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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;manymore, post: 865204, member: 17118&quot;]It&#039;s certainly not anything you will find in the standard Chinese coin references.</p><p><br /></p><p>At first, I thought it might be from Java (Indonesia).&nbsp; But as bad as the calligraphy is on your coin it is still better than that on the Java coins.</p><p><br /></p><p>Also, and without knowing any of the specifications such as diameter and weight, I feel your coin is larger and heavier than the coins cast in Java.</p><p><br /></p><p>The reverse side of your coin looks good.&nbsp; Coins from Java are equally poor on obverse and reverse.</p><p><br /></p><p>Finally, your coin seems to my eyes as having fake patina and then only on the obverse side.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, I do not think your coin is from Java or, for different reasons, Annam (Vietnam).</p><p><br /></p><p>The calligraphy on your coin is really poorly done which makes trying to guess the Chinese characters a real challenge.&nbsp; If I had to guess, however, I would say that the inscription reads clockwise as &quot;<i>xiang fu yuan bao</i>&quot;.</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;<i>Xiang fu yuan bao</i>&quot; was the inscription used on coins cast during the years 1008-1016 of the reign of Emperor Zhen Zong (998-1022) of the Northern Song Dynasty.</p><p><br /></p><p>If you look at <a href="http://primaltrek.com/flowerhole.html#xiang_fu_yuan_bao_regular_script" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://primaltrek.com/flowerhole.html#xiang_fu_yuan_bao_regular_script" rel="nofollow">this Northern Song &quot;<i>xiang fu yuan bao</i>&quot;</a> you will see that the character strokes are similar although not exactly the same.&nbsp; My best guess, though, is that this is the inscription your coin is modeled after.</p><p><br /></p><p>Song Dynasty coins, of course, did not have Manchu characters on the reverse side.&nbsp; As you know, only the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) coins had such characters.</p><p><br /></p><p>We know your coin is not from the Song or Qing dynasties so it is either a charm or a fantasy coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>If we assume that the inscription is supposed to be &quot;<i>xiang fu yuan bao</i>&quot;, one possible translation would be &quot;good luck&quot; (<i>xiang</i>) &quot;charm&quot; (<i>fu</i>) &quot;great&quot; (<i>yuan</i>) &quot;treasure&quot; (<i>bao</i>).</p><p><br /></p><p>This translation certainly has the characteristic of a charm but the lack of any auspicious symbols makes me doubt that the piece was intended for this purpose.</p><p><br /></p><p>I feel that your coin is most probably a fantasy piece.&nbsp; The fake patina on one side only, the lack of any wear, the presence of file marks from the final processing of the coin, etc. also make me feel that the piece is not old.</p><p><br /></p><p>Having said all this, your coin could still be from Java.&nbsp; Just today there is a coin posted on eBay with the inscription &quot;<i>xiang fu yuan bao</i>&quot; <u>and</u> with Manchu characters (albeit different from yours) on the reverse side.&nbsp; You may view the coin <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?type=3&amp;campid=5335874456&amp;toolid=10001&amp;mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2FStrange-Xiang-Fu-Yuan-Bao-Manchu-script-on-reverese-XF_W0QQitemZ360251856102QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0%3Fhash%3Ditem53e0af14e6" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?type=3&amp;campid=5335874456&amp;toolid=10001&amp;mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2FStrange-Xiang-Fu-Yuan-Bao-Manchu-script-on-reverese-XF_W0QQitemZ360251856102QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0%3Fhash%3Ditem53e0af14e6" rel="nofollow">here</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>Gary[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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