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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 1750630, member: 19463&quot;]Every time I buy Chinese cash I ask myself why I feel I need more since I hardly understand anything about the specialize hobby that collecting them entails. The coins I selected are all common and relatively cheap. This time I avoided the Northern Song dynasty since those coins made up a large percentage of what I had before. I am unclear on what Chinese Cash collectors look for in terms of condition and how much things that really matter to ancient collectors (like surface and freedom from scratches) mean in this ballpark.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Here are a few from the group. Oldest is a Wang Mang from the first part of his reign 7-14AD - Da Quan Wu Shi (great 50 coin). Wang Mang issues many different kinds of coins which, I understand, confused the spending public.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]275232[/ATTACH]</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The Southern Song Shao Xi yuan bao attracted my attention because it is year dated (year 3 on the reverse) to 1192.[ATTACH=full]275233[/ATTACH]Third is a coin of Ming Dynasty, the Yong Le Emperor famous for building the Forbidden City. Most of his reign saw paper money used instead of coins but he did issue these c.1408-1410. This one has two nail marks on the reverse which seems to be noted when Chinese coins are sold but my level of expertise does not include understanding why I should care. Help, anyone?[ATTACH=full]275234[/ATTACH]Next is a coin of the rebel Wu Sangui with period name Li Yong. It was selected because of the reverse character stating the value as one Li. The coin is clearly legible but has scratches that would really degrade the value to collectors of Greek or Roman coins. How much difference does it make here?[ATTACH=full]275235[/ATTACH]Last is the cheapest coin of the lot at $.80. Inscribed Quan Long tong bao it is also the newest 1736-1795 making it one of the newest coins in my collection. The reverse has Manchu characters identifying it as from the Board of Revenue and Zhili mint. [ATTACH=full]275236[/ATTACH]Anyone reading this far probably has some interest in Chinese cash (but might be laughing at these common ones) and is invited to post a lesson on what I should know before giving in to the urge to add more. My only selection factor was being able to see the characters well enough that they could be found in the Hartill book Cast Chinese Coins. These were all in a collection previously and came with ID&#039;s as presented but using a different transliteration system than that of Hartill whose book I have decided to use to organize my coins (owning it is the big factor here). Who here collects cash?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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