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1 Tael - Guangxu Pattern, silver
| Issuer | Kirin Province |
|---|---|
| Year | 1882 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
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| Obverse description | Central field occupied by a recessed rectangular cartouche enclosing twelve Chinese characters rendered in archaic seal script (zhuanshu), arranged in three vertical columns of four characters each, reading right to left and top to bottom. The inscription records the reign title Guangxu, the eighth year, the Kirin machinery mint, and the official production authority. The cartouche is framed by a plain incuse border, beyond which a decorative outer ring of overlapping petal or scallop motifs encircles the entire design, imparting a formal, ceremonial quality consistent with a struck pattern intended to demonstrate the mint's mechanical capabilities. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | 官吉光 局林緒 監機八 製器年 (Translation: Guangxu, 8th Year Kirin machinery Official production Mint) |
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| Additional information |
Kirin Province's 1882 tael pattern sits at the very beginning of China's mechanized coinage experiment — struck before any provincial mint had fully committed to steam-powered production, when Qing officials were still debating whether Western minting technology was compatible with imperial monetary tradition. The Kirin patterns of this period were almost certainly produced as presentation or approval pieces rather than intended for circulation, submitted to Beijing for consideration as the dynasty fumbled toward a standardized provincial coinage system it would never quite achieve.
Kann's documentation of this piece as #914 places it within a small group of authenticated survivors. The 45.5mm diameter reflects the sheer bulk of the traditional tael standard, which resisted decimalization for another two decades.