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Message:: [QUOTE="mrbreeze, post: 2847381, member: 86726"]I would say definitely not Shanlong. Scenario 1 From the picture, my first thought on mint was Guizhou Province. Pretty tough to tell, but that would be my first guess. There is a note in Hartill concerning particular coins from this mint (that even have the special Long character) that reads, "Not connected with the Peking Shanlongs." That would help explain some of your questions. Within the coins shown for this mint, there is a variety that has a somewhat similar Qian character, but not nearly close to a match, and a variety with a square head tong. I could live with the thought that it might be from this mint, just not seen by Hartill. Scenario 2 The Qian character most resembles the Board of Revenue issues from the 1782-1795 period and most definitely resembles 1795 issues (H22.227, etc.). In addition, there is as a variety with a square head tong. Also noted are the broader rim coins which elongated the tong bao, similar to the coin pictured. So, I see more "likeness" to these coins and they are the last coins made before the true Shanlongs. If I had to give you an answer, I would say this is your best bet. Having seen so many of these coins for so many years, it is sometimes a best estimate based on the clues and the things you definitely see vs things about which you have to guess.[/QUOTE]