Item number: A274

Year: AD 1914

Material: Silver-gilt

Size: 38.7 x 38.7 x 2.5 mm

Weight: 26.8 g

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2013

This is a “Republic of China Year 3 Issue Yuan Shikai Portrait One Yuan” silver coin that has undergone gold gilt treatment. 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.

The likeness of Yuan Shikai on the obverse was crafted by Luigi Giorgi, an Italian sculptor who served at the Tianjin Central Mint since the 2nd year of the Xuantong era (AD 1910). Some of the gold gilt on Yuan Shikai’s ear has slightly worn off, revealing the silver base layer. The upper edge of the portrait is engraved with the year “Year 3 of the Republic of China”. On the reverse side is an intricately tied sheaf of grain, with the denomination “One Yuan” inscribed centrally.

Since the 3rd year of the Republic of China (AD 1914), the Beiyang government passed the “National Currency Regulations,” using the Yuan Shikai portrait as the unified national currency. Subsequently, there were four basic types: “Year 3 of the Republic of China,” “Year 8 of the Republic of China,” “Year 9 of the Republic of China,” and “Year 10 of the Republic of China.” The basic features of the “Year 3 of the Republic of China” type are as follows: the year on the obverse does not end with the character “造,” there is a stroke on the right side of the character “民,” and two dots replace the stroke at the upper left of the character “華.”

After the Tianjin Central Mint issued the moulds to various mints across the country, each mint produced coins with different characteristics based on their technological capabilities and mould repairs. Taking the earliest “Year 3 of the Republic of China” type as an example, at least twelve minting factories in different locations were involved in production. 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.

物件編號: A274

年代: 公元 1914 年

材質: 銀鍍金

尺寸: 38.7 x 38.7 x 2.5 mm

重量: 26.8 g

來源: 大城郵幣社 2013

這是一枚經過鍍金處理的「民國三年版 袁世凱像 壹圓」銀幣。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，之後在西方則被戲稱為「胖子元」。

硬幣正面的袁世凱側身像，為宣統2年(公元1910年)起，服務於天津造幣廠的義大利雕模師魯喬奇的得意之作。袁世凱耳朵的鍍金有些許脫落露出銀底層，肖像上緣刻有年份「中華民國三年」。硬幣背面則是打結的嘉禾，中央是直寫的「壹圓」面額。

自民國3年(公元1914年)，北洋政府通過《國幣條例》以袁大頭作為統一的國幣後，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。「民國三年」版別的基礎特徵如下，正面的年份未以「造」字作結尾、「民」右側帶有一撇、「華」左上的筆劃以兩個點替代。

天津造幣總廠將模具發予各地的造幣廠後，按照各地的技術水平和模具修補又產生不同特色。以最早的「民國三年」版別為例，至少就有十二間各地的造幣廠投入生產。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。