Fantasy Dollar - Hung Hsien

The Hung Hsien dollar was struck to celebrate Yuan Shikai's self-proclaimed imperial reign, which lasted a mere 83 days before he was forced to abdicate in March 1916 amid military rebellions and near-universal political opposition. These pieces were never issued for circulation — produced as presentation or fantasy strikes, they exist in a numismatic gray zone between official coinage and political propaganda. Yuan died shortly after his abdication, in June of the same year.