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1 Tael - Guangxu
| Issuer | Wuchang Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1904 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | Y#128, L&M#180, Kann#933 |
| Obverse description | Central field dominated by four large Chinese characters reading 大清銀幣 (Great Qing Silver Coin), with a Manchu script equivalent in the center among the characters. Surrounding the central inscription, arranged radially, are the Chinese characters 光緒三十年 (Guangxu 30th Year) and 湖北省造 (Made in Hupeh Province) reading vertically along the upper register. The lower portion of the field bears the denomination inscription 庫平一兩 (Treasury Standard One Tael) in bold Chinese characters. The entire design is enclosed within a finely executed beaded inner border, with a plain raised outer rim, presenting a clean typographic composition characteristic of late Qing provincial coinage. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | 光緒三十年 湖北省造 ᡩᠠᡳᠴᡳᠩ ᠮᡝᠩᡤᡠᠨ ᠵᡳᡥᠠ 庫平一兩 (Translation: Guangxu 30th Year, Hupeh Province Made / Great Qing Silver Coin / Treasury Standard One Tael) |
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| Additional information |
The Wuchang Mint, established in Hubei province under Zhang Zhidong's modernization drive in the 1890s, was among the first provincial facilities in China to operate steam-powered coining presses imported from Europe. This tael denomination was never fully integrated into a coherent national currency system — the Qing court's repeated failures to standardize weights and fineness across provincial mints meant that taels from different facilities traded at varying discounts against one another well into the Republic period.
Hubei tael issues of this type saw limited commercial circulation, used primarily in large mercantile transactions rather than daily trade. The .877 fineness reflects Wuchang's own assay standard, not a national specification.