Anyone know the country of origin of these coins? The date? They are about the size of a U.S. Jefferson nickel? (Also, I'm showing the best side of two different coins which I believe to be of the same type). Thanks
This is a Chinese cash coin. It is issued in the name of emperor Kao Tsung (1736-1795) with the reign title Ch'ien lung. The mint mark is Boo Ciowan, the mint mark of Peking-Board of Revenue. Your coin is listed in Krause as China KM#387.1
In more than 1,000 years of continuous casting, more similar cash coins in brass, copper, bronze, and even iron, were produced in China, Japan, Korea and Annam (~present-day Vietnam), than the combined efforts of the US, Canadian and UK Royal Mints have turned out in cents and pennies! There are some rarities among the hundreds of varieties, but serious type collectors are even rarer. Bottom line - go to any coin show and pick up a couple hundred different examples for no more than $25-50.
dont mean to question you hontonai .. but if what you say is true, why do all the 'so-called' experts tell us that the US has produced more cents then any other country ever in the history... all combined?
I'm pretty sure when such claims are made they are only talking about the modern era. I have little dount that what the Chinese produced over the past 1,000 years would make what the US has produced look like a drop in the ocean.
quite possibly! i dont know much about the chinese coinage, other then yes it has been around for a long long time. So i just figured i would ask.
Cash coins minted from c300 BC to 1913 AD versus cents issued from 1793 ? I would guess the numbers are pretty equal, but as many of them were melted down at the begining of the 20th century, we can't tell for sure. The vast amounts of American cents in recent years (sometimes in the billions), seems to suggest otherwise.
