This silver coin is a “Guangxu Yuan Bao” minted by the “Canton Mint” in Guangdong Province starting from the 16th year of the Guangxu Emperor’s reign (AD 1890).The coin features teeth on both sides and has a serrated edge.
The obverse side of the coin features a front-facing dragon at the centre. The outer periphery on both sides is divided by a four-petalled floral motif. The inscription in the upper border is spelt using the Wade-Giles system as “KWANG TUNG PROVINCE,” while the lower border denotes the denomination as “7 MACE AND 2 CANDAREENS.”
The reverse of the coin features a beaded circle with the Chinese inscription “Guangxu Yuan Bao” in the center. The central inscription in Manchu script, “Guangxu Yuan Bao,” remains clearly visible. The upper part of the circle is engraved with the minting location, “Made by Guangdong Province,” while the lower part indicates the coin’s denomination with the weight measurement of “Kuping 7 mace and 2 candareens.” The legends “Provinece” in the upper left corner and “Candareens” in the lower left corner show signs of erosion, and there are numerous assay marks on the reverse side of the coin, used for verifying the purity of the silver.
This coin is embedded in a silver dish crafted by the renowned Shanghai silversmith Zee Sung, with the manufacturing period estimated to fall roughly between AD 1927 and AD 1932.
After the Opium Wars, the Qing Empire intensified its trade relations with the Western world. During this process, foreign silver with lower silver content flooded into China, leading to a significant outflow of Chinese Sycee silver with higher silver content.This exacerbated financial difficulties for the government and social unrest. In the 13th year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1887), Zhang Zhidong, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, submitted a memorial to the imperial court, requesting the introduction of machinery from the British Birmingham mint to establish a mint in Guangdong for the production of silver coins.
After approval from the imperial court, in the 15th year of Guangxu’s reign (AD 1889), the “Canton Mint” was established in the eastern suburbs of Guangzhou. This marked the beginning of machine-struck currency production in China. The first silver coin attempted by Guangdong Province had a denomination of “7 Mace 3 Candareens.” Due to its slightly heavier weight, most of these coins were eventually recalled and melted down. In the 15th year of the Guangxu Emperor’s reign (AD 1889), a lighter version, the “7 Mace 2 Candareens” silver coin, was introduced after reducing the weight. However, the design featuring both Chinese and English inscriptions on the same side raised concerns for the central government as it did not meet the requirements of the national situation. It was not until the following year that versions with separate displays of Chinese and English were put into mass production, totalling five denominations in all.
