50 Fen Pattern, Guangxu restrike, copper

Yunnan's silver coinage program under Guangxu produced a provincial mint infrastructure that outlasted the emperor by years — the Kunming facility continued striking and experimenting well into the Republican transition. These copper restrikes of the 50 fen pattern were almost certainly produced for presentation or archival purposes rather than any genuine circulation intent, as copper was never the intended metal for this denomination. The provincial mint's continued operation after 1911 reflected Yunnan's political semi-autonomy under military governors who maintained de facto control of local coinage facilities independent of Beijing.