Posted 10/19/2022 6:54 pm
It is a replica of a Chinese cash coin; specifically, of a cash from the reign of the Shunzhi emperor (ruled AD 1643-1661), the second emperor of the Qing Dynasty. The mintmark is from Fujian Province.
You may be disappointed to hear that it's a replica and not actually several hundred years old, and you may be surprised to learn that genuine Shunzhi cash coins from Fujian Province are only worth a couple of dollars, and you may wonder why anybody would make fakes when the genuine coins are so cheap and easy to obtain. But from the point of view of a coin collector, Feng Shui practitioners have a backwards mindset when it comes to coins: they believe that replica coins are actually better, that they are more effective at being good luck charms than genuine coins. That's because genuine coins, after lying around for hundreds of years, may already have absorbed their full quota of bad luck, evil spirits etc and would need to be ritually cleansed before they could be re-used as a "lucky coin". This, at least, is what the people who make and sell the replica coins will tell you.
Cash coins can be considered "lucky" all by themselves, or can be combined with other coins in auspicious sets. You will often see bundles of coins tied together in various groups and patterns. A "full set" of all 12 emperors, and/or all 20 mintmarks, is also considered auspicious, which is why it's not too hard to find Feng Shui replicas made in the name of every emperor and every province. Most powerful of all are the "coin swords", where hundreds of coins are tied together in the shape of a sword.
You may be disappointed to hear that it's a replica and not actually several hundred years old, and you may be surprised to learn that genuine Shunzhi cash coins from Fujian Province are only worth a couple of dollars, and you may wonder why anybody would make fakes when the genuine coins are so cheap and easy to obtain. But from the point of view of a coin collector, Feng Shui practitioners have a backwards mindset when it comes to coins: they believe that replica coins are actually better, that they are more effective at being good luck charms than genuine coins. That's because genuine coins, after lying around for hundreds of years, may already have absorbed their full quota of bad luck, evil spirits etc and would need to be ritually cleansed before they could be re-used as a "lucky coin". This, at least, is what the people who make and sell the replica coins will tell you.
Cash coins can be considered "lucky" all by themselves, or can be combined with other coins in auspicious sets. You will often see bundles of coins tied together in various groups and patterns. A "full set" of all 12 emperors, and/or all 20 mintmarks, is also considered auspicious, which is why it's not too hard to find Feng Shui replicas made in the name of every emperor and every province. Most powerful of all are the "coin swords", where hundreds of coins are tied together in the shape of a sword.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
