50 Cash - Xianfeng Zhongbao, Aksu

The Xianfeng reign (1851–1861) saw the Qing monetary system fracture under the simultaneous pressure of the Taiping Rebellion, the Nian Rebellion, and a treasury drained by indemnity payments. To compensate, the Board of Revenue authorized large-denomination cast cash — this 50-cash piece among them — a move that triggered immediate debasement as provincial mints cut alloy quality and weight to meet quotas. The Aksu mint in Xinjiang operated under different supply constraints than metropolitan mints, drawing on local copper sources and producing pieces that frequently diverge from nominal specifications.

Hartill 22.1077 is among the more obtainable Aksu issues from this denomination, but authentication matters: contemporary Xianfeng-era counterfeits exist, produced by private casters exploiting the very inflation the coins caused.