Item number: A436

Year: AD 1901-1906

Material: Copper

Size: 28.3 x 28.3 x 1.4 mm

Weight: 7.1 g

Manufactured by: Nanchang Copper Coin Bureau

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This is a “Guangxu Yuanbao” Western-style copper coin with a denomination of Ten Cash, minted between Guangxu 28th and 33rd year (AD 1901-AD 1906) by the “Nanchang Copper Coin Bureau” in Jiangxi Province.

The obverse of the coin features a jiaolong, a mythological creature resembling a dragon, floating amidst water splashes and surrounded by clouds. According to legend, a jiaolong can evolve into a dragon after many years of cultivation, with the former having shorter horns than the latter. The outer edges of the coin are divided by small five-petalled floral designs on both the left and right sides.

The upper edge bears the Wade-Giles romanisation “KIANG-SI,” indicating Jiangxi Province, while the lower edge indicates the denomination “10 CASH.” Unfortunately, due to the coin’s age, the inscriptions on the upper and lower edges have been mostly worn away, rendering many details indistinguishable.

The reverse of the coin features a beaded circle, within which are the Chinese characters “Guangxu Yuanbao” and a big six-petalled floral design at the centre. On either side of the outer edge, the Manchu characters “Bao Chang” are engraved as dividers. The top edge bears the inscription “Minted in Kiangsi Province,” and the bottom edge displays the denomination “Ten Cash.”

In the 28th year of Guangxu (AD 1901), Ke Fengshi, then Governor of Jiangxi, petitioned the imperial court to establish a copper coin minting bureau in the provincial capital, Nanchang. This request was made due to the insufficient supply of local cash coins and government-issued paper money. He proposed to follow the example of coastal provinces like Guangdong in minting Western-style copper coins. The court approved the request within the same year, and the “Nanchang Copper Coin Bureau” was established outside Desheng Gate in Nanchang.

Initially, the bureau used copper ore extracted locally from the Ganzhou area within the province, supplemented by purchases from Shanghai. Later, they specialised in buying copper blanks required for minting coins. In the spring of the 33rd year of Guangxu (AD 1906), due to the rampant minting of copper coins by various provinces, the Nanchang Copper Coin Bureau ceased operations in compliance with an order from the Ministry of Revenue.

物件編號: A436

年代: 公元 1901-1906 年

材料: 紅銅

尺寸: 28.3 x 28.3 x 1.4 mm

重量: 7.1 g

製造地: 南昌銅元局

來源:

1. 諾南斯 2022

2. 大衛.萊斯利.福布斯.西利舊藏

這是光緒28至33年(公元1901至1906年)間，位於江西省的「南昌銅元局」所鑄造的「光緒元寶」西式銅元，其面額為十文。

錢幣正面是一條漂浮在水花上的蛟龍，周圍則被雲氣所圍繞。蛟龍是近似龍的傳說生物，根據神話蛟龍經多年修練能進化為龍，前者的角較後者來得短小。外圍的左右兩側各以一枚小朵的五瓣花飾為分界，上緣是威妥瑪拼音的「江西」(KIANG-SI)，下緣則是面額「十文」(10 CASH)。惜因年代久遠，上下兩側的銘文多被磨平，諸多細節已不復可見。

錢幣背面有一道珠圈，裡面為漢字「光緒元寶」和正中央的大六瓣花飾。外圍左右兩側鐫刻滿文「寶昌」二字為分界，上緣寫有「江西省造」，下緣則是面額「當十」字樣。

光緒28年(公元1901年)，時任江西巡撫的柯逢時上奏朝廷，因當地的方孔錢和官票數量不足，希望能在省會南昌建立銅元局，仿效廣東等沿海省份鑄造西式銅元。同年獲得朝廷批准後，在南昌的德勝門外設立「南昌銅元局」。起先銅元局使用的銅料，就近開採省內贛州一帶的銅礦，不足的數量則購自上海，後續則專門購買鑄幣所需的銅餅。光緒33年(公元1906年)春，由於各省銅元鑄造氾濫，南昌銅元局遵照戶部命令停工歇業。