I know it's a Chinese cash coin, but since I don't have my Chinese history book with me I can't give you the date or the pronunciation of the two vertical characters (I would read them completely differently in Japanese). I think it's from the 19th century, though.
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." -Luke 11:9
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." -Deut. 6:4-5
"For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; He will save us." -Isaiah 33:22
Kangxi refers to the reign of the Kangxi Emperor, the dates of which have been mentioned above. The Tung, or Dong, refers to Shandong, the province in which this piece was minted. The first image shown, which is upside down, shows the abbreviation for Shandong in both Chinese (dong, on the left hand side of the upside down image) and in Manchu (dung, on the right side of the upside down image).
In the second scan, the coin has been rotated 90 degrees to the right. The character at 3 o'clock, should be at twelve. In it's correct position, the characters at 12 and 6 o'clock read Kang and xi, respectively. The characters at 3 and 9 o'clock read tong and bao. Kangxi refers to the reign period and tongbao means "currency".
Also, if i remember correctly, Kangxi Tongbao with both Chinese and Manchu on the reverse were minted early in the reign, maybe only in the 1660's, but I cannot remember and since we are in the middle of a move, my books are already packed up. Does anyone know for sure?
tlhoy
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Obscurum per obscurius
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." -Luke 11:9
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." -Deut. 6:4-5
"For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; He will save us." -Isaiah 33:22
Kangxi refers to the reign of the Kangxi Emperor, the dates of which have been mentioned above. The Tung, or Dong, refers to Shandong, the province in which this piece was minted. The first image shown, which is upside down, shows the abbreviation for Shandong in both Chinese (dong, on the left hand side of the upside down image) and in Manchu (dung, on the right side of the upside down image).
In the second scan, the coin has been rotated 90 degrees to the right. The character at 3 o'clock, should be at twelve. In it's correct position, the characters at 12 and 6 o'clock read Kang and xi, respectively. The characters at 3 and 9 o'clock read tong and bao. Kangxi refers to the reign period and tongbao means "currency".
Also, if i remember correctly, Kangxi Tongbao with both Chinese and Manchu on the reverse were minted early in the reign, maybe only in the 1660's, but I cannot remember and since we are in the middle of a move, my books are already packed up. Does anyone know for sure?