Hi everyone, I was wondering if you could help me Identify this coin, the characters look Chinese to me. Thank you
Well, you're partially correct. The obverse (top photo) is in Chinese and the reverse is in Manchu. That means it's from the days of the Chinese Empire, before 1911. We have a couple of real experts on Chinese cash coins, and I'm sure one of them will be along soon and give you an exact ID.
Not great pictures, can you post some more? Photograph straight on the coin and get them in focus. In these, it is VERY hard to see the top character which is important. I'm no expert, but recently researched one of my own and ran across a good site. Based on Belyaev/Ferguson, I'd say this is Chia Ch'ing.
The inscription is jia qing tong bao 嘉庆通宝 which means it was cast during the reign of Emperor Ren Zong of the Qing Dynasty. A similar coin may be seen here although the reverse side of your coin indicates that it was cast at the mint in Guangzhou during the years 1796-1820. Gary
