Digital museum showcasing the collection of worldwide legends over the years! 千古不朽博物館展示多年來收藏的世界傳奇故事!
Qing Dynasty,
Guangxu Yuanbao,
10 Cash,Kwangtung Province
清 光緒元寶
十文廣東省造
Item number: A465
Year: AD 1904-1906
Material: Copper
Size: 28.1 x 28.1 x 1.6 mm
Weight: 8.35 g
Manufactured by: Guangdong, Canton Mint
Provenance:
1. Noonans 2022
2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection
This is a coin from the 30th year of the Guangxu Emperor’s reign (AD 1904), representing the new version of the “Guangxu Yuanbao” copper coins minted in Guangdong Province, considered the cradle of modern machine-struck coinage in China.
On the obverse side, there is a beaded border, within which a dragon facing right is depicted, with its left front claw grasping a pearl. The outer rim is divided by floral patterns on the left and right sides, with the top inscription in Wade-Giles romanisation reading “KWANG-TUNG,” and the bottom indicating the denomination as “TEN CASH.”
On the reverse side, there is also a beaded border, within which the four Chinese characters “Guangxu Yuanbao” are inscribed in regular script, accompanied by the Manchu script “Bao Guang” arranged from left to right. The outer rim is divided by floral patterns on the left and right sides. The top is engraved with “Made in Guangdong Province,” while the bottom features the denomination inscription inspired by Jiangsu Province, which reads “Every Yuan equals Ten Cash.”
In June of the 26th year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1900), Guangdong took the lead in minting Western-style copper coins with a denomination of “One Cent,” followed by the neighbouring provinces of Fujian and Jiangsu. In the 27th year of Guangxu’s reign (AD 1902), the imperial court further encouraged and opened the production of copper coins by provinces.
However, four years later, due to oversupply from various provinces, the price of machine-struck copper coins declined. To control the economy and reclaim the minting authority from local governments, the imperial court ordered provinces to cease minting copper coins. However, since the Eight-Nation Alliance, the power of provincial governors had significantly increased, and they were reluctant to give up the profits from minting coins. As a result, the effectiveness of the imperial court’s prohibition was limited. Ultimately, this situation led to a lack of trust in copper coins in the market, rendering them unable to fulfil their intended economic role effectively.