Can someone attempt to help me attribute these three coins. Sorry the scans are terrible. All help is much appreciated!:high5: and one that isn't Oriental:
The first one I think is a Wu Zhu, which would be somewhere between 119 BC and the 2nd century AD. But I can't make out the characters.
The second is Emperor De Zong, 1 cash. Guanzhou, Guangdong mint, 1889-1890 AD. Hartill 22.1334. Interesting note. At this time, the Guangzhou mint was the largest in the world, operating 90 coin presses. The US Mint at Philadelphia used only 10, the Royal mint 16.
Thanks you, Ardatirion, for that information! That was extremely helpful. Does anyone have any ideas about the third one? In hand, I can make out a person who seems to be holding keys on the obverse. The letters to the left that I can make out are LVCCA (Roman numerals, perhaps?) and the legend to the right are: BOLOC?I?O. The ?'s could be either an H or an N. On the reverse, there looks to be a lion or other large cat next to a coat of arms, but that's about all the detail I can make out. Ardatirion thinks it's some sort of 1800 British token, but neither of us have the reference material to be sure. All help is greatly appreciated.
do a search will google "DI LVCCA BOLOGNINO" and use auto translate Lucca - 1790 (1835) Duchy of Lucca - Charles Louis de Bourbon In 1835, the Monetary Commission, in order to use a lot of old bolognini withdrawn from circulation because frayed, decided to reply with a new coinage, but also equal in time to those of 1790. Ne furono riconiati 39.476 pezzi, che si riconoscono principalmente dal ramo di lauro che affianca lo stemma nel dritto, il quale ha sei foglie invece delle nove del conio originale d'epoca. It was recon 39,476 pieces, which are recognized primarily from the branch of laurel that flanks the arms straight in, which has six leaves instead of the nine original period of the issue. edit: auto translate didnt work with cut n paste
The first coin is indeed a wu zhu as proposed by Ardatirion. If you look at the second image very closely, you can just make out the wu (shaped like an hourglass) located at the right of the hole, and the zhu located at the left of the hole. The images are not very good, but the lack of outside/inside rims, the size, the weak casting of the inscription, and the poor quality of the bronze all indicate that the coin is from the Eastern Han (25-220 AD) or, probably, later. Wu zhu coins were cast by various dynasties, states and kingdoms up to the beginning (618 AD) of the Tang Dynasty. It is almost impossible, however, to identify exactly where and when many of these varieties were cast. The wu zhu was thus used for more than 700 years making it the longest used coin in Chinese history. If you have an interest and would like more information, I have a web page on wu zhu coins that introduces a number of varieties, including some similar to yours. Additionally, all the specimens display "special characteristics" such as dots (stars), circles (suns), numbers, rod numbers, lines, characters and symbols. Gary
