Item number: A602

Year: AD 1887-1900

Material: Brass

Size: 20.9 x 19.9 x 0.7 mm

Weight: 1.75 g

Manufactured by: Bao Hu Bureau

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This coin was minted by the Bao Hu Bureau in Jiangxi and is identified as a “Guangxu Tongbao.” The coin exhibits significant surface damage, and its weight is also less than the standard for Guangxu Tongbao coins.

It is a square-holed coin, with the obverse side featuring a central square hole surrounded by the faintly visible characters “Guangxu Tongbao.” There is a noticeable notch on the lower right part of the outer rim. The reverse side also has a square hole at the centre, with Manchu script on either side reading “Bao Hu,” indicating its production by the Bao Hu Bureau in Jiangxi. Both sides of the coin display numerous scratches.

Although the reverse side bears the official mint mark “Bao Hu Bureau,” the coin’s weight is significantly lower than the officially prescribed standard, and the inscriptions are somewhat blurred. These factors raise the possibility that the coin may have been privately minted. If it were an official standard coin, the inscriptions would generally be clearly recast, and the weight would not deviate significantly from the standard.

物件編號: A602

年代: 公元 1887-1900 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 20.9 x 19.9 x 0.7 mm

重量: 1.75 g

製造地: 寶湖局

來源:

1. 諾南斯 2022

2. 大衛.萊斯利.福布斯.西利舊藏

這枚錢幣為江西寶湖局造的「光緒通寶」，整體而言幣面有明顯受損，且重量也小於標準光緒通寶。

這是一枚方孔錢幣，該錢幣正面的中央有一方孔，幣面四周依稀可見「光緒通寶」四字。外圈右下方有明顯缺口。錢幣反面的中央亦有一方孔，幣面兩側有滿文「寶湖」字樣，表示為江西「寶湖局」所製。錢幣正反面皆有不少擦痕。

儘管這枚錢幣的背面，有官方造幣機構「寶湖局」的字樣，但是由於重量遠小於官方規定的標準重量，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。