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1 Tael - Guangxu Pei Yang
| Issuer | Pei Yang Mint (Chihli Province) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1907 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Central field bears the four-character Chinese legend 光緒元寶 (Guangxu Yuanbao) arranged vertically in two columns, with the denomination inscription 庫平一兩 (Kuping 1 Tael) and mint name 北洋 (Pei Yang) flanking the sides. A Manchu script legend reading ᠪᠠᡩᠠᠷᠠᠩᡤᠠ ᡩᠣᠷᠣ ᡳ᠋ ᠶᡠᠸᠠᠨ ᠪᠣᠣ (Guangxu Yuanbao) arcs along the upper portion of the inner beaded circle. The date 三十三年 (33rd Year) appears in the lower field, all enclosed within a dotted inner border and an outer beaded rim. The design is executed in a clean, recessed-relief style characteristic of late Qing machine-struck coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | ᠪᠠᡩᠠᠷᠠᠩᡤᠠ ᡩᠣᠷᠣ ᡳ᠋ ᠶᡠᠸᠠᠨ ᠪᠣᠣ / 光緒元寶 / 三十三年 北洋 庫平一兩 (Translation: Manchu: Guangxu Yuanbao / Chinese: Guangxu Yuanbao / Chinese: 33rd Year of Guangxu, Pei Yang, Kuping 1 Tael) |
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| Additional information |
The Pei Yang Mint at Tianjin was among the most technically advanced facilities in Qing China, established with foreign machinery in the 1890s as part of the Self-Strengthening Movement's broader push toward industrial modernization. The tael-weight silver series it produced was never intended for mass circulation — these were prestige strikes aimed at satisfying treaty obligations and demonstrating fiscal credibility to foreign creditors at a moment when the dynasty was hemorrhaging silver to indemnity payments following the Boxer Protocol of 1901.
The 1907 date places this piece in the final chaotic years of Guangxu's reign, issued just one year before the emperor's suspicious death in November 1908 — one day before the Empress Dowager Cixi herself.