If your coin is real, it dates from 1736 and was issued in the first year of Hongli, the Abkai Wehiyehe, or Qiánlóng, emperor of the Qing Dynasty. The reverse side is not Arabic, but rather is a kind of mintmark. Coins of that type also circulated widely in Japan and today are often sold by Japanese dealers in bulk lots. Here are lots of Google images of coins similar to yours: http://www.google.co.jp/search?q=乾隆通宝&client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=r3GDUqWRIcvkkgXSh4GQDQ&ved=0CDwQsAQ&biw=1580&bih=952#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=OQS9uc7itdj-hM:;z8uS1A3UOsdrDM;http%3A%2F%2Fimage.rakuten.co.jp%2Fkobijutu%2Fcabinet%2F01349571%2F02525490%2Fimg58841538.jpg;http%3A%2F%2Fitem.rakuten.co.jp%2Fkobijutu%2F100033926%2F;700;465
Thanks. So I was wrong on both languages? Lol. Not a good start to my day ;-) So it's not worth anything then?
The coin was actually issued in China, but massive amounts ended up in Japan. I don't know about that particular Mint (they were apparently made at 14 Chinese mints), and I can't pinpoint it with the resources I have, but in Japan all mints for that type of coin are apparently considered to be relatively common. My Japanese coin values book lists a retail price of around 200 yen, or $2, for the most common ones, although dealers at shows will often sell them in bulk lots of 10 or so for around $10.
It looks like I was wrong about the mintmark thing-- it's an indication of where the coin was minted, but apparently it's actually the issuing authority written in Manchu script.
Very cool. Thank you! It is one thing to show a foreign coin to kids. It is entirely different to be able to give them some of the history! They will appreciate it *so* much more this way.
Unfortunately, it is a modern fake. These fake coins are made in very large quantities as souvenirs and for fengshui purposes. This Chinese website will sell you a bag of 30 of these coins for less than one dollar and I'm sure you can find them even cheaper. Actually, authentic coins are actually quite plentiful and inexpensive. Unlike the fake coins, authentic coins were cast and not struck. As an example, this is an authentic qian long tong bao (乾隆通寶) coin although it was cast at a different mint (Board of Works instead of Board of Revenue). Gary
Thanks, Gary. Could you direct me to a legitimate place where I might find some inexpensive (but real) coins of this type? I actually prefer the one from the Board of Works.
