Seeking Identification And Value For An Ancient Chinese Copper Coin (Id: Modern Fantasy Token)

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Author	Replies: 5 / Views: 257
Jürgen New Member Germany 2 Posts	Posted 10/04/2025 06:48 am Hello everyone, I'm hoping for some help with identifying an old Chinese copper coin and getting a rough idea of its value. Here are the details I can provide: Material: Copper Weight: 125 g (approximately 4.41 oz) Shape: Round with a distinctive square hole in the center Outer diameter: 8.5 cm (approximately 3.35 inches) Inner square hole side length: 2 cm (approximately 0.79 inches) Condition: Wearing consistent with age; no cleaning or restoration done Notes: This coin is believed to be ancient Chinese, but I'm not confident about the era or minting details. I would greatly appreciate any insights into its possible period, origin, and an approximate value range based on the measurements. I would be grateful for any information, references, or comparables that might help me identify it and estimate its value. Thanks in advance for your help! Post edited by moderator see rules about selling Report this Post to the Staff

bjherbison Valued Member United States 256 Posts	Posted 10/04/2025 09:57 am Modern souvenir vaguely similar to some Chinese charms. Ancient Chinese coins if that shape were much smaller. Report this Post to the Staff
JimmyD Bedrock of the Community Canada 20778 Posts	Posted 10/04/2025 10:06 am Way too big to be genuine. Most are about 1 inch . The small size is so that they could be strung together for convenience, hence the hole. Report this Post to the Staff
Spence Moderator United States 33739 Posts	Posted 10/04/2025 7:16 pm @juerg, first welcome to CCF. Second, it is nice to see a similar piece to mine (pix below). I purchased this about 20 years ago in Chinatown (Boston USA). While I agree with the others that yours is of modern manufacture, I'd like to clear up a few small aspects of the previous replies. While the vast majority of Chinese cast cash are about an inch (25 mm) in diameter, there are examples of multiples which are larger. For example, the Qing Dynasty (which is indicated on both of our pieces) issued so called large coins with 50 and 100 as the denomination. In a quick search of my Hartill, I found an example (H# 22.951) which is 2.5 inches (65 mm) in diameter. This link to an old elsen auction shows cast cash of various diameters to give you a better idea: https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=3990405. You will notice that none of these coins have the dragon/lion/comets motif of our pieces though as that occurred on tokens and charms. Again, to be clear, your example is not a real coin--but it could make fun beverage coaster! "If you climb a good tree, you get a push." -----Ghanaian proverb "The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed." -----King Adz Report this Post to the Staff
Jürgen New Member Germany 2 Posts	Posted Yesterday 09:41 am Dear all, Thank you so much for taking the time to help identify my coin. I truly appreciate the knowledge and effort you shared. Could you please advise an estimate of what my coin might be worth? I understand values depend on factors such as rarity, condition, and provenance, but any ballpark figure or guidance would be greatly appreciated. With sincere thank Report this Post to the Staff
jbuck Moderator United States 171009 Posts	Posted Today 42M ago to the Community! Coin Collector Since 1978 My Avatar My Old Avatar My 7070 My Eisenhower Dollars CCF Members on eBay CCF eBay Search Engine Report this Post to the Staff
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