Item number: A91

Year: AD 1896 (AH 1314)

Material: Silver

Size: 24.14 x 24.07 mm

Weight: 7.0 g

Manufactured by: Kashgar Bureau Mint

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2023

The coin with a denomination of two mace was minted in AD 1896 (Guangxu 22) in the ancient city of Kashgar in South Xinjiang and is known as the “Guangxu Silver Coin.” The obverse side features three lines of vertically written Chinese characters from right to left, which respectively read “Kashgar,” “Guangxu Silver Coin,” and “Two Mace.”

The central portion of the reverse side is in the Chagatai script and includes the denomination “Two Mace,” and mint “Kashgar Bureau.” Surrounding these inscriptions are Arabic-style floral patterns, with four five-petalled flowers on each side symmetrically arranged along the axis of a five-petalled flower (upper) and an eighteen-petalled flower (lower). The coin features inner serrations and outer edges on both sides, complemented by a serrated coin edge.

In AD 1855 (Xianfeng 5), the Qing government established a mint in Kashgar to coin currency. From AD 1865 to AD 1875, facing the military occupation by the formidable ruler Yakub Beg, coinage operations were suspended. It wasn’t until AD 1888 (Guangxu 14) when the Qing government, having regained control of Xinjiang, re-established the Kashgar Mint. At that time, local Uighur merchants expressed concerns about the circulating “Tiange Silver Coins” (five-fen small silver coins) from the Yakub Beg period, which were difficult to identify due to mixed compositions, leading to deception. In response, Li Zongbin, the then Governor of Kashgar, instructed the acting magistrate Luo Zhengxiang to attempt coinage. With the support of the local community raising three thousand taels of silver, they minted coins in denominations of “One Mace, Two Mace, and Three Mace” in the following year (AD 1889), followed by a minting of the “Five Mace” denomination.

After the issuance of these silver coins, the Akqi Mint in Southern Xinjiang (AD 1893) and even the provincial government’s Dihua Guanqian Bureau (AD 1902) in Dihua(Now Urumqi) followed suit, imitating the design and joining the minting endeavours.

物件編號: A91

年代: 公元 1896 年 (回曆 1314年)

材質: 銀

尺寸: 24.14 x 24.07 mm

重量: 7.0 g

製造地: 喀什鑄造局

來源: 福君錢幣 2023

此面額貳錢的硬幣為公元1896年(光緒22年)，於南疆古城喀什噶爾鑄造的「光緒銀圓」。正面為三行直書漢字，由右至左分別為「喀什」、「光緒銀圓」、「貳錢」字樣。背面的中間為察合台文，由上而下分別為面額「貳錢」和鑄造廠「喀什噶爾局」。周圍的阿拉伯式花草圖案，左右各有四朵五瓣花，以五瓣花(上方)和十八瓣花(下方)為軸線對稱。雙面皆有內齒及外廓，幣邊則有齒邊。

公元1855年(咸豐5年)，清廷在喀什噶爾設立鑄幣局造幣。於公元1865至1875年，面對浩罕軍事強人阿古柏的占領，鑄幣業務一度中斷。直到公元1888年(光緒14年)，收復新疆的清廷方才重設喀什鑄造局。彼時地方的維吾爾商人反映，市面流通的阿古柏佔領時期「天罡銀幣」(五分小銀幣)，成分混雜和不易識別容易上當，呈請政府鑄造銀圓。因此時任喀什道員的李宗賓命令候補知縣羅正湘試鑄銀圓，經商民籌備三千兩白銀，鑄造「壹錢、貳錢和參錢」面額，隔年(公元 1889年)再鑄造「伍錢」面額。

該銀圓發行後，同處南疆的阿克蘇鑄造局(公元1893年)，乃至省府的迪化官錢局(公元1902年)，亦仿造型制先後加入鑄造行列。