Posted 03/01/2015 10:35 pm
The inscription (left image) is yi yuan (#22777;#22278;) which means "one yuan" ("one dollar").
The Chinese character cai (#33756;) means "vegetables".
The inscription (right image) is guo ying liu yi si chang shi tang (#22269;#33829;#20845;#19968;#22235;#21378;#39135;#22530;) which translates as "the canteen of state-owned Factory 614".
The Chinese government previously used a numbering system to name factories. Factory 614 is now known as the "Shanghai Mint".
The triangularly shaped symbol at the top is actually the bank logo of the People's Bank of China. For a discussion of the meaning of this logo, please see this article.
In summary, this is a "one yuan" token that could be used in the canteen of the Shanghai Mint to buy vegetables.
I have not been able to determine exactly when these tokens were used. Some websites mention 1950-1959 while others say the 1970's.
As you are probably aware, there are reproductions (fakes) of just about every Chinese coin.
I am not able to authenticate your coin but you can view other specimens here, here and here.
Gary
The Chinese character cai (#33756;) means "vegetables".
The inscription (right image) is guo ying liu yi si chang shi tang (#22269;#33829;#20845;#19968;#22235;#21378;#39135;#22530;) which translates as "the canteen of state-owned Factory 614".
The Chinese government previously used a numbering system to name factories. Factory 614 is now known as the "Shanghai Mint".
The triangularly shaped symbol at the top is actually the bank logo of the People's Bank of China. For a discussion of the meaning of this logo, please see this article.
In summary, this is a "one yuan" token that could be used in the canteen of the Shanghai Mint to buy vegetables.
I have not been able to determine exactly when these tokens were used. Some websites mention 1950-1959 while others say the 1970's.
As you are probably aware, there are reproductions (fakes) of just about every Chinese coin.
I am not able to authenticate your coin but you can view other specimens here, here and here.
Gary
