Item number: A30

Year: AD 1885

Material: Silver

Provenance: Stack’s Bowers Galleries 2023

This silver coin is a fantasy coin, the obverse features a half-length portrait of Emperor Guangxu wearing a winter crown, facing left. On the reverse side, there is a five-clawed coiled dragon, a symbol of imperial authority, encircled by the character “Xixi”(double happiness). On either side of the image of Emperor Guangxu, the characters denote the Guangxu Yiyou year, equivalent to the 11th year of the Guangxu era, corresponding to the year AD 1885.

It originated in Guangdong Province in the 13th year of the Guangxu era (AD 1887). Zhang Zhidong, the Viceroy of Liangguang , submitted a memorial to the imperial court, and three years later (AD 1890), China’s first machine-struck silver coin was finally minted. As for the Qing Dynasty, the central coordinating institution, the Hu Poo Mint Bureau, was not completed until the 31st year of the Guangxu era (AD 1905).

Considering the historical evolution of machine-struck coins in China outlined above and the fact that this coin is only documented in the book “Unusual World Coins: Companion Volume to Standard Catalog of World Coins Series,” it can be inferred that this coin is a fantasy coin produced after the 11th year of the Guangxu era (AD 1885). But as an elusive fantasy coin, this intricately designed specimen delivers much charm, with the detail being full and soft golden hue present throughout that intensifies at the peripheries. The noted cleaning is not distracting from the overall appeal of the example.

物件編號: A30

年代: 公元 1885 年

材料: 銀

來源: SBP錢幣拍賣 2023

此銀幣為臆造幣，其正面為冬季冠帽穿著的光緒皇帝半身像，面朝左。背面則是一條被「囍」字雕環繞，象徵帝王權威的五爪盤龍。在光緒皇帝像的兩側，標示光緒乙酉年，即光緒11年(公元1885年)。最早是廣東省於光緒13年(公元1887年)，時任兩廣總督張之洞上奏朝廷後，於三年後(公元1890年)方才鑄造出中國第一枚機制銀元。至於有清一朝，中央總籌的戶部造幣總廠，遲至光緒31年(公元1905年)方才竣工。

綜觀以上中國機造幣的沿革史，和該硬幣僅在《Unusual World Coins: Companion Volume to Standard Catalog of World Coins Series》一書出現，故推斷該硬幣實為光緒11年(公元1885年)後生產的臆造幣。但此罕見版式，充滿魅力和細節豐富其柔和金色包漿貫穿始終，延至環形色澤更深。雖有清洗痕跡，依然瑕不掩瑜。