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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;manymore, post: 952085, member: 17118&quot;]While the first one certainly looks like a charm, it is actually a coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>The obverse side shows an image of the <a href="http://primaltrek.com/impliedmeaning.html#god_of_longevity" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://primaltrek.com/impliedmeaning.html#god_of_longevity" rel="nofollow">God of Longevity</a>.&nbsp; The four Chinese characters (<i>dao guang nian zhu</i>) to the left of the image are written in seal script and translate as &quot;made during the years of Dao Guang&quot;.&nbsp; <a href="http://primaltrek.com/chinesecoins.html#xuan_zong" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://primaltrek.com/chinesecoins.html#xuan_zong" rel="nofollow">Dao Guang</a> was the reign title of Emperor Xuan Zong who ruled during the years 1821-1850 of the Qing (Ch&#039;ing) Dynasty.</p><p><br /></p><p>The four characters (<i>zu wen yin bing</i>) to the right of the image are also written in seal script and translate as &quot;standard purity &#039;silver cake&#039;&quot;.&nbsp; &quot;Silver cake&quot; referred to silver coins cast in Taiwan during this period.&nbsp; The term &quot;cake&quot; was first used during the reign of <a href="http://primaltrek.com/charmcoins.html#biscuit" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://primaltrek.com/charmcoins.html#biscuit" rel="nofollow">Wang Mang</a> (7-23 AD) to describe coins that were particularly thick and heavy.</p><p><br /></p><p>The four characters (<i>ku ping qi er</i>) at the bottom translate as &quot;Treasury Scale 72&quot;.&nbsp; The &quot;treasury scale&quot; was the standard silver scale used by the Treasury during the Qing Dynasty.&nbsp; The &quot;72&quot; refers to 0.72 <i>tael</i>.</p><p><br /></p><p>The reverse side of the coin displays an ancient chinese bronze sacrificial vessel known as a <i>ding</i> or &quot;tripod&quot;.&nbsp; I am guessing that it is used here as a symbol of imperial power.&nbsp; If you observe closely you will see ancient Asian <a href="http://primaltrek.com/impliedmeaning.html#swastika" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://primaltrek.com/impliedmeaning.html#swastika" rel="nofollow">swastikas</a> on the <i>ding</i>.</p><p><br /></p><p>There are four large Manchu characters surrounding the <i>ding</i> which translate as &quot;minted at Taiwan Prefecture&quot;.</p><p><br /></p><p>This coin was believed to have been minted by Zhang Wen in the year 1837 in Tainan, Taiwan and is popularly referred to as &quot;Old Man Cake&quot; (<i>lao gong bing</i>).</p><p><br /></p><p>Authentic coins are few but fakes are plentiful.</p><p><br /></p><p>Gary[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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