Hello! I tried to do some research on this bar but I am not having any luck with finding something that is exactly the same. I have found similar with but with different lettering. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Rather than posting that I know absolutely nothing on the subject but I'm goin to post my ignorant opinion anyway … I'll go first: This is just my "gut" reaction to the piece: Looks like a fantasy of some kind. Not mint quality.
If they're Japanese, I should have an answer as to what they say, as soon as my son responds. Dunno if that'll help in any way. And for what it's worth, they look like pot-metal things to me. EDIT: My son just responded; it's either Chinese, or pre-WWII Japanese, both of which he doesn't read. So, no help here, sorry.
Closest I came was Vietnam. Check this out: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/in...no=&v=&i=&b=&d=&u=&a=&dg=&m=&f=4&t=&w=&g=&se= https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces21093.html
Look into Annam-Viet-Nam, they were using similar pieces in the 19th century but they are very heavily counterfeited.
If you have, or know someone that does, a metal testing kit, rub a small amount on the stone and see if it is silver. Could be silver plated if it is a fake, but something else to investigate.
Just for searchablilty, the two sides say: 同慶年造 tóng qìng nián zào 內帑銀五錢 nèi tǎng yín wǔ qián My guess would be "Celebrate the year together; contains 5 mace of silver" The strokework looks a bit crude and not connected in strange places, almost as if it was made by someone not fluent in Chinese. My guess is some kind of replica.
On closer inspection, 同慶 is the era name of Vietnamese Emperor Đồng Khánh (1885-1888). So it's probably commemorating his ascension year. Just like the one mentioned above by @Mountain Man has 明命 = Minh Mạng on it (1820–1841). I still strongly suspect it's a modern replica, though. You might estimate the density to guess if it's actually silver at least.
Here's some more information, I don't know if this helps or not but I thought I might include it. It weighs 21.5 grams and it is non-magnetic. Will probably get it tested to see if it's silver or not just to verify.
