Item number: A388-5

Year: AD 1905

Material: Silver

Size: 23.6 x 23.6 x 1.3 mm

Weight: 5.1 g

Manufactured by: Fengtian, Fengtian Bureau of Minting Silver Coin

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This is a coin minted by the “Fengtian Bureau of Minting Silver Coin” in March of the 30th year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1905). It was during the chaos of the Russo-Japanese War when the Qing court regained control of the bureau from the retreating Russian forces and minted these Guangxu Yuanbao coins with the cyclical year “Jia Chen.”

The central motif on the obverse side of the coin features a slender, five-clawed coiling dragon breathing fire. The coin is divided by six-petal floral patterns on each side, with the inscription “FUNG-TIEN PROVINCE” at the top and “1 MACE AND 4.4 CANDAREENS” at the bottom, denoting the minting location and the coin’s denomination. Upon close inspection of the coin’s surface, faint traces of the radiating lines produced by the minting process can still be discerned.

The reverse side of the coin features a beaded border, with the central inscription in Chinese characters reading “Guangxu Yuanbao” and in Manchu script “Fen Bao”. On either side of the outer rim, the coin is divided by the sexagenary cycle year “Jia Chen”. The top bears the inscription “Fengtian Province Mint”, while the bottom displays the denomination as “1 Mace and 4.4 Candareens.”

Fengtian Arsenal was established in the 22nd year of the Guangxu Emperor’s reign (AD 1896), tasked with the production of military equipment and minting coins. In the 26th year of Guangxu’s reign (AD 1900), the arsenal unfortunately faced destruction during the invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance and was occupied by Russian forces until April of the 29th year of Guangxu’s reign (AD 1903). However, shortly after resuming operations, it was further impacted by the Russo-Japanese War. It wasn’t until March of the 30th year of Guangxu’s reign (AD 1905) that the arsenal returned to normal production. The arsenal underwent several name changes over the years and is now known as “Shenyang Mint Co., Ltd.”, directly under the People’s Bank of China.

物件編號: A388-5

年代: 公元 1905 年

材料: 銀

尺寸: 23.6 x 23.6 x 1.3 mm

重量: 5.1 g

製造地: 奉天, 奉天製造銀圓總局

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30年(公元1905年)3月，時值日俄戰爭混亂之際，清廷從敗退的俄軍手中收回「奉天製造銀圓總局」鑄造帶有干支紀年「甲辰」的光緒元寶。

錢幣正面的中央，是一隻修長和口吐火球的五爪蟠龍。錢幣以兩側的六瓣花飾為分界，上緣和下緣以英文鐫刻「奉天省」(FUNG-TIEN PROVINCE)和「一錢四分四釐」(1 MACE AND 4.4 CANDAREENS)，即錢幣的鑄造地點和幣值。仔細觀察錢幣表面，依稀還能看到機器沖壓產生的放射線條。

錢幣背面有一道珠圈，中央是漢文書寫的「光緒元寶」和滿文「奉寶」。外圈的兩側以干支紀年「甲辰」為分界線，上緣鐫刻「奉天省造」，下緣則是面額「庫平一錢四分四釐」。

奉天機器局創建於光緒22年(公元1896年)，負責生產軍火和鑄幣等業務。光緒26年(公元1900年)，工廠不幸面對八國聯軍的兵燹，遭到俄軍佔領直到光緒29年(公元1903年)4月為止。然而復工沒多久，又接連面對日俄戰爭的衝擊，直到光緒30年(公元1905年)3月，工廠才又恢復正常生產。工廠歷經數次更名，現今稱作「瀋陽造幣有限公司」直屬於中國人民銀行。