If it is the correct size it may very well be. It is definitely not Japanese, and I'm 90% certain it isn't Korean. I don't have a copy of Schjoth, or any other good cash coin reference, to determine whether it's Annamese or Chinese, but since there were billions more Chinese than Annamese cash coins produced over a longer historical period, the liklihood is that it is Chinese. Is the revese blank? If not, posting a picture may help someone identify it. Based on condition, unless it is a real rarity, it's probably worth a quarter or less. BTW the side on the right of your picture appears to be the bottom of the coin.
Okay, definitely Chinese and definitely of low value. Rotate your picture of the mint mark 90 degrees left, and then keep rotating until the hole is square with the page. It looks similar to the Kung-Pu Board of Public Works in Boo-Yuwan (now Peiping) but it isn't strike me as an exact match.
Looks like a Tao Kuang T'ung Pao one cash from the Qing Dynasty (1821-1850) Look here: http://www.sportstune.com/chinese/coins/taokuang/1cash.html or http://ykleungt.tripod.com/qingcash.htm It's a common coin.
Definitely Chinese from the obverse (one with 4 characters). This coin was casted in the the Dao Guang Era ( 道光 ), any time between 1821 to 1850. The reverse features the Manchu imperial script, which I can't help you with. Under a 1000 people in the world today is literate in this near extinct language.
Roy, This is my only Chinese coin which was sold to me as Wang Mang 9-22 AD cast bronze coin.The reverse is flat with no design.Any way to tell if that's who and what it really is??
I can't really distiguish the archaic characters since it's so worn. But it seems to me it's a 半兩 (half tael) coin or approximately 37.8g if I've correctly guessed what the characters should be. As with all ancient measurement I'm not sure the Chinese tael is the same as the tael known in the West. Even the definition of the Chinese tael could've changed through the millennia. Otherwise, the archaic incription doesn't offer any more info. I'm not an expert on calligraphy fonts to match it to the corresponding era. However, I can tell you just from the font this is definitely an older piece than any of the common Qing coins you see. Your dealer correctly pointed out that Wang Mang was indeed a historic figure between 9 to 22 AD. Whether the coin is from that era is a different matter. You can read about the history of Wang Mang in Wikipedia. Note the special section on Economic Policies where coinage of the day was mentioned. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wang_Mang
Kvasir, Thanks.I did a little googling around and found several examples of Wang Mang coins but they all had much more intricate designs than mine BUT I did find this one which looks remarkably similar to the one I have,taking the wear into account.It is actually more than 100 year older than Wang Mang. "The Pan Liang was the standard coin of the realm in ancient China. These Pan Liang coins are from the reign of Emperor Ch'e Wu-ti of the Western Han Dynasty and were minted from about 140BC to 118BC.. The design of the coin, a round coin with a square hole became a standard that China continued to use for over 2000 years, until 1911AD."
That's it then, my archaic Chinese isn't too rusty. "Pan Liang" is indeed the transliteration of "半兩" or "half tael". The square hole design is pretty common and useful as people used to carry coins in a string/rope as the expression goes: "a string of cash". One should keep in mind the inscription on Chinese coins is almost always read from right to left.
