The Board of Revenue Mint in Beijing was one of two central imperial mints operating under direct Qing court supervision, the other being the Board of Works Mint. By the late 1880s, both were under pressure to modernize as provincial mints began adopting steam-powered machinery. This piece predates that shift at the Revenue Mint — struck coinage here still meant screw press or early mechanical production rather than the traditional cast method, marking a genuine transitional moment in Qing minting practice.
Hartill 22.1381 places this among the final decades of Beijing's struck cash production before the format was effectively abandoned in favor of milled coinage.
The Board of Revenue Mint in Beijing was one of two central imperial mints operating under direct Qing court supervision, the other being the Board of Works Mint. By the late 1880s, both were under pressure to modernize as provincial mints began adopting steam-powered machinery. This piece predates that shift at the Revenue Mint — struck coinage here still meant screw press or early mechanical production rather than the traditional cast method, marking a genuine transitional moment in Qing minting practice.
Hartill 22.1381 places this among the final decades of Beijing's struck cash production before the format was effectively abandoned in favor of milled coinage.