Qing Dynasty Cash Coins: Real Or Fake? (Need Translator)

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Author	Replies: 5 / Views: 6,333
Finn235 Pillar of the Community United States 6130 Posts	Posted 09/17/2015 3:33 pm Hello all, Recently won and received this neat collection of Qing dynasty coins off ebay: The description (which seemed to be translated from Chinese) stated that these were "replica", however they came with a "COA" (a yellowed, typed piece of paper with a description of each coin) stating that they are genuine. The coins looked real, so I took the plunge and coughed up $7 for the lot. I am fairly confident that most or all are genuine--the wear is consistent with a well-circulated cash coin. I figure that the writing on the card will be telling--anyone want to weigh in? I haven't removed the coins from the adhesive strip just yet--waiting to get some small ziploc bags to keep each coin with a description of the emperor's title and mint mark. Is acetone safe if any gunk is left on the coin after removal? Report this Post to the Staff

sel_69l Bedrock of the Community Australia 21788 Posts	Posted 09/17/2015 8:22 pm These cast cash coins were made in the Qing era for circulation in industrial quantities, and are most probably genuine. I these latter days, it can be cheaper to recover genuine coins than go to the trouble to make fakes! It is possible to make a big profit either way. The cost per coin to reover them would have been negligible. At $7 for the lot, a reasonable buy anyway, genuine or not. I would put them all in Mylar / cardboard 2x2's, and transcribe the information for each coin onto the 2x2. Leaving the tape on the coins is not going to help them. You should be able to do good research on Wiki for each emperor for each emperor's name and reign title, using the date given on the card as the basis for your identification of each coin. That should get you around the translation problem. Reference to a copy of Schjoth would help if you are lucky enough to access a copy. Edited by sel_69l 09/17/2015 8:49 pm Report this Post to the Staff
Finn235 Pillar of the Community United States 6130 Posts	Posted 09/17/2015 9:35 pm Right, I have already done the basic research, and the coins all passed the basic level of scrutiny, e.g. no garbled or mismatched characters, no extraordinary rarities, and Puye's coin shows characteristic heavy filing marks. I was more concerned that the top, sides, and bottom of the card do not translate as "Replica". I did Google around, and found this exact card in completed auctions in the $80 range. I of course like to think that I made out like a bandit on this one, but figure healthy skepticism is due. Report this Post to the Staff
RogerRamjet Valued Member United States 172 Posts	Posted 09/18/2015 12:03 am They look authentic to me, although I'm no expert regarding Chinese cash coins. Less than a dollar each is a fine price for non-rare cash coins in the US and you got a nice variety; you did well. Acetone won't hurt them and it will quickly dissolve any tape residue. Report this Post to the Staff
Petrus Pillar of the Community Belgium 2895 Posts	Posted 09/18/2015 11:06 am The value is rather low, because many of these cards are sold. The tape does not really help to preserve the coins. And the other side gives you the mintplace. Beware that there are many variations of each coin. Above the date is the name of the emperor: The name has many variations, depending on the source (this is Krause) You can read the name as follows: top bottom right left: 1644-1661: Shun-chih T'ung-pao https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shunzhi_Emperor 1662-1722: This was the longest reign. This emperor's coins are thus used as Lucky charm, for a long life. K'ang-hsi T'ung-pao https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangxi_Emperor 1723-1735: Yung-cheng T'ung-pao https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yongzheng_Emperor 1736-1795: Chien-lung T'ung-pao https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qianlong_Emperor 1796-1820: Chien-ch'ing T'ung-pao https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiaqing_Emperor 1821-1850: Tao-kwong T'ung-pao https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daoguang_Emperor 1850-1861: Shen-fung T'ung-pao https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xianfeng_Emperor 1862-1874: Tung-chi T'ung-pao https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongzhi_Emperor 1875-1908: Kuang-hsü T'ung-pao https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guangxu_Emperor 1909-1911: Tung-chi T'ung-pao https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puyi The other tekst can be 'drawn' in Google translate. That helps sometimes. Edited by Petrus 09/18/2015 11:09 am Report this Post to the Staff
TypeCoin971793 Pillar of the Community United States 6370 Posts	Posted 09/18/2015 11:23 am For $7!?!? That's easily a $20 set. They all look good to me as well. The fact that they are all of different size and have a different patina is very good for authenticity. Most sets of replicas look exactly the same except for the characters. Edited by TypeCoin971793 09/18/2015 11:25 am Report this Post to the Staff
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