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50 Cash 'Lanchow copper', cast
| Issuer | Kansu Province |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | Y#D407 |
| Obverse description | Central field features three vertically stacked Chinese characters reading '五十文' (50 cash) enclosed within a wreath of stylised floral and foliate elements tied at the base. The wreath is surrounded by a beaded inner circle. Along the outer border, separated by dot stops, runs the Latin legend 'THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA' (with the variant spelling 'REPUᗺLIC' on this die), arranged around the upper and lower periphery. The overall design reflects the provincial cast coinage style of early Republican China. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Chinese |
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| Additional information |
Kansu's 1920 fifty-cash pieces were cast rather than struck at a moment when the province had neither the machinery nor the political stability to operate a modern mint press. The "Lanchow copper" designation distinguishes this issue from contemporaneous Kansu struck coinage and reflects the foundry tradition that persisted in the northwest long after the rest of Republican China had abandoned it. Cast brass coinage of this denomination was effectively obsolete by this date nationally, making Kansu an outlier driven by isolation and infrastructural poverty rather than policy.