5 Mace - Guangxu Pattern, Hu Poo, silver

The Hu Poo Mint in Beijing produced this pattern as part of a broader push by the Qing central government to assert control over silver coinage, which had been dominated for decades by the provincial mints — particularly Guangdong. The Board of Revenue had long resented that monetary authority effectively resided in the provinces, and the 1903 pattern series was a direct attempt to establish a centrally-issued standard.

The effort failed. Provincial minting interests proved too entrenched, and no central mint coinage entered mass circulation under Guangxu. L&M#2 is among the rarest listings in the Long & Mariacher reference.