5 Cash - Xianfeng Zhongbao, Boo-fu

The Fuzhou Mint was one of several provincial facilities pressed into producing large-denomination cash coins after the Taiping Rebellion disrupted the Qing fiscal system in the early 1850s. The shift to heavier, nominally higher-value pieces was an attempt to stretch copper and brass supplies while meeting military expenditure demands — a policy that collapsed quickly as the public discounted overvalued cash coins almost immediately upon issue.

Boo-fu pieces from this period are notoriously inconsistent in alloy quality, with some strikes running visibly brassy while others trend darker, reflecting ad hoc sourcing of raw metal during the crisis years.