Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
20 Cash - Guangxu Bei Yang, brass
| Issuer | Chihli Province |
|---|---|
| Year | 1906 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Brass |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Central field bears four large Chinese ideograms arranged vertically and read top to bottom, right to left, giving the reign title Guangxu and denomination Yuanbao, with additional characters to the sides denoting the Pei Yang mint and the value of twenty cash. Manchu script appears above the central inscription, flanking the upper portion of the design. The legends are rendered in a formal, recessed style typical of late Qing imperial coinage, with all inscriptions set within a plain inner border. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A coiled five-clawed imperial dragon occupies the central field, depicted in high relief facing forward with a flaming pearl below its head, surrounded by stylized clouds and waves at the base. The dragon's scales, whiskers, and claws are rendered in fine detail characteristic of late Qing provincial milled coinage. A beaded inner border separates the central dragon motif from the outer legend. The English inscription 'PEI YANG' arcs across the upper portion and 'TWENTY CASH' across the lower portion of the coin, all within a milled border. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Y#68a designates the brass variant of the Bei Yang Arsenal's 20 cash issue — distinguished from the more common copper strikes of the same type. Chihli Province operated the Bei Yang mint at Tianjin under direct Beiyang military patronage, and the brass composition here likely reflects a localized material substitution during a period when provincial mints were only loosely coordinated by the Board of Revenue in Beijing.
The 1906 issues precede the Qing dynasty's short-lived attempt at national coinage standardization under the unified度支部 system by just two years.