Item number: A273

Year: AD 1930

Material: Silver

Size: 38.6 x 38.6 x 2.4 mm

Weight: 26.4 g

Manufactured by: Lanzhou Mint

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2016

This is a silver coin minted by the Lanzhou Mint in Gansu Province in the 19th year of the Republic of China (AD 1930), following the “National Currency Regulations” promulgated by the Beiyang Government. It features the “Yuan Shikai Portrait One Yuan” coin design. The peculiarity of this coin lies in the addition of the characters “Gansu” stamped on the blank space of the obverse side.

The obverse side depicts the profile of Yuan Shikai, finalised in the 3rd year of the Republic of China (AD 1914), with a faint depiction of the Great Wall near the left sleeve close to the bottom edge. The top edge bears the year “Republic of China Year 3,” while the characters “Gansu” are seen on both sides. Due to issues with the moulds used by the Lanzhou Mint, the characters “Zhong Hua” and the left part of the character “Su” appear faint and blurry.

The reverse side features tied sheaves of grain on both sides, with the central inscription “One Yuan” written vertically. A notable characteristic of the Gansu version is that the “bei” part of the character “yuan” does not entirely close at the end. The edge of the Gansu version often exhibits a combination of olive-shaped and serrated patterns.

After the Beiyang Government announced the minting of national currency in the 3rd year of the Republic of China (AD 1914), the coin featuring the portrait of Yuan Shikai came to be colloquially known as “Yuan Big Head” among the populace in Asia, and later as “Fatman Dollar“ in the west. “Yuan Big Head” coins had four basic versions: “Republic of China Year 3,” “Republic of China Year 8,” “Republic of China Year 9,” and “Republic of China Year 10.” Local mints further developed their own unique characteristics. From AD 1914 to AD 1951, the production of “Yuan Big Head” coins continued, culminating in the last batch minted for the Liberation Army entering Tibet. Rough estimates suggest that the total circulation of “Yuan Big Head” coins surpassed 75 million, making it one of the most representative currencies of modern China.

The production of “Yuan Big Head” coins in Gansu began in the 17th year of the Republic of China (AD 1928). It was overseen by General Liu Yufang, a commander of the Northwest Army under Feng Yuxiang’s jurisdiction. These coins minted at the Lanzhou Mint were only in the denomination of one yuan, without any other denominations such as half yuan, twenty cents, or ten cents. The “Gansu Overprint Edition” one yuan coin discussed in this article was minted in the 19th year of the Republic of China (AD 1930), during the tenure of Deng Long, a local gentry, as the supervisor of the mint.

物件編號: A273

年代: 公元 1930 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 38.6 x 38.6 x 2.4 mm

重量: 26.4 g

製造地: 蘭州造幣廠

來源: 福君錢幣 2016

這是一枚民國19年(公元1930年)，甘肅省的蘭州造幣廠依循北洋政府頒布的《國幣條例》，所鑄造的「民國三年版 袁世凱像 壹圓」銀幣。該款硬幣的特殊之處在於，其正面空白處有加蓋「甘肅」兩字戳印。

硬幣正面是民國3年(公元1914年)定稿的袁世凱側身像，靠近下緣的左袖隱約能見長城圖案的暗記。上緣鑄有年份「中華民國三年」，兩側則為「甘肅」兩字。由於蘭州造幣廠使用的模具問題，「中華」兩字和「肅」字的左半部字體較為薄弱模糊。硬幣背面的兩側是打結的嘉禾，中央是直書的「壹圓」兩字，「圓」字裡的「貝」部尾端沒有密合是甘肅版的一大特色。甘肅版邊緣則多為橄欖狀和夾絲狀交錯的齒邊。

民國3年(公元1914年)，北洋政府公告鑄造國幣後，這款帶有袁世凱肖像的硬幣在亞洲被民間冠以「袁大頭」暱稱，而之後在西方則被戲稱為「胖子元」。「袁大頭」先後有「民國三年」、「民國八年」、「民國九年」和「民國十年」四種基礎版別，地方的造幣廠又進而延伸出各自的特色。自公元1914年始，到公元1951年為供給進入西藏的解放軍鑄造最後一批袁大頭為止。根據粗略的估算，袁大頭的總發行量超越7500萬枚之譜，可稱得上中國近代最具代表性的貨幣。

甘肅鑄造袁大頭始於民國17年(公元1928年)，由馮玉祥轄下的西北軍將領劉郁芳擔任甘肅督辦監造。這批蘭州造幣廠生產的袁大頭僅有壹圓，未有中圓、貳角和壹角等其他面額。本文探討的「甘肅加字版」壹圓，則是民國19年(公元1930年)身為地方仕紳的鄧隆擔任造幣廠監督的職位上鑄造。