This amulet is up for auction that closes soon and has a horse on it and is 100 mm diamater which means it may be over half a kilo in weight as a guess. I had sold a less distinctive one that was smaller in two seconds flat on e-bay...any ideas folks?
Wish I knew, I have a similar one that I bought in a lot of foreign coins when I was a kid and asked several people if they could read it to me - they all said it was a good luck charm and it does seem to have some fortunate energy with it so I keep it. Know practically nothing else about it though.
Yes.........they seem to be for fortune or good jobs and the animals have specific meaning but I have a feeling a huge one like this could be owrth something....was only 24 euro last time I looked at the auction.....sold one in rough shape much smaller for about 40 bucks I think the other week but nothing as nice as this horse....undecided if to bid or not.
Says clouds, treasure, fortune and some other stuff. So as supected, a good fortune amulet. What ever it is, I own it now!
This "amulet" is actually a modern fantasy piece that is based on a Ming Dynasty coin and a Song Dynasty "horse coin". The inscription on the obverse side is difficult to read because the image is very dark and the first (top) character did not cast well. However, I am certain that the inscription is chong zhen tong bao (崇禎通寶) which is the same as that used on cash coins cast during the reign of Emperor Si Zong (1628-1644). Examples of these coins may be seen here. There are versions of this coin which have a "running horse" on the reverse side but your piece is not based on these versions. Your piece is based on a type of game piece known as "horse coins". You can read a little of the history and see old examples of "horse coins" in this article. This inscription on the reverse side of your piece is wang yun (望雲) which was the name of a horse from ancient Chinese history. An example of an old "horse coin" with the wang yun inscription may be seen here. The name (wang yun) translates as "gazing at the clouds as they pass". Your very large piece (100 mm) is of modern design and is not "old". This Chinese website shows three such 100 mm pieces with similar themes. Your piece is similar to the one on the right. The forum members on that site all agree that the coins are "fake". They state that (in China) these pieces can be bought for about 2 yuan (US$0.32) each. Gary
Just sent the auctioneer Collectplaza an abrupt message and as fakes/repro's can be returned I don't propose to pay for it in the first place........I also bought two manillas which I am hoping are not modern repro's too. Thanks Gary..........save me about 50euros or so.....much appreciated.....marbury
