I tried to post this before but I seemed to get kicked out when I hit submit and the message didn't appear in the forum or in today's posts so I'm pretty sure it won't be a double. I'm researching my first Chinese coine and believe I've found out that one side indicates Hsien-Feng T'ung-Pao and the other indicates Department of Public Works Mint and Coin. However there are no characters to indicate the coin's value. Also, I'm skeptical about the condition of the coin. It is in much better shape than the images I found of similar coins. What do you think, is it a replica of no value rather than an actual coin? Thanks...
Thanks Thanks ColinG Replica was the only thing that made sense to me but as it was the first Chinese coin I have posessed or researched it seemed foolish for me to assume anything. I appreciate your help.
i have stopped collecting chines coins unless they have a certificate of verification signed by chairman mao.........
Slow going I guess that would definitely slow your Chinese collecting to a manageable pace moneyer12, but I suspect that you could do well marketing the signatures.
chinese coins are at the very bottom of my collecting priorities, with the amount of counterfiet coins floating around i don't think it is a feasible route to take.
That makes sense. I don't think I will buy any for a long time if ever, certainly not until I know a lot more than I do now. My coin came with a bunch of foreign coins I bought. They were cheap and won't have anything of interest to a real collector but I'm just starting and by identifying them I'm learning a lot and having fun. I've found enough value to pay for the coins anyway. What I find amazing is the range of selling prices for fairly modern identical coins. For example, a Greek coin might be listed for 35 cents on one international coin site and seven dollars on another. Both coins are XF circulated and look identical. So what do I list as the worth of my coin? Of course, I go with the lowest price I find but this coin collecting is very strange stuff.
You are correct in that the "coin" is a Hsien-Feng T'ung-Pao (xian feng tong bao). However, the reverse side indicates that it was produced at the Board of Revenue mint as opposed to the Board of Works. To say that the "condition gives it away" as a replica does not really help someone not familiar with these coins to understand why it is a reproduction. Real coins from this era can be found in excellent condition and some, particularly "mother" or "seed" coins, exhibit beautifully engraved calligraphy. While the images are not quite good enough to be absolutely certain, the coin appears to be "struck" as opposed to "cast". All cash coins produced during the reign of this emperor (Emperor Wen Zong 1851-1861) were cast. Therefore, a "struck" coin with this inscription can only be a reproduction. Authentic cash coins from this emperor were cast in huge numbers and can be easily obtained for less than a dollar. Why, then, would anyone want to "fake" such a common coin? These reproductions are not really made to fool Chinese coin collectors. They are made to be souvenirs and for feng shui purposes. Gary
Just to add my 2 cents, when looking at this coin, what strikes me as odd is the razor sharp points on the lettering. These cash coins came up to the edge surface and had a flat plane parallel to the edge. These letters are too sharp, even for a mother coin, in its relief of the lettering. Simply put, production casting cannot produce such lettering typically. As a collector I always assume the coin I am looking at is a production piece, not a mother coin, and would quickly reject a coin such as this based upon this reasoning. Hope this helps why people are quick to condemn this coin. As Gary stated, there almost is no lower limit to what coins will be forged in China nowadays. Think of it this way, just because its only worth $.50, it may only cost $.10 to make, still leaving a decent profit margin in bulk.
Learning coin I love getting the extended information about the coin. Thanks everyone for the details on how the coins were made and how to recognize them. The little disk is earning a place in my collection just because it's the doorway to my initial enlightenment about Chinese coins . A couple of days ago I knew nothing at all, now at least I know this one isn't trying to be a fake, it's just made to be what the owner wants it to be.
