I tried some online research but I can't figure out alot about these coins. I bought them at an estate auction. Both, as well as the other dollars I posted questions about are 39 1/2 mm. The dragon weighs 26.5 grams with a reeded edge. The bamboo is 26.5 grams and also with a reeded edge. Any information on dates or names and if they are ledit would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advane, Jason
Not my strongest area, but the top coin appears to be an undated Kwangtung Provincial "Dollar" issued in the dying years of the Empire (1905-08). I'm not able to read the legends, and the pictures in Krause are not very high quality, so I'm not sure which variety of the basic Y#183 it is supposed to be. I'm fairly certain it isn't any of the earliest varieties, and is probably Y#183, #183a.3 or #183.4. Like the vast majority of supposed 19th-20th Century Chinese silver, it's almost certainly counterfeit - perhaps even contemporary. Real ones weigh 26.1g, and measure 39mm. The bamboo/pagoda piece is dated Republic Year 38 (1949) and has the denomination one Yuan ("Dollar"). The date would be consistent with an early Taiwan issue, or a very late Mainland Republic issue, but I can't find it in either section of Krause. (By that time there were few, if any, provincial coins being issued.) If I had to guess I'd call it a fantasy product of one of the plethora of Chinese counterfeit factories.
The "Bamboo dollar" you'll find under Kweichow Province just after the "Auto dollar". Y#433 and #433a. Weight in Krause is 26.40g and if it's genuine (believe me I'm not an expert)the VG grade is about $500! But as the catalog says "Note: Many counterfeits exist."
