Tael Visit from China

In 1900, Heaton's Mint struck a small number of these tael-weight pieces as a commercial sample, submitted as part of an ongoing British effort to capture silver coinage contracts from Chinese provincial authorities. The tael was not a standardized unit — it varied in weight between provinces and guilds — so Heaton's was essentially pitching a product to a market that hadn't agreed on its own specifications. No contract followed.