Cash Coin ID Help

The top one is a "wu zhu" cash. Very old - first introduced in the Han dynasty around 118 BC, they continued, with interruptions (such as Wang Mang's "reforms") until finally replaced by Tang Dynasty types in AD 621. It is possible to narrow down the date range from studying the exact shapes of the characters.

The bottom one is much more recent, and not Chinese but Japanese. The Kan Ei Tsu Ho type was issued for quite a long time, from 1626 to 1863; the date range can likewise be narrowed down by experts.

This link will provide you with more information on the Japanese Kan'ei Tsuuhou coins:-

http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty...ibasics.html

If you wanted to narrow the dates down, David Hartill has two books out that will help. One is Early Japanese Coins and the other is Cast Chinese Coins. But let me warn you, even with the books it can be an exercise in frustration.

As a rule, no. Even though they are very old by the standards of modern coin collectors, both types pictured above were produced over several hundred years, meaning an awful lot of them have survived. Unless they are a particularly highly sought-after variety, they typically sell for $5 to $10 each or so.