2 Mithqual - Guangxu Kashgar, Er Qian Ka Shen

Kashgar's mint operated under conditions almost entirely disconnected from Beijing's monetary policy — Sinkiang's remoteness meant local officials exercised unusual autonomy over coin production, and the weights and fineness of these silver issues varied considerably even within short runs. The *mithqual* was a Central Asian weight standard, not a Chinese one, a deliberate concession to the region's Turkic trade networks where Chinese tael-based denominations held little practical meaning.

Y#17a specifically denotes the Kashgar issue, distinct from contemporaneous Sinkiang mints at Urumqi and Aksu striking nominally similar types with measurable differences in silver content.