Item number: A85

Year: AD 1912

Material: Silver

Size: 23.43 x 23.43 mm

Weight: 5.18g

Manufactured by: Fujian, Fookien Official Bureau

Provenance: Spink 2023 GmbH 2022

This silver coin is a “Zhonghua Yuanbao“ minted in the first year of the Republic of China (AD 1912) at the Fookien Mint located in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, which features inner and outer serrations along the edge.

On the obverse, there are three flags intersecting each other from left to right, representing the army, national, and navy flags adopted by the Beiyang Government.

Unfortunately, with the passage of time, the details of the flags have faded. The upper section of the coin displays English inscriptions reading “MADE IN FOO-KIEN MINT,” while the lower section features English inscriptions stating “1 MACE AND 44 CANDAREENS.”

These inscriptions correspond to the minting location and face value information presented on the reverse side of the coin.

However, as time passed, especially the lower part indicating the face value as “44 CA,” has worn down and become unclear.

On both sides, six-petaled plum blossom stars are displayed, differing from the ornamentation featured on the reverse.

On the reverse side of the coin, a beaded circle adorned with Chinese regular script characters “Zhonghua Yuanbao” encircles a twelve-pointed star at its centre. Positioned above the beaded circle is an inscription reading “Made by Fookien Mint,” while the lower portion denotes its weight as “1 mace 4.4 candareens,” which equates to the denomination of “2 dimes.” Both sides of the reverse feature five-pointed stars, albeit the one on the right has eroded over time, rendering it less distinct.

In AD 1911, following the success of the Xinhai Revolution, the Fujian province promptly established the “Republic of China Fujian Military Government,” also known as the “Fujian Governor’s Office.” In February of the following year, the provincial government’s financial department issued a decree for the minting of coins featuring the inscription “Min” (Referring to Fujian) and “Made by the Fujian Governor’s Office” on the obverse. The reverse side displayed the “Eighteen-Star Flag” as the central visual element, forming the “Zhonghua Yuanbao”.

However, the initial Zhonghua Yuanbao was only minted for two months, and due to the shortcomings of its crude design, which made it susceptible to counterfeiting, the provincial government decided to cancel this version. In April of AD 1912, the provincial government opted to use the existing model as a template, modifying the reverse inscription to “Made by Fookien Mint” with slight adjustments. On the obverse side, this new version features three flags in place of the single flag, resulting in the revised Zhonghua Yuanbao as mentioned in the text. Despite the provincial government’s repeated issuance of relevant regulations, the problem of widespread counterfeiting persisted.

物件編號: A85

年代: 公元 1912 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 23.43 x 23.43 mm

重量: 5.18 g

製造地: 福建, 福建銀幣廠

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

此硬幣為民國1年(公元1912年)，由福建省福州的「福建銀幣廠」鑄造之「中華元寶」銀幣。硬幣雙面皆具內齒及外廓，幣邊為齒邊。

正面為三面相互交叉的旗幟，由左至右分別是北洋政府制定的陸軍旗、國旗和海軍旗，惜因年代久遠，旗幟的細節皆已消失。上下分別是「MADE IN FOO-KIEN MINT」和「1 MACE AND 44  CANDAREENS」英文字樣，分別對應背面的鑄造地和面額訊息，惜因年代久遠，尤其是下半部面額的「44  CA」部分，已磨損不甚清晰。左右兩側則各有一六瓣梅花星作裝飾，和背面的裝飾不同。

背面有一道珠圈，珠圈內有中文楷書「中華元寶」四字，中央為一個十二星芒狀裝飾。珠圈上環刻有「福建銀幣廠造」，下環則是重量計價的「庫平一錢四分四釐」，即為「兩角」面額。左右兩側各鑄有一五角星裝飾，惜因年代久遠，右側五角星已磨損不甚清晰。

公元1911年，辛亥革命起事成功後，福建省迅速成立「中華民國閩軍政府」，又稱作「福建都督府」。隔年2月，省政府財政部頒布法令，鑄造背面帶有「閩字」和「閩都督府造」字樣；正面以「十八星旗」為主視覺的「中華元寶」。

然而首款中華元寶僅鑄造兩個月，即因模具設計粗糙，易於假冒的缺點被省府取消。公元1912年4月，省府決定以現有模具為範本，將背面字樣改為「福建銀幣廠造」和些許修改，正面則是以三面取代單面旗幟的新版別，再鑄新版，即文中該款式的中華元寶。

但新造的中華元寶仍易於假冒，即使省府屢次提出相關法令約束，仍未能解決假幣橫行的難題。