old Asian coin found in central Alabama?

[vthepresident]

I found this at about 5 inches deep in the yard of a house that was built in the 1890s outside Birmingham, Alabama. I thought it was a tax token (Mississippi ones have square holes and are about the same size), of which I have dug about 30 from this site, but then I saw letters that didn't look quite English.
Anyone know how to ID Chinese coins?

Thanks for the help,
V

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska - Grab it through Amazon!

[PBK]

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

 

[Montana Jim]

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

Teach a man to fish... 8)

 

[vthepresident]

thanks PBK,
i am stoked because the coin on this site that matches mine says Ch'ien Lung T'ung Pao on the obverse which is from the reign of Kao Tsung (1736-1795 a.d.). Now, finding an 1800s coin was on my list for this year, but 1700s will do!
i wish it was American from that period but oh well.
The real question is, what was it doing in alabama?
v

 

[jeff of pa]

There were Alot of Chinese Miners & Railroad workers
in the U.S. back in the 19th. Century.
Cache coins of all ages can be found almost anywhere.

Still always a cool find

 

[Deerhunter24]

I found one similar to that in a fairgrounds in my hometown in SE Michigan. The one i found dated 1795-1799. The kicker is that the fairground dates back to the early 1890's and the town only dates back to the 1860's. However, I have found that ones like the one I found are only worth about $2.00.

I figure if it is worth that little now...it probably wasn't worth much 100 years ago either. Still a cool find though.

Deerhunter24