Item number: A271

Year: AD 1949

Material: Silver

Size: 37.4 x 37.4 mm

Manufactured by: Guangdong First Mint, Hainan

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2024

This is a silver coin minted in the 38th year of the Republic of China (AD 1949), during the final stages of the Chinese Civil War, when the “Guangdong First Mint” retreated to Hainan Island to evade pursuit by the People’s Liberation Army. The coin was minted based on the template of the “Republic of China Year 9” one yuan coin. The minting quantity was limited.

The obverse side of the coin inherits the fine details of the “Republic of China Year 9” version, but due to reasons such as mould or craftsmanship, the details of the portrait and the surrounding beaded circle appear extremely blurry. In comparison to versions from other years, the size of the grain on the reverse side of the coin is smaller.

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.

At that time, Hainan Island was still under the jurisdiction of Guangdong Province, so this “Hainan Edition” is sometimes also referred to as the “Guangdong Edition.” In October of the 38th year of the Republic of China (AD 1949), on the eve of the entry of the People’s Liberation Army into Guangzhou, the Guangdong First Mint relocated to Haikou City in Hainan and established its minting facility at the Haidian Shipyard. They subsequently re-minted the ” Year 9 Edition Yuan Big Head,” “Sun Small Head,” and the ” Year 23 Edition Junk Silver” to supply the military and civilians of Hainan Island. However, starting from March AD 1950, with the assistance of guerrilla forces operating on the island, the People’s Liberation Army successfully launched an offencive across the strait and occupied the entire island of Hainan by May of the same year. The aforementioned “Year 9 Edition Yuan Big Head” ceased production and became a part of history.

物件編號: A271

年代: 公元 1949 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 37.4 x 37.4 mm

製造地: 廣東第一造幣廠，海南

來源: 福君錢幣 2024

這是一枚民國38年(公元1949年)國共內戰末期，為躲避解放軍追擊的「廣東省第一造幣廠」退入海南島後，按「民國九年版 袁世凱像 壹圓」模板鑄造的銀幣，鑄造數量不多。硬幣正面承襲「民國九年版」的細髮細節，但可能出於模具或工藝等原因，人像細節和周圍的珠圈呈現極為模糊感。硬幣背面相較其他年份的版本，其嘉禾的大小較小。

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。

彼時海南島仍下轄於廣東省，故該「海南版」有時亦被稱作「廣東版」。民國38年(公元1949年)10月，解放軍將要進入廣州前夕，廣東省第一造幣廠播遷至海南的海口市並設廠於海甸造船廠內，先後重新鑄造「民國九年版袁大頭」、「孫小頭」和「民國二十三年版船洋」供海南島的軍民使用。然而公元1950年3月起，在潛伏於島上的游擊隊策應之下，解放軍成功跨越海峽對海南島發起攻勢，同年5月成功佔領海南全境。上述該款「民國九年版袁大頭」便停止鑄造和走入歷史。