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1 Tael - Guangxu Pattern, small clouds, copper
| Issuer | Empire of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1907 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Chinese (traditional, regular script) |
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| Reverse description | A sinuous five-clawed imperial dragon is depicted in high relief, coiling dynamically across the field with its horned head facing the viewer in a frontal position at centre-top. The dragon's scaled body wraps around a flaming pearl at the lower centre, above stylised waves rendered along the bottom of the field. The surrounding field is filled with numerous small scrolling clouds rendered in the compact, tightly-curled style that distinguishes this variety, distributed evenly around the dragon. The entire design is enclosed within a raised beaded border, with no additional legend on this face. |
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| Additional information |
Pattern coinage from the late Qing fiscal reform period, when the Board of Revenue mint in Beijing was experimenting with tael-denominated machine-struck pieces to replace the centuries-old sycee silver system. The tael was never successfully decimalized — provincial resistance and the dynasty's collapse in 1912 ended the project entirely. The "small clouds" variety distinction points to deliberate die differentiation during trial production, suggesting multiple reverse punches were prepared and tested before any denomination reached circulation approval.