5 Cash - Guangxu Brass

Y#99a distinguishes the brass striking from the more frequently encountered copper issue (Y#99), a compositional variant that likely reflects local metal supply constraints at the Fuzhou facility rather than a deliberate policy change. The Fukien mint was among the less mechanically consistent of the provincial mints established under the late Qing modernization program, and brass planchets from this period show considerable alloy variation.

Mintages for the brass variant were never recorded separately from copper output in provincial accounts.