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Help identify Asian coins?
Spartcom5
Posts: 392 ✭✭✭
These have been in my dad's collection for a long time now and I thought I would post them here in hopes of identifying them! Thanks for the help!
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Spartcom5
Posts: 392 ✭✭✭
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Any of them worth sending in to get graded? Would love to get one of my dad's coins graded!
I do not have the expertise to identify these from the photos, but I believe I can identify them as follows:
At 12:00 - this is a Wu Zhu coin. Its type was cast from 118 BCE to 618.
At 3:00 and 9:00, these appear to have been cast during the reign of the Qian Long emperor; 1736 to 1796.
At 6:00 - cast during the reign of the Guang Xu emperor; 1875 to 1908.
Usually, these coins have little value, but some are rare. Not prepared to make a comment. And it's 1:52 AM. zzzzzzzzzzz
DPOTD
Nope, don't get them graded. All are common cash coins. You'll pay more in fees than the coins are worth (sorry). Plus, Chinese cash coin collectors don't get hung up on fine conditions. Between the base metals used, plus the fact most early coins were cast in a mold, it's not a big deal in terms of cost.
(This is a completely different story for machine struck later Chinese coinage, plus third party authentication for trying to avoid forgeries.)
Top row; left to right:
1. Obverse is in lower photo, and upside down: Emperor Gao Zong (1736-95); Reign title (the characters); Qian Long tong bao. Reverse in the upper photo and upside down, has the "mintmark" in both Chinese and Mongol; Board of Revenue mint.
2. Wu Zhu, obverse upper photo, but upside down; the "hour glass (zhu)" should be on the right. Interesting coins, as China was in disarray during the Western Han dynasty, and when Wang Mang took over, he tried to re-introduce them when the economy started falling apart. Any with designs on the reverse are worth cherry-picking, as long as they don't look like tourist pieces.
3. Same coin as #1, but note the change in diameter, the wider rim, and the patina. Part of the fun of collecting Chinese cash are varieties, even if they aren't expensive. Designs and alloys were changed as the fortunes of the Emperor changed.
4. Bottom row, machine struck: Emperor De Zong (1875-1908); Reign title Guang Xu tong bao . Mint on reverse: Guangzhou, Guangdong province. Harthill No. H22.1335. Very common, but always a pretty coin IMHO.
So if any stick to a magnet; then you will have an iron coin, which will have some additional value, but it's a long shot. They are pretty rare.