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1000 Cash - Xianfeng Yuanbao, Boo-chiowan
| Issuer | Qing Dynasty, Ministry of Revenue |
|---|---|
| Year | 1854 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1000 Cash |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Large cast brass cash coin featuring a central square hole (cash hole) surrounded by a broad, flat field. Four Chinese characters in regular script (kaishu) are arranged in the traditional cross pattern around the central void: 咸 (Xian) above, 豐 (Feng) below, 元 (Yuan) to the right, and 寶 (Bao) to the left, reading clockwise as 咸豐元寶 (Xianfeng Yuanbao). The characters are rendered in bold, well-defined relief against a plain field. A raised inner rim borders the central square hole, and a raised outer rim frames the coin's circumference. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | 咸元寶豐 (Translation: Xian Feng Yuan Bao / Xianfeng (Emperor) / Original currency) |
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| Additional information |
The Xianfeng-era large cash pieces were an emergency fiscal measure, issued from 1853 onward as the Qing treasury collapsed under the combined pressure of the Taiping Rebellion and chronic silver outflows. The Ministry of Revenue mint in Beijing — Boo-chiowan — struck these inflated denominations to cover military expenditures that conventional small cash could no longer finance. The scheme failed almost immediately; merchants and the public discounted the higher denominations heavily, and rampant overstriking and private casting made the coinage nearly uncontrollable.
The 1000-cash denomination sits at the extreme end of this inflationary series and is among the rarest by surviving population. Hartill 22.714 is a distinct catalogued variety within a complex die family that includes numerous subvariants distinguished by character form and casting quality.