10 Cash - Xianfeng Zhongbao, Ili

The Ili Mint operated in China's far northwestern Xinjiang region, established to supply coinage to a garrison economy so remote from Beijing that standard supply chains were effectively useless. During the Xianfeng reign, the dynasty authorized a dramatic expansion of cash denominations — 10, 50, 100, and even 1000 cash pieces — largely to paper over a treasury hollowing out under the weight of the Taiping Rebellion. Ili's output was never large, and coins struck there circulated almost exclusively within the military and trading communities of the Ili valley.