage and the troubles the Korean government had in getting people to use it. I highly recommend it if you are into this sort of thing. It can get rather dense. To really understand the section on cash coins, you should read the part on the taedong reforms that comes before it as well, for a total of about 250 pages on economic change and monetary policy during the late Choson period.

Not a lot of people get all the way through it but it really is good stuff.

Chinese coin i.d. assistance please

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