Item number: A388-8

Year: AD 1899

Material: Silver

Size: 23.4 x 23.4 x 1.4 mm

Weight: 5.35 g

Manufactured by: Kiang-nan Mint Bureau Silver Dollar Bureau, Nanjing

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This is a Guangxu Yuanbao coin minted in the 25th year of the Guangxu Emperor’s reign (AD 1899) by the “Kiang-nan Mint Bureau” in Nanjing. Its denomination is stated as Kuping 1 Mace 4.4 Candareens. On the obverse features a beaded outer ring, with a five-clawed coiled dragon exhaling a fireball at its centre. On either side of the dragon, six-petalled flowers serve as dividers. The upper edge is inscribed with “KIANG NAN PROVINCE” in English, while the lower edge indicates the denomination “1 MACE AND 44 CANDAREENS.”

Although the Qing government abolished Kiangnan Province as early as the 29th year of the Qianlong Emperor’s reign (AD 1764), dividing it into Anhui and Jiangsu provinces, the name persisted and continued to be used to refer to Nanjing until the end of the Qing Dynasty.

The obverse die used for the five-clawed dragon comes in three variations: “Old Dragon,” “Cartoon Dragon,” and “New Dragon.” This coin belongs to the “Cartoon Dragon” version, characterized by a larger dragon head and more prominent, denser whiskers on both cheeks.

On the reverse side, there is a beaded border, within which the characters “Guangxu Yuanbao” are engraved in both Chinese and Manchu scripts. The outer edge of the obverse features the sexagenary cycle year “Ji Hai” on both sides, dividing the space. The top inscription indicates the minting location “Minted in Jiangnan Province”, while the bottom inscription states the denomination “Kuping 1 Mace and 4.4 Candareens.”

The milling method in Nanjing began in the 22nd year of the Guangxu Emperor’s reign (AD 1896) under the approval of Liu Kunyi, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, who petitioned the court for permission. The following year, the mint was successfully established and put into operation, with machinery and dies imported from the renowned Birmingham Mint in the United Kingdom. Despite hiring foreign experts to supervise the manufacturing process, the silver coins produced in Nanjing were still of inconsistent quality and had lower silver content, making it difficult to compete with copper coins and Mexican silver dollars in the market.

In the 26th year of the Guangxu Emperor’s reign (AD 1900), despite the mint benefiting from the capture of Tianjin by the Eight-Nation Alliance, which led to a demand for silver coins in Nanjing untouched by the war, the departure of the British inspector Wharton forced the mint to close. It wasn’t until the following year, in AD 1901, during the Xin Chou year, that the factory resumed operations with the arrival of the newly appointed inspector H. A. Holmes, whose initials “HAH” were stamped on the coins as a mark of quality assurance.

According to records, a total of 2,377,710 Guangxu Yuanbao coins with a denomination of 7 Mace 2 Candareens were minted during the Xin Chou year. The unique “HAH” mark continued to be used in Nanjing until the 30th year of the Guangxu Emperor’s reign (AD 1904), after which other English letters were adopted as the mark.

物件編號: A388-8

年代: 公元 1899 年

材料: 銀

尺寸: 23.4 x 23.4 x 1.4 mm

重量: 5.35 g

製造地: 江南鑄造銀元制錢總局，南京

來源:

1. 諾南斯 2022

2. 大衛.萊斯利.福布斯.西利舊藏

這是一枚光緒27年(公元1901年)，由南京「江南鑄造銀元制錢總局」鑄造的光緒元寶，其面額為庫平一錢四分四釐。錢幣正面的外圍有一道珠圈，中央是一隻吐息火球的五爪蟠龍，左右兩側以六瓣花為分界，上緣以英文鐫刻「江南省」(KIANG NAN PROVINCE)，下緣是幣值「一錢四分四釐」(1 MACE AND 44 CANDAREENS)。清廷早在乾隆29年(公元1764年)便已裁撤江南省，將其拆分為安徽和江蘇兩省，但該地名仍為沿襲指稱南京直至清末為止。

正面模具使用的五爪龍有三種版別，分別是「老龍、卡通龍和新龍」。這枚硬幣屬於卡通龍版本，其龍頭比例較大之外，臉頰兩側的龍鬚也比較濃密和突出。

錢幣背面有一道珠圈，內部為漢滿兩文鐫刻的「光緒元寶」四字。外圍的左右兩側以出廠的干支年份「己亥」為分界，上緣是鑄造地點「江南省造」字樣，下緣則是幣值「庫平一錢四分四釐」。

南京的機械鑄幣始於光緒22年(公元1896年)，時任兩江總督劉坤一上奏朝廷批准後，隔年順利搭建廠房投入運轉，機台和模具皆進口自英國知名的喜敦公司。即便有聘請外國專家監督製造，南京出廠的銀元仍因良莠不齊和含銀量較低，難以在市面上跟銅元和墨西哥鷹洋競爭。

光緒26年(公元1900年)，即便工廠受益於八國聯軍攻克天津，促成未遭戰火波及的南京出現兌換銀元的需求。英籍化驗員Wharton的離職歸國，讓造幣廠只能選擇關閉。直到次年公元1901年的辛丑之際，工廠隨著新聘化驗員「霍教習」到來才再度開工，並且打印他的名字「HAH」作為品質保證。根據紀錄，辛丑年度鑄造之面額七錢二分的光緒元寶數量為2,377,710枚。而南京獨特的「HAH」印記則持續沿用至光緒30年(公元1904年)為止，方才改以其他英文字母作為印記。