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10 Cash - Guangxu Tongbao, Aksu, Uyghur right and Manchu left
| Issuer | Aksu Mint (Qing Dynasty) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1885-1892 |
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| Currency | Cash (1759-1909) |
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| Obverse description | Cast copper cash coin with a central square perforation framed by a raised square rim. Four Chinese characters in regular script (kaishu) are arranged in the traditional cross-reading order — top, bottom, right, left — around the central square hole, reading 光緒通寶 (Guang Xu Tong Bao, meaning 'Guangxu [Emperor's] Universal Currency'). The characters are bold and deeply cast in raised relief against a flat, unadorned field. A raised circular rim borders the outer edge of the coin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | 光 寶 通 緒 (Translation: Guang Xu Tong Bao Guangxu (Emperor) / Universal currency) |
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| Additional information |
The Aksu mint operated in what is now Xinjiang, established as part of the Qing dynasty's effort to consolidate control over the region following the catastrophic Yakub Beg rebellion and the subsequent military reconquest under Zuo Zongtang in the 1870s. Minting local cash coinage was a deliberate administrative act — reasserting imperial monetary authority in a territory that had functioned under entirely different political arrangements for over a decade.
The bilingual inscription pairing Uyghur and Manchu scripts reflects the linguistic realities of governing a non-Han frontier, a practice maintained at several Xinjiang mints. Aksu pieces from this period are notably inconsistent in fabric, a consequence of limited raw material supply chains so far from the interior.