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!
5 Cash - Guangxu With minting authority, brass
| Issuer | Empire of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1906 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Cash (0.005) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A writhing Chinese dragon in high relief occupies the central field, facing left with a flaming pearl depicted at centre. Above the dragon, a circular Chinese legend reads the reign title of the Guangxu Emperor. Below, an English legend in Latin characters arcs around the lower periphery identifying the issuing authority and coin type. The design follows the standardised format adopted for late Qing machine-struck copper coinage, combining traditional imperial iconography with Western-style legends intended for international legibility. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The Board of Revenue mint in Beijing struck this issue following the Qing court's 1905 decision to modernize the cash coin system and introduce machine-struck brass pieces as a replacement for the cast bronze cash that had circulated in China for over two millennia. The reform was driven partly by the chronic shortage of small change and partly by the proliferation of privately cast counterfeits that had undermined confidence in the old coinage. Resistance from provincial mints, each protecting their own revenue streams, meant central standardization remained incomplete.
Y#9a specifically denotes the variety bearing the minting authority inscription — distinguishing it from otherwise near-identical emissions of the same period.