Item number: A1400

Year: AD 1903

Material: Gold

Size: 23.7 x 23.7 mm

Manufactured by: Tianjin Central Mint

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2024

This is an extremely rare restrike version of a Guangxu Yuanbao gold coin minted by the Ministry of Revenue in the 29th year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1903). Its denomination is 2 Mace.

The obverse of the coin features a beaded rim encircling the design. At the centre is a five-clawed coiled dragon spewing a fireball, surrounded by clouds of varying sizes. Above the dragon, the year of minting is inscribed in English as “29TH YEAR OF KUANG HSÜ” (corresponding to the 29th year of Guangxu). On either side of the lower edge, decorative dots are positioned symmetrically, and at the very bottom, the minting authority is inscribed in English as “HU POO” (Ministry of Revenue).

The reverse side of the coin features two concentric beaded rims. At the centre, the Chinese characters “光緒元寶” (Guangxu Yuanbao) are inscribed in a clockwise order: top, bottom, right, and left. On the outer rim, decorative dots are placed on either side as separators. The upper edge contains the Manchu script for “Guangxu Yuanbao,” while the lower portion displays the minting authority “戶部” (Ministry of Revenue) and the denomination “庫平二錢” (Kuping 2 Mace) in Chinese characters.

In the 29th year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1903), the Ministry of Revenue, which oversaw the nation’s finances, established a central mint in Tianjin and began producing Guangxu Yuanbao silver coins based on the Kuping weight standard. These coins were issued in five denominations: 1 Tael, 5 Mace, 2 Mace, 1 Mace, and 5 Candareens. However, the design and weight standard of these silver coins did not align with domestic or international conventions at the time. Additionally, their high production cost resulted in limited issuance.

The gold coin version in the museum’s collection is a particularly rare and exceptional specimen. It is believed to be a restrike produced by mint personnel using the original silver coin moulds, likely intended as a gift or for private collection purposes.

物件編號: A1400

年代: 公元 1903 年

材質: 黃金

尺寸: 23.7 x 23.7 mm

製造地: 天津造幣總廠

來源: 福君錢幣 2024

這是一枚光緒29年(公元1903年)，極為罕見的戶部造光緒元寶的後鑄版金幣，其面額為二錢。

錢幣正面的周圍有一道珠圈，中央是一隻吐出火球的五爪蟠龍，周圍環繞著大小不一的雲氣。蟠龍的上緣以英文打印鑄造年份「29 TH YEAR OF KUANG HSÜ」(光緒29年)，下緣的兩側各有一枚珠點作為裝飾，最下方則是鑄造單位的英文「HU POO」(戶部)。

錢幣背面則有兩道珠圈，正中央按照上、下、右、左的順序，依序打印漢字「光緒元寶」四字。外圍的兩側各以一粒珠點作為分界線，上緣是「光緒元寶」的滿文，下半部以漢字標示鑄造單位「戶部」和面額「庫平二錢」。

光緒29年(公元1903年)，掌管全國財政的戶部於天津設立造幣總廠後，開始鑄造以庫平為單位的光緒元寶銀幣，分別有一兩、五錢、二錢、一錢和五分等五種面額。然而這款銀幣不符合當時國內和國際的慣例，且出於製造成本過高的原因故發行量較少。本館收藏的金幣版本更是精品中的精品，推斷可能是造幣廠內部人員以銀幣的模具打印，用作贈品或收藏等用途的後鑄版本。