Aksu was one of several mints operating in Sinkiang under Qing administration during the 1890s, each producing coins with subtle local characteristics that distinguish them from issues of Kashgar, Urumqi, or Kucha. The three-mithqal denomination reflects the persistence of Islamic weight standards in the region — the mithqal being a measure of Arab origin that had circulated across Central Asia for centuries before the Qing ever consolidated control over Xinjiang in 1759.
Production at Aksu was intermittent and quality uneven, which accounts for the considerable variation seen across surviving specimens of Y#14.
Aksu was one of several mints operating in Sinkiang under Qing administration during the 1890s, each producing coins with subtle local characteristics that distinguish them from issues of Kashgar, Urumqi, or Kucha. The three-mithqal denomination reflects the persistence of Islamic weight standards in the region — the mithqal being a measure of Arab origin that had circulated across Central Asia for centuries before the Qing ever consolidated control over Xinjiang in 1759.
Production at Aksu was intermittent and quality uneven, which accounts for the considerable variation seen across surviving specimens of Y#14.