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20 Cash - Guangxu Pei Yang, copper
| Issuer | Beiyang Mint (Chihli Province) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1906 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 7.6 g |
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| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Chinese, Manchu |
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| Reverse description | Central device features a front-facing imperial Chinese dragon in high relief, depicted with scaled body coiling symmetrically, fiery mane, and clawed forelimbs flanking a flaming pearl at centre. The dragon is surrounded by stylised clouds and waves at the base. An inner beaded circle frames the dragon motif. The upper outer legend reads PEI YANG and the lower outer legend reads TWENTY CASH in Latin characters, separated by rosette or dot stops, all between the beaded circle and the milled rim. |
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| Additional information |
The Beiyang Arsenal complex at Tianjin housed one of the Qing dynasty's most technically advanced minting operations, established with German machinery in the 1880s under Li Hongzhang's modernization program. By 1906, the mint was producing machine-struck cash coins in a deliberate attempt to undercut the flood of privately cast counterfeits that had destabilized small-denomination commerce across Zhili Province.
The 20 cash denomination proved politically contentious — the Board of Revenue in Beijing repeatedly questioned whether high-value copper pieces encouraged inflation rather than suppressing it, a debate that contributed to the eventual 1905–1906 imperial edicts attempting to rationalize cash production across all provincial mints.