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20 Fen - Guangxu
| Issuer | Hupeh Province |
|---|---|
| Year | 1895-1907 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A sinuous Imperial Chinese dragon rendered in high relief occupies the central field, depicted in profile with scales, whiskers, and flaming limbs, clutching a flaming pearl at centre. Two small six-pointed rosettes flank the dragon at left and right. The denomination '4.4' appears in the lower centre of the field between the dragon's lower extremities. A beaded border encircles the entire design, with the English legend arcing around the upper and lower periphery. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Hupeh's silver fen coinage was produced at the Wuchang mint, one of the provincial facilities established under the broad modernization push of the 1890s that saw steam-powered coin presses replace cast cash production across much of China. The provincial system meant that weights and fineness varied considerably between issuing authorities, and Hupeh's .820 standard was notably below the .900 fineness of contemporaneous Mexican dollars flooding Chinese treaty ports — a discrepancy that merchants tracked carefully and that contributed to persistent agio calculations in local trade.
Y#125.1 distinguishes this variety from related Hupeh issues by specific die characteristics. The twelve-year production window across the Guangxu reign makes precise dating of individual pieces essentially impossible without archival mint records that largely no longer exist.