Shaanxi (Shensi) Province never operated its own mint capable of striking silver coinage at scale, which is precisely why this piece exists only as a pattern. The 1898 date places it during the chaotic final push by Qing provincial authorities to establish local minting infrastructure — a scramble accelerated by the humiliating terms of the 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki, which exposed how badly China's monetary system lagged behind its neighbors. Most provincial pattern programs from this window produced a handful of trial pieces before funding collapsed or the project was absorbed by a central authority.
Kann's attribution remains the definitive reference. Survivors are extremely few.
Shaanxi (Shensi) Province never operated its own mint capable of striking silver coinage at scale, which is precisely why this piece exists only as a pattern. The 1898 date places it during the chaotic final push by Qing provincial authorities to establish local minting infrastructure — a scramble accelerated by the humiliating terms of the 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki, which exposed how badly China's monetary system lagged behind its neighbors. Most provincial pattern programs from this window produced a handful of trial pieces before funding collapsed or the project was absorbed by a central authority.
Kann's attribution remains the definitive reference. Survivors are extremely few.