100 Cash - Xianfeng Yuanbao, Boo-he

The Xianfeng reign cash coinage was an emergency response to the catastrophic fiscal strain of the Taiping Rebellion, which had severed Qing access to southern revenue streams and copper supplies simultaneously. The Board of Revenue Mint in Peking resorted to oversized high-denomination cast pieces — 10, 50, and 100 cash — as a crude inflationary measure to stretch a depleted treasury. The public rejected them almost immediately, and widespread counterfeiting followed within months of introduction.

The Boo-he mint mark identifies the Board of Revenue facility specifically, distinguishing it from the nearby Board of Works issues. These 100 cash pieces circulated so poorly that many survived in near-original condition, paradoxically making worn examples the more historically interesting survivors.