I think it is Chinese though I can't swear it's not Korean or Japanese. I found this in a dollar bin at my local coin shop today and thought it was neat. It's probably a bit bigger than an Eisenhower dollar. I'm wondering if anyone can tell me the year and denomination.
It's Chinese. The top image needs to be rotated about 80 degrees clockwise. The inscription near the top rim is zhong hua min guo yuan nian which translates as "Republic of China, inaugural (first) year". The large Chinese character in the very middle of the coin is han which refers to the "Han Dynasty" but here has the general meaning of "the people of the Han" or the large ethnic majority of Chinese people. The bottom image needs to be rotated about 90 degrees counterclockwise. The inscription near the top rim reads jun zheng fu zao which means "made by the Military Government". The four character inscription in the middle of the coin is si chuan tong bi which means "Sichuan (Province) copper coin". The inscription at the bottom rim is dang zhi qian wu shi wen which translates as "worth 50 wen". This coin was thus struck in the first year (1912) of the Republic of China by the Military Government in Sichuan Province. The denomination is "50 wen". The last Chinese dynasty (Qing or Ch'ing) fell in 1911. The emperors were not "Chinese" but rather Manchu. The Manchu were an ethnic minority that originated in Manchuria (northeastern China). This is the reason for the "han" character on the coin since the country was again being governed by ethnic Chinese. This coin was minted in large quantities making it "very common". Gary
It's not a bad price for one dollar - in your coin's condition, some buyer might be happy to buy it at over 20 dollars. Chinese coins are ridiciously hot this year.
That's good to know. I wasn't planning to sell it but it's always good to know you got a good deal. I bought a few other Chinese coins I'll be asking about in the next day or two also. It's hard to find out anything when you can't read their alphabet.
Well Chinese dates are a bit tricky. their numeration system is easy, once you get a handle on it. With the passing of an emperor they would start a new dating series. And coins (ROC) from 1912 onward are dated from the last emperors overthrow 1912. Its fun, but soooooo many counterfeits, you really have to be on your "A" game to play China. Have fun.
Coins dated 1912 and later are still easy to identify. I still struggle with the sexagenary cycle: http://www.worldlingo.com/ma/enwiki/en/Sexagenary_cycle
My oh my GX. Your collection is spectacular to say the least. I see we are kindred spirits, in that we collect the "World" and all "Times." My latest studies in Asia are the Japanese occupation coins issued in Manchuria under the puppet emperor.every coin tells a story. :high5:
