Item number: A449

Year: AD 1904-1907

Material: Copper

Size: 27.9 x 27.9 x 1.3 mm

Weight: 7.2 g

Manufactured by: Fuzhou, Fookien Customs Copper Coin Bureau

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This is a Guangxu 31st year (AD 1905) Guangxu Yuanbao copper coin with a denomination of ten cash, minted by the Fookien Customs Copper Coin Bureau, which was under the jurisdiction of the Fookien Shipyard. This copper coin is the only currency minted by a customs bureau during the Qing Dynasty. Based on variations in font size and design, there are three types: “Large Fonts,” “Small Fonts,” and “Official Dragon.” This coin is classified as the “Small Fonts” version.

The obverse of the coin features two beaded circles, with a five-clawed dragon at the centre exhaling a fireball. At the four o’clock and eight o’clock positions, there are five-pointed stars serving as separators. The upper edge is inscribed with “F.K. CUSTOM-HOUSE” in uppercase English letters, while the lower edge indicates the denomination “10 CASH.”

The reverse of the coin features a single beaded circle. At the centre are the Chinese characters “Guangxu Yuanbao” in regular script and the Manchu script “Bao Fu.” The abbreviation for the Fookien Customs, “Min Guan,” is engraved on the left and right sides. The characters are smaller than the inscription along the upper edge, “Minted by the Fookien Official Silver Bureau,” hence the designation “Small Fonts.” The lower edge indicates the denomination with the Chinese characters “Each Coin Worth Ten Cash.”

As a centrally administered institution, the Fookien Shipyard was primarily responsible for building, repairing, and maintaining ships, each of which required significant funding. At the establishment of the unit, the court designated the Fookien Customs to bear the main expenses. However, with technological advancements, the costs of constructing new ironclad ships far exceeded those of wooden steamships, and the customs allocations gradually became insufficient.

Recognising the profits from minting copper coins, the Fookien Shipyard made a small-scale attempt at minting in Guangxu Year 11 (AD 1885), but it did not receive court approval for mass production. It was not until Guangxu Year 30 (AD 1904), under the administration of Chongshan, the General of Fuzhou and Minister of the Shipyard, that the court granted permission. In July of the following year, the “Fookien Customs Copper Coin Bureau” was established to mint copper coins to raise funds.

However, after the Customs Copper Coin Bureau began production, it faced rising copper prices and corruption issues. Compounding these problems, Fuzhou, where the factory was located, had three competing institutions with overlapping responsibilities: the Fookien Official Silver Bureau, the Fookien Machinery Bureau, and the Customs Copper Coin Bureau. This led to destructive price competition among them.

By Guangxu Year 33 (AD 1907), investigations revealed that all three factories had ceased operations. The Customs Copper Coin Bureau’s facilities were found to be half-destroyed, and the machinery was severely rusted. Ultimately, the court decided to restructure the Fookien Official Silver Bureau into the “Central Mint Fookien Branch” to coordinate the province’s minting activities. The Customs Copper Coin Bureau, burdened with debt, faded into history.

物件編號: A449

年代: 公元 1904-1907 年

材料: 紅銅

尺寸: 27.9 x 27.9 x 1.3 mm

重量: 7.2 g

製造地: 福州, 閩海關銅幣局

來源:

1. 諾南斯 2022

2. 大衛.萊斯利.福布斯.西利舊藏

這是一枚清光緒31年(公元1905年)，福建船政局下轄的「閩海關銅幣局」鑄造之「光緒元寶」銅元，面額為十文。該款銅元為清代唯一一種由海關鑄造的貨幣，按照字體大小和圖騰差異，有「大閩關」、「小閩關」和「官龍局」三種版型，該物件為「小閩關」。

錢幣正面有兩道珠圈，正中央是一條口吐火球的五爪蟠龍。外圍的四點和八點鐘方向，各以一枚五角星作為分界線。上緣以大寫英文標示「福建海關」(F.K. CUSTOM-HOUSE)，下緣則標示面額「十文」(10 CASH)。

錢幣背面有一道珠圈，中央是漢文楷書「光緒元寶」及滿文「寶福」字樣。福建海關的簡稱「閩關」鐫刻於左右兩側，字體小於上緣的「福建官局造」，故稱作「小閩關」。下緣則是銅元的面額「每枚當錢十文」字樣。

作為直隸於中央的機構，福建船政局主責業務為建造、維修和養護船隻，每一項事業皆需消耗大量經費。因此於單位成立之初，朝廷便指定由福建海關承擔主要開銷。然而隨著科技的進步，建造新式鐵甲船的開銷遠高於木製輪船，海關撥款日漸無法承擔。有鑑於鑄造銅元帶來的利潤，光緒11年(公元1885年)，先是船政局小規模的試鑄，卻未得到朝廷的核准量產。直到光緒30年(公元1904年)，彼時主責福州將軍兼船政大臣的崇善上奏朝廷，方才獲准在隔年7月成立「閩海關銅幣局」鑄造銅元以籌措經費。

然而海關銅幣局投入生產後，面臨銅原料上漲與貪腐問題。雪上加霜的是，光是廠址所在的福州就有「福建官銀局、福建機器局和海關銅幣局」，三個業務重疊的機構惡性削價競爭。光緒33年(公元1907年)，經考察發現上述三廠均停工，海關銅幣局的廠房半毀和機器嚴重鏽蝕。最終朝廷拍板定案，以福建官銀局改制為「度支部造幣閩廠」統籌該省鑄幣業務。海關銅幣局則是在負債累累中走入歷史。