It kinda looks like a Cash of emperor Hsaun Tsung 1821-1850. the top pic is upside down. I use this site to track these down. http://www.calgarycoin.com/reference/china/china8.htm#images of titles
Looks like a modern fantasy. Xiang Fu yuan bao obverse from emperor Zhen Zong(998-1022), paired with a Qing dynasty Board of Revenue reverse.
If you rotate the coin (first image) 180 degrees it will then be oriented correctly, The inscription is xiang fu yuan bao which was used on coins cast during the years 1008-1016 of the reign of Emperor Zhen Zong of the Northern Song Dynasty. The reverse side is written in Manchu, not Chinese, and is typical of cash coins cast during the Qing (Ch'ing) Dynasty. The Manchu inscription indicates that the coin was cast at the Board of Revenue mint in Peking (Beijing). The obvious problem is that the Qing Dynasty began in 1644 so there is at least 600 years between these particular obverse and reverse inscriptions. Usually this would mean the coin is some type of "fantasy" piece or a "fake". However, in this case it is not. This coin was actually cast not in China but in Java (Indonesia). To help alleviate a coin shortage in Southeast Asia during the later part of the Qing Dynasty, local businessmen in Java started to cast their own coins. These coins closely imitated the Chinese coins that were widely circulating throughout this part of the world. It made no difference if the obverse and reverse sides of a coin were "correct" or not. These coins were crudely cast as can be seen with your coin. The calligraphy also tended to be very poorly done. If you look at the last coin on this page you will see a similar coin with a xiang fu yuan bao obverse inscription and a Manchu reverse side (different mint) that was cast in Java. These Java-made "cash" coins exist in endless varieties and are actually fairly common and inexpensive. Hope you find the above information helpful. Gary
It can be a coin from Qing Dynasty if judged from its reverse, but it is very strange about the obverse. I cannot recognize the Chinese characters on the obverse and I don't think it would be xiang fu yuan bao. The style of the inscription (Chinese characters) doesn't match that of Qing coins, thus I agree it may be a fantasy one. But truly an interesting one, you may keep it
Hi Gary, Wow, you really know your stuff. That is excellent information. I wish I knew a lot more. I can't thank you enough. Thanks to the other guys too for their input. A really interesting coin, even if it's only worth a few dollars. Steve
