Item number: A248

Year: AD 1896

Material: Silver

Size: 27.5 x 27.5 mm

Manufactured by: Changsha, Hunan

Provenance: Silverhouse 2022

This is a silver coin weighing one tael, issued in the 22nd year of Guangxu (AD 1896) by the “Hunan Fonan Official Bureau”. The obverse of the coin is surrounded by a bead circle, with the issuer’s name, “Hunan Fonan Official Bureau”, inscribed in three rows of characters from right to left at the centre. The reverse also features a bead circle, centrally inscribed with the six characters “省平足紋壹兩”. “省平” refers to the unit of weight for silver taels used in Changsha, Hunan, each unit approximately weighing 35.95 g; “足紋” denotes the term for silver of sufficient purity.

In the 21st year of Guangxu (AD 1895), Chen Baozhen, the then Governor of Hunan, initiated the “Reform Movement” in Hunan with the intention of promoting local industrial and commercial development. However, he faced difficulties due to insufficient funds. Additionally, following the turmoil of the Taiping Rebellion, a significant amount of substandard silver circulated in Hunan, leading to commercial stagnation in the region. Consequently, Chen Baozhen approached Zhu Changlin, a major merchant closely cooperating with the government, requesting him to establish a “Government Mint Bureau” with banking characteristics to stabilise the currency. Zhu Changlin agreed and promptly established the Funan Official Bureau to mint silver coins of uniform format, thereby stabilising Hunan’s currency. Simultaneously, he also provided loans to the government to aid in local economic construction.

In the 24th year of Guangxu (AD 1898), Chen Baozhen was dismissed from his position due to his support for the Hundred Days’ Reform, leaving the Funan Official Bureau without support and leading to its closure. However, in the 28th year of Guangxu (AD 1902), facing economic needs, the new Governor Yu Liansan re-established the “Hunan Official Money Bureau,” which subsequently evolved into the “Bank of Hunan Province.”

物件編號: A248

年代: 公元 1896 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 27.5 x 27.5 mm

製造地: 長沙，湖南

來源: 銀家聯合幣鈔公司 2022

這是一枚光緒22年(公元1896年)由「湖南阜南官錢局」發行之壹兩重銀幣。錢幣正面的周圍有一道珠圈，中央的三行字由右至左依序寫上發行商「湖南阜南官(錢)局」名字。錢幣背面亦有一道珠圈，中央寫有「省平足紋壹兩」六字。「省平」乃湖南長沙一地秤量銀兩的單位，每單位約為35.95克；「足紋」則是指稱純度足夠的白銀簡稱。

光緒21年(公元1895年)，時任巡撫的陳寶箴在湖南推動「維新運動」，意圖推動地方工商業發展卻苦於資金不足，加之經歷太平天國的動盪後，湖南一地有許多成色不足的銀子流竄，致使民間的商業蕭條。因此陳寶箴找上跟官府密切合作的大商人朱昌琳，請求後者出面成立具有銀行性質的「官錢局」穩定貨幣。朱昌琳應許後，旋即成立阜南官錢局鑄造格式統一的銀幣讓湖南貨幣趨於穩定，一方面亦貸款給官方以協助地方經濟建設。

光緒24年(公元1898年)，陳寶箴因支持戊戌變法後續慘遭革職，缺少靠山的阜南官錢局僅能就此歇業。然而在光緒28年(公元1902年)，新任巡撫的俞連三面對經濟需求，再度成立「湖南官錢局」後續演變為「湖南省銀行」。