Chinese cash coin ID help needed

[gary s fl]

Found this coin a few days ago. Perhaps someone can confirm which ID is correct if either. I got most of the ID info from http://www.sportstune.com/chinese/coins/index.html
The first ID below is what I came up with and the link is a close match, the second one is from a friend of a friend. Dia. 23-24mm. Copper alloy. It’s best I’ve been able clean it so far. I’m fairly sure of the two character mint mark on the reverse. There seemed to be some conflicting info regarding the Emperors and Dynasties. Thanks.

ID: Either
Ch'ing Dynasty
Emperor Hsuan Tsung AD 1821-1850
Su Mint, Kiangsu province, Suchow city
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=304049
or
Qin Dynasty
Emperor Guangxu AD 1875-1908

 

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[PBK]

I believe that your first guess is correct:

Emperor Hsuan Tsung
Reign Title: Tao Kuang
1821-1850

You might find this site helpful, too:

http://www.sportstune.com/chinese/coins/

 

[gary s fl]

Thanks PBK. Here are a couple more web sites that might help with other foreign coin IDs. http://www.zeno.ru/ & http://www.charm.ru/
HH

 

[doublet2a]

I have found quite a few of those,
But they are no worth anything
If they were our coins that old, they would be??
Don't understand that


HH Tim

 

[gary s fl]

I agree, it's of little worth but it's the oldest coin I've found so far and I've learned some history about Chinese emperors, provinces, and cash coin mintage that I didn't know. For me, little compares to the excitement of find a piece of gold but some of my most interesting finds have been items of minimal monetary value and they opened a blurry window into the past that I had never thought about. As to why old and ancient coins have little value, IMHO I guess an item is based on rarity and demand (with demand being the larger factor), but ultimately worth is what someone is willing to pay for it. Most people have little interest in ancient coins but there are many US coin collectors so demand for rare old US coins is high thus bringing higher prices. The picture below is a Chinese dragon 10 cash coin minted in Chingchow between 1902-05, that I found in south Florida several years ago. It's worth little but it was exciting to find and I enjoyed the process of identifying it. HH

 

[alexfm]

i ahve on that is is similar to the one with the dragon on it but mine says 20 on the top.

 

[N.J.THer]

Great finds...These coins are fun to research. I found this silver dollar in a plowed farm field here in NJ. It is from 1911.

Happy holidays and happy hunting.

NJ

 

[gary s fl]

Neat coin and it's in great shape. I assume it was minted in China, did you ever find out why it says 'one dollar' in English? The color of silver is the most accurate using fluorescent light or natural daylight. Merry Christmas

 

[mtntrekr2]

Most chinese coins minted after the turn of the century followed the same
denominations as ours in the US. 5 cash, 10 cash, 20 cash, 50 cash, and
one dollar.
N.J.THer the silver coin is from the Ch'ing Dynasty Manchu, 1644-1911
listed as general cast coinage. your coin is the ruler Hsuan-t'ung
Inscription obv. Tai-Ch'ing Yin-pi. Rev is dragon struck at the
Tientsin,Nanking, and Wuchang mints without distinctive marks. content is
90% silver 26.9 g. or .7785 oz
value vg-$6, f-$18, vf-$25, xf-$50, unc-$300 minted 1911


nice find
Joe

 

[N.J.THer]

Thanks for the information Joe. It was fun to find and research. The farm field was producing U.S. coins from the 1800s so at first I was thinking Morgan but I'll take it. Here is a situation where digging everything paid off since this site is hit hard. Most dollar signals turn out to be farm equipment junk. This one was about thirty feet into the field where everyone enters so I'm sure others must have received the signal and decided not to dig.

NJ