10 Cash - Guangxu Five-petalled flower at centre

Hupeh was among the first Chinese provincial mints to adopt steam-powered coinage machinery, its Wuchang facility retooled in the late 1890s with equipment sourced largely from Birmingham. The five-petalled flower variants catalogued under Y#120 reflect successive die modifications made between 1902 and 1905 — minor adjustments to the central rosette and surrounding elements that were almost certainly driven by worn working dies rather than deliberate redesign policy.

The Hupeh mint was notoriously prolific during this period, and contemporary reports noted the province was producing cash coins well in excess of sanctioned quotas.