Item number: A546

Year: AD 1875-1908

Material: Brass

Size: 20.3 x 20.2 x 0.6 mm

Weight: 1.8 g

Manufactured by: Bao Chuan Bureau

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This coin is a “Guangxu Tongbao,” and is notable for its significant difference in weight compared to other Guangxu Tongbao coins. Additionally, the overall surface of the coin appears somewhat blurred. The coin was produced using the traditional recasting method.

This is a square-holed coin, with the obverse featuring a central square hole surrounded by the four characters “Guangxu Tongbao”.

The reverse side also has a central square hole, flanked by Manchu characters “Bao Chuan,” indicating its production by the Bao Chuan Bureau in Sichuan.

Both the obverse and reverse sides of the coin exhibit uneven colouration, with some imperfections along the edges.

The Bao Chuan Bureau was established in the 10th year of the Yongzheng reign (AD 1732) and was a major minting institution in the southwestern region of the Qing Dynasty. In the 13th year of Guangxu (AD 1887), the imperial court encouraged the provinces to mint “one-mace” weight Tongbao coins.

Initially, due to shortages of copper and lead, the Bao Chuan Bureau was difficult to adhere to the court’s directives. As a result, under the court’s decree and practical considerations, the Bao Chuan Bureau predominantly produced Tongbao coins weighing between 0.8 mace and 1.2 mace.

Although the reverse side of this coin bears the official mint mark of the Bao Chuan Bureau, its weight is significantly less than the standard Tongbao coins minted by Baochuan, and the characters on the coin’s surface are somewhat blurred. These factors raise the possibility that this coin could be privately minted. If it were an official standard coin, the characters would typically be clearly recast, and there would be minimal variation in weight.

物件編號: A546

年代: 公元 1875-1908 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 20.3 x 20.2 x 0.6 mm

重量: 1.8 g

製造地: 寶川局

來源:

1. 諾南斯 2022

2. 大衛.萊斯利.福布斯.西利舊藏

這枚錢幣為「光緒通寶」，其特點是重量上與其他光緒通寶有顯著的落差，且整體幣面也略顯模糊。鑄幣方法為傳統的翻鑄法。

這是一枚方孔錢幣，該錢幣正面的中央有一方孔，幣面四周有楷書「光緒通寶」四字對讀。錢幣反面的中央亦有一方孔，幣面兩側有滿文「寶川」字樣，表示為四川「寶川局」所製。錢幣正反面的成色皆不均勻，甚至在邊緣處還有些瑕疵。

寶川局設立於雍正10年(公元1732年)，是清代西南地區的鑄幣大局。光緒13年(公元1887年)，朝廷向各省鼓勵鑄造重量「一錢」的通寶制錢。起初由於銅料、鉛料缺乏，寶川局難以遵照朝廷命令，故在朝廷旨意和實際運作的調節下，寶川局多鑄造重量八分至一錢二分間的通寶制錢。

儘管這枚錢幣的背面，有官方造幣機構「寶川局」的字樣，但是由於重量遠小於寶川局鑄造的通寶制錢，加上幣面文字有些模糊，因此不排除為私鑄幣的可能。如果是官方標準版錢幣，基本上文字翻鑄清晰，且重量不會有太大差距。