Whenever I see an ancient Chinese coin for $1 or less, I'll pick it up. They're fun to identify. I found this well circulated one earlier this week at a coin shop with some other cool foreign coins although I couldn't ID it. I saw some of the same characters as others on Calgarycoin, not sure what they mean though. I'd appreciate any help! Thanks.
Notice the hole in it? It's probably meant to be worn, on a leather thong, around the neck. I'n not absolutely sure about it, but it could be more of a Good Luck charm than a coin. There are other CT members who know a lot more than I do about these kinds of coins/tokens/charms.
Eh, Chinese coins have had square holes for a very long time, which were imitated by Vietnamese and other coins. It allows them to be strung together for counting and trading them in pre-measured quantities. The square holes fit on a square rod to file off the casting defects. A square hole by itself doesn't necessarily indicate some sort of charm for East Asian coins. The charms tend to have much more fanciful designs.
You didn't notice the other hole ? Don't be so quick on the draw, mi amigo. The hole near the rim appears to be for a thong or chain? Eidolon, I know you have more experience with these than I do. Could you possibly translate the coin?
I think the second (non mint) hole is just from being circulated, not necessarily intentional. It's a very thin coin and I could probably snap it in half with my fingers. (Not that I would do so)
I guess I thought the little triangular hole was a casting defect. Sorry I misunderstood you earlier. I do have several Asian coins with similar extra holes, though not as big as that one. Here's one example (Yuan You cash 1086-1093) The original coin says: 景盛 通寶 I don't speak Vietnamese at all, I only know (some) Japanese and Chinese. 景盛 is probably the Era name of Emperor Cảnh Thịnh (from MilesofWho's link). In Chinese it might read Jing3 Sheng4 and mean approximately "circumstances flourish". But you can't usually read names literally from their component characters. 通寶 just means ~"circulating treasure" and is the general phrase on many copper coins from China/Japan/Vietnam/Korea.
Thanks for your reply. You know.....this isn't even my coin. I don't know why I'm even asking about it. I guess I just like to try to solve riddles....like the QuarterMaster's coins. Thanks again for your help.
