Item number: A1214

Year: AD 1908

Material: Copper

Size: 16.3 x 16.3 x 0.8 mm

Weight: 1.3 g

Manufactured by: Hubei, Hupeh Copper Coin Bureau

Provenance: Künker 2024

The obverse side of this coin is divided into inner and outer circles. At the center of the inner circle is the character “鄂” (È), with “Guangxu” (the reign title) inscribed above and “One Wen” (One Cash) below, all written in regular script. “È” refers to Hubei, the old name of the province, indicating that this coin was minted in Hubei. The right side of the coin shows the character “Wu” (戊), and the left side shows “Shen” (申), denoting the year of minting as “Wushen Year,” corresponding to 1908 in the Gregorian calendar.

The reverse side features a dragon, symbolizing power, authority, and good fortune. The dragon’s body is coiled with its head in the center, and the intricate details reflect the dragon design typical of the Qing Dynasty. Dragons were commonly depicted on ancient Chinese official currency, representing the state. The design of this coin demonstrates the minting craftsmanship of the time and highlights the significance of the dragon in Chinese culture.

Since the 26th year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1900), Hubei Province, under the administration of Zhang Zhidong, officially issued copper coins with denominations of one cash and ten cash the following year. Hubei, being a crucial transportation hub in Central China, had an immense demand for currency. Consequently, Hubei alone had three entities responsible to produce copper coins: the Silver Coin Bureau, the Copper Coin Bureau, and the Hanyang Arsenal. These three units collectively accounted for an astonishing one-third of the total national copper coin production. The ten cash copper coins were further categorised into four types based on floral design variations: six-petal flowers, eight-petal flowers, coins, and five-petal flowers.

However, by the 32nd year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1906), the oversupply of machine-cast copper coins from various provinces led to a decline in their value. To control the economy and reclaim the minting rights from local authorities, the imperial court ordered all provinces to cease minting copper coins. Despite this directive, the significantly empowered regional governors since the time of the Eight-Nation Alliance were reluctant to relinquish the profits associated with coin minting. Consequently, the effectiveness of the imperial prohibition was limited. This situation ultimately led to a lack of market confidence in the copper coins, preventing them from effectively fulfilling their intended economic function.

物件編號: A1214

年代: 公元 1908 年

材料: 銅

尺寸: 16.3 x 16.3 x 0.8 mm

重量: 1.3 g

製造地: 湖北, 湖北銅元局

來源: 福君錢幣 2024

這枚硬幣正面分為內外圈，內圈中央為一「鄂」字，上置「光緒」，下置「一文」，皆為楷書。鄂字為湖北舊稱，代表該枚硬幣為湖北省造。正面硬幣的右側為「戊」、左側為「申」，表示製造年份為「戊申年」，戊申年為西元1908年。

這枚硬幣背面圖案為一條龍，象徵著力量、權威和吉祥。龍的身體盤繞，頭部居中，細節精緻，代表清朝的龍紋設計。龍通常出現在古代中國的官方貨幣上，代表國家的象徵。這枚硬幣的設計顯示出當時鑄幣工藝的技術，以及龍在中國文化中的重要地位。

光緒26年(公元1900年)起，張之洞治理的湖北省發行面額分別為：一文和十文的銅元。湖北作為華中重要的通衢，對於貨幣的需求量極為龐大。因此光是湖北一省，就有銀元局、銅元局和漢陽兵工廠，三個單位同時負責銅元的生產，總生產量佔到驚人的三分之一全國銅元總數。面額十文的銅元還按花飾差異，有「六瓣花、八瓣花、金錢和五瓣花」四種版型。

不過在光緒32年(公元1906年)，由於各省的機鑄銅元供過於求，導致其價格下跌。朝廷為控制經濟和收回地方鑄幣權，下令各省停止鑄造銅元。然而八國聯軍以來，權力大幅提升的各地方總督不願放棄鑄幣背後的收益，因此朝廷的禁止效果有限。最後卻也造成市場對於銅元的信任不足，使其無法有效發揮原先設想的經濟作用。