Item number: A389-3

Year: AD 1900

Material: Copper

Size: 27.7 x 27.7 x 1.8 mm

Weight: 7.6 g

Manufactured by: Guangdong, Canton Mint

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This is a coin from the 26th year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1900), minted in June during the time when Beijing was under attack by the Eight-Nation Alliance. At this time, Li Hongzhang, serving as Viceroy of Liangguang and in support of the “Mutual Protection of Southeast China” policy, ignored the imperial court’s orders to declare war on foreign powers. Instead, he emulated neighbouring British Hong Kong by using machinery to mint Western-style “Guangxu Yuanbao” copper coins.

This Guangxu Yuanbao coin abandons the traditional square-holed design and is composed of 95% red copper, 4% lead, and 1% tin, giving it a reddish hue. It weighs approximately 2 Mace (7.6 g). The obverse of the coin features two beaded circles. The inner circle contains a right-facing flying dragon, with its left front claw holding a dragon pearl. The outer circle has a five-petal flower on each side, marking the divisions. The upper edge is inscribed with “KWANG-TUNG” in Wade-Giles romanisation, while the lower edge displays the denomination “ONE CENT.” Locally, people in Guangdong and Hong Kong commonly refer to it as “一仙” (one cent).

On the reverse side, there are also two beaded circles. The inner circle features the four Chinese characters “Guangxu Yuanbao” in regular script, along with the Manchu characters “Bao Guang” arranged from left to right. The outer circle is divided by five-petal flowers on each side. The upper edge is inscribed with “Made in Guangdong Province,” while the lower edge indicates the exchange rate between copper and silver coins: “exchange one tael for every hundred coins.”

After Guangdong successfully issued the “Guangxu Yuanbao” machine-cast copper coins, neighbouring provinces such as Fujian and Jiangsu promptly followed suit. In the 27th year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1902), the imperial court further encouraged and opened provinces to emulate the minting of copper coins. However, four years later, due to oversupply from various provinces, the price of machine-cast copper coins plummeted. To control the economy and reclaim the minting rights from local authorities, the court ordered provinces to cease minting copper coins.

However, the significantly empowered regional governors since the Eight-Nation Alliance were unwilling to give up the profits behind coin minting. As a result, the effectiveness of the imperial prohibition was limited. Ultimately, this lack of trust in copper coins in the market rendered them unable to fulfil their intended economic function effectively.

物件編號: A389-3

年代: 公元 1900 年

材料: 紅銅

尺寸: 27.7 x 27.7 x 1.8 mm

重量: 7.6 g

製造地: 廣東, 廣東錢局

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26年(公元1900年) 6月，時值京師遭到八國聯軍攻擊之際，任職於兩廣總督和呼應「東南互保」政策，無視朝廷命令向外國宣戰的李鴻章，仿效比鄰的英屬香港以機器鑄造西式「光緒元寶」銅元。

該枚光緒元寶放棄傳統的方孔錢形制，成分為95% 紅銅、4% 鉛和1% 錫，故通體呈現紅色色澤，重量約為二錢 (7.6 克)。錢幣正面有兩道珠圈，內圈是一隻向右擺首的飛龍，龍的左前爪握著一粒龍珠。外圈的左右兩側以五瓣花為分界，上緣是以威妥瑪拼音標示的「廣東」(KWANG-TUNG)，下緣則是幣值「一分」(ONE CENT)，廣東和香港人習慣稱其為「一仙」。

背面同樣有兩道珠圈，內圈有楷書字體的「光緒元寶」四個漢字，以及從左至右排列的滿文「寶廣」兩字。外圈的左右兩側以五瓣花為分界，上緣鐫刻「廣東省造」，下緣則標示銅元跟銀元的兌換比「每百枚換一圓」。

廣東成功發行「光緒元寶」機鑄銅元後，鄰近的福建和江蘇省隨即跟進。光緒27年(公元1902年)，朝廷進一步上諭鼓勵和開放各省仿效鑄造銅元。然而四年後，由於各省的機鑄銅元供過於求，導致其價格下跌。朝廷為控制經濟和收回地方鑄幣權，下令各省停止鑄造銅元。然而八國聯軍以來，權力大幅提升的各地方總督不願放棄鑄幣背後的收益，因此朝廷的禁止效果有限。最後卻也造成市場對於銅元的信任不足，使其無法有效發揮原先設想的經濟作用。