Item number: A249

Year: AD 1910

Material: Silver

Size: 22.0 x 22.0 mm

Manufactured by: Branch Mint, Kirin

Provenance: Private Collector, Taiwan, 2024

This is a silver coin of “Xuantong Yuanbao,” minted in the second year of the Xuantong era (AD 1910) at the Branch Mint in Jilin under the commission of the Central Mint in Tianjin. On the obverse side of the coin, within the beaded circle, is a five-clawed coiled dragon, with a spiral cloud pattern emanating from the dragon’s mouth in the centre. The top edge is inscribed with “Xuantong Year of Manufacture” in Chinese, while the bottom edge features the transliteration “TAI-CHING-TI-KUO” in English, representing “Great Qing Empire.” On the reverse side within the beaded circle is the inscription “Xuantong Yuanbao,” with a raised carving of the character “Ji” in the centre, representing the abbreviation of Jilin Province. The outer edge of the beaded circle is divided by the Manchu inscription “Xuantong” above and below, with “Branch Mint” inscribed at the top and the denomination “1 Mace & 4.4 Candareens” inscribed at the bottom.

Milling method in Jilin began in the 10th year of the Guangxu era (AD 1884) with the establishment of the “Jilin Arsenal.” It was one of China’s earliest factories to use milling method for coin minting and later assisted in the minting of coins for other provinces as well. In the 31st year of the Guangxu era (AD 1905), it was restructured as the “Jilin Mint Bureau,” ceasing the production of military supplies and focusing exclusively on the minting of silver coins. Subsequently, in the 34th year of the Guangxu era (AD 1908), it merged with the Fengtian Mint to become one of the branch mints of the Central Mint.

物件編號: A249

年代: 公元 1910 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 22.0 x 22.0 mm

製造地: 造幣分廠，吉林省

來源: 臺灣私人收藏 2024

這是一枚宣統2年(公元1910年)，天津的造幣總廠委由吉林的廠房鑄造之「宣統元寶」銀幣。銀幣正面的珠圈內是一隻五爪蟠龍，正中央有從龍口吐出的螺旋狀雲紋。上緣以中文刻寫「宣統年造」，下緣為音譯的「大清帝國」(TAI-CHING-TI-KUO)和銀幣的英文拼寫。背面的珠圈內是「宣統元寶」四字，正中央為一個陽刻的「吉」字，即吉林省的簡稱。珠圈外以滿文「宣統」為上下分界，分別在上緣刻上「造幣分廠」和下緣的面額「庫平一錢四分四釐」。

吉林的機械鑄幣始於光緒10年(公元1884年)的「吉林機器局」，為中國最早以機械鑄造錢幣的工廠之一，後續亦有協助其他省份的錢幣鑄造。光緒31年(公元1905年)，改制為「吉林造幣局」停止生產軍火和專職於銀幣鑄造，後續在光緒34年(公元1908年)和奉天廠合併，成為造幣總局的分廠之一。