Item number: A466

Year: AD 1904

Material: Brass

Size: 28.0 x 28.0 x 1.6 mm

Weight: 7.7 g

Manufactured by: Anqing, Anhwai Copper Coin Bureau

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This is a Guangxu Yuanbao copper coin minted in Guangxu 30th year (AD 1904) upon the proposal of Cheng Xun, the then Governor of Anhwai, who petitioned the imperial court. He highlighted that the raw materials for minting copper coins, specifically copper, were mostly imported and their prices were steadily rising. Consequently, the Anhwai Copper Coin Bureau was the first to experiment with minting Guangxu Yuanbao coins using brass from their reserves. However, the Ministry of Revenue responded in May of the following year, rejecting the proposal on the grounds that circulating coins made from two different materials might cause confusion among the populace. This coin is one of the Guangxu Yuanbao minted using brass.

The obverse of the coin features a bead circle enclosing a five-clawed coiled dragon. The upper edge of the outer circle bears the inscription “AN-HWAI” in the Wade-Giles romanisation system. Initially, the first batch of copper coins minted by the Anhwai Copper Coin Bureau featured a flying dragon motif. However, production was temporarily halted due to mechanical issues, and when it resumed, a new design with a five-clawed coiled dragon was adopted.

The reverse of the coin also features a bead circle, within which are the four Chinese characters “Guangxu Yuanbao” in regular script and a six-petal floral ornament at the centre. The outer circle is divided by the Manchu script “Bao An” on the left and right sides. The upper edge is inscribed with “Minted by Anhwai Province,” while the lower edge indicates the denomination “Equivalent to Ten Cash.”

On April 10, Guangxu 28th year (AD 1902), the Anhwai Provincial Governor Nie Jiyun received imperial approval to reorganise the old machinery of the silver coin mint in Anqing and to borrow equipment from Guangdong, officially establishing the “Anhwai Copper Coin Bureau.” In October Guangxu 31th yaer (AD 1905), the bureau was restructured and renamed the “Anhwai Branch of the Ministry of Revenue Mint.”

In Guangxu 32nd year (AD 1906), the imperial court decided to merge the Anhwai Mint with the Jiangning Mint in Nanjing. However, during the summer and autumn of the same year, severe flooding in northern Anhwai necessitated urgent funding, allowing the mint to continue operations until April of the following year. Subsequently, the machinery and equipment were gradually transferred to Nanjing, and full operations ceased in Xuantong 2nd year (AD 1910).

物件編號: A466

年代: 公元 1904 年

材料: 黃銅

尺寸: 28.0 x 28.0 x 1.6 mm

重量: 7.7 g

製造地: 安慶, 安徽銅元局

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1904年)，時任安徽巡撫的誠勳向朝廷上奏，陳述鑄造銅元使用的紅(紫)銅原料多為進口，且價格日益攀升。因此率先以安徽銅元局庫存的黃銅去試鑄一批光緒元寶。不過戶部在隔年5月回應，同時流通兩種材質的貨幣恐造成民間混亂，故不予採納。該物件正是以黃銅試鑄的光緒元寶銅元。

錢幣正面有一道珠圈，裡面是一隻五爪蟠龍。外圈的上緣處，則是以威妥瑪拼音系統標示的「安徽」(AN-HWAI)英文字樣。起先銅元局鑄造的第一批銅元，其採納的龍圖騰為飛龍。不過工廠途中一度因故障而停擺，待恢復生產後也一併改用五爪蟠龍的新模具。

錢幣背面亦有一道珠圈，內部有漢字楷書「光緒元寶」四字和正中央的六瓣花飾。外圈的左右兩側以滿文「寶安」為分界，上緣鐫刻「安徽省造」字樣，下緣則是面額「當制錢十文」。

光緒28年(公元1902年) 4月10日，安徽巡撫聶緝槼獲得朝廷奏准，於安慶加以整理銀元局的舊機器和向廣東借用機器，正式成立「安徽銅元局」。光緒31年(公元1905年) 10月，銅元局改制為「安徽戶部造幣分廠」。

光緒32年(公元1906年)，朝廷決定將安徽廠歸併於南京的江寧廠。然而同年的夏秋之際，皖北發生嚴重的水災急需款項，放寬工廠持續運作至隔年4月。後續機器設備陸續轉移至南京，直到宣統2年(公元1910年)方才全面停工。