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50 Cash - Xianfeng Zhongbao, Boo-fu
| Issuer | Empire of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1853-1855 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Cash (621-1912) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Chinese (traditional, regular script) |
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| Reverse description | The reverse displays a central square hole flanked by Manchu script characters reading 'Boo-fu' (the mint name for Fuzhou), one Manchu syllable to each side of the perforation, reading vertically. Above and below the hole appear Chinese numerals indicating denomination: 五 (Wu, 'five') above and 十 (Shi, 'ten'), together signifying 50 cash. Along the outer rim, four Chinese characters arranged in a clockwise reading — 二兩五錢 (Er Liang Wu Qian, meaning '2 Liang 5 Qian') — denote the coin's nominal silver equivalent weight, a convention characteristic of the high-denomination Xianfeng coinage. The fields are plain and the rim is broad and slightly beveled. |
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| Additional information |
The Xianfeng reign cash coins represent one of the most chaotic episodes in Chinese imperial minting history. Faced with the catastrophic costs of suppressing the Taiping Rebellion — which had seized Nanjing in 1853 — the Qing court authorized a sudden proliferation of high-denomination cash coins, abandoning the near-universal one-cash standard that had held for centuries. Provincial mints scrambled to comply, with wildly inconsistent output.
The Fuzhou Board of Revenue mint, designated Boo-fu, produced notoriously variable castings across this period. Alloy composition and flan preparation differed batch to batch.