Naughty coins and charms.. almost NSFW

Chinese wedding charm. Qing Dynasty early Republic of China. Late 18 early 19th century.

Unlike Roman brothel tokens, these wedding charms were given to newly weds wishing them a fruitful and productive married life. Thus the pictures in the reverse. They are sometimes used in villages in the past and not a mainstream tradition. Needless to say modern times have stopped this tradition altogether.

 

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We're gonna rock, around, the clock tonight...

 

Do most of such charms date from the time when they were used for their intended purpose rather than selling to collectors or to people as a memento of how things were done in the old times? I was always led to believe they were made for the tourist/collector market so not really seriously collectible. It is rather like I see the US hobo nickels which were cut by hobos during the depression and by artists after the art/nostalgia market during the last 75 years. I always considered the new ones sleazy when they started with buffalo nickels even though few of those have circulated for many years now. When something is unofficial in the original, it can be hard to know were to draw the line for an end date.

 

Well.. if you can read Chinese, here is a very detailed article on these..
http://baike.baidu.com/item/春钱

 

These were known in Chinese as 春錢 or Spring coins. Their usage is rather diverse.. they've been around for centuries and used either as charms, marriage gifts to couples and at some point in time brothel tokens as well..

 

I actually have one of those. Never knew the story of what they meant (other than some obvious "stuff")

Thanks.

I really did make an assumption based on how I obtained it that they were a bit more "modern" than what you have described. I have kept it in my "junk box" for years...

 

Of course nowadays, they do cast these as curios and souvenirs..

 

Ooooow, Loong-S => those are even better than animal-washers!!

 

You're welcome.. these are not rare but have been cast for centuries (modern ones included)

 

Haha.. yeah.. unusual for a highly conservative society like the Chinese.. rather than saying it out, they cast these as tokens to hint hint..

 

They seem to cover most of the Greatest Hits ...

 

Except for the wheelbarrow... which is surprising since the wheelbarrow was invented in China

 

Here is an example from my collection, the couple are shown in less detail (they could just be practicing their wrestling moves, for all you can see):

 

Cool!! Keep em coming in. Haha..

 

here's some Roman tokens...food for thought..aha! cant upload those><

 

here comes the big boss hi ya! let's get it on!

 

Make sure you limit material to actual or counterfeit material. If you know it is modern, do not post it please.

 

ummm. how 'bout a deck of cards?(jk)