7 Mace - Guangxu Bullion coinage

Kirin Province's silver bullion coinage of the 1880s predates the standardized dragon dollar series and occupies an awkward transitional moment in Qing monetary policy — the dynasty was still debating whether to adopt western-style milled coinage nationally or continue relying on sycee silver. These Kirin pieces were struck to a tael-based weight standard rather than the dollar standard that would later dominate, making them functionally incompatible with the provincial coinages that followed within a decade.

The Kirin mint operated under significant technical constraints in this period, and early issues show inconsistencies in planchet preparation traceable to the machinery imported from Japan.