Qing Dynasty, Great Qing Copper Coin,

10 Cash, Kiang-Nan Province

(Ding Wei Version)

清 大清銅幣

十文 戶部中心甯

(丁未版)

Item number: A1595

Year: AD 1907

Material: Copper

Size: 28.3 x 28.3 x 1.4 mm

Weight: 7.45 g

Manufactured by: Nanjing

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2014

This is a copper coin with a denomination of ten cash, issued from the 32nd year of Guangxu’s reign (AD 1906) onwards, following reforms that established it as a branch of the Ministry of Revenue Mint located in Nanjing, specifically the Jiangning branch. It represents the last type of copper coin produced during the Qing Dynasty, known as the “Great Qing Copper Coin.”

The obverse of the coin features a beaded border, with a five-clawed coiled dragon at the centre, depicted exhaling a fireball. The outer perimeter bears an inscription in Chinese characters at the top, reading “光緒年造” (Minted in the Guangxu Era). Surrounding the design, an English inscription denotes the issuing nation as “TAI-CHING-TI-KUO COPPER COIN” (Great Qing Empire Copper Coin).

The reverse of the coin features a bead circle enclosing the Chinese characters “Great Qing Copper Coin,” with a raised dot in the centre and the engraved abbreviation for Nanjing, “Ning,” within the dot. The outer edge is divided by the characters “Hu Bu.” The top edge is inscribed with the cyclical year “Ding-Wei” and the Manchu characters for “ᠸᡝᡳᠯᡝᡥᡝ ᠠᠨᡳᠶᠠᡳ ᡩᠣᠷᠣ ᡳ ᠪᠠᡩᠠᠷᠠᠩᡤᠠ”(Guangxu Year Minted). The bottom edge denotes the denomination with “Equivalent to Ten Cash.”

In the 32nd year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1906), the Ministry of Revenue, which managed the nation’s finances, discovered that the widespread minting of “Guangxu Yuanbao” coins by various provinces had caused a devaluation crisis. To address this, the Ministry intervened and revoked the minting rights of the provinces, ultimately retaining only six branch mints, including the Jiangning Mint in Nanjing. According to Ministry regulations, the moulds used by local mints were uniformly issued by the Ministry, with the province’s name engraved in the centre of the reverse side to facilitate central quality inspections.

In April of the 3rd year of the Xuantong reign (AD 1911), the government further promulgated the “Regulations on Currency System,” establishing a new system with the Great Qing silver coins as the standard and the Great Qing copper coins as subsidiary currency. However, the modernisation of the currency reform was halted by the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution in the same year.

物件編號: A1595

年代: 公元 1907 年

材料: 紅銅

尺寸: 28.3 x 28.3 x 1.4 mm

重量: 7.45 g

製造地: 南京

來源: 大城郵幣社 2014

這是光緒32年(公元1906年) 起,經過改革成為戶部造幣廠位於南京的江寧分廠,發行之清朝最後一種銅幣「大清銅幣」,面額為十文。

錢幣正面有一道珠圈,正中央是一隻口吐火球的五爪蟠龍。外圍上緣以漢字鐫刻「光緒年造」,周圍則以英文標示國名「TAI-CHING-TI-KUO COPPER COIN」(大清帝國銅幣)。

錢幣背面有一道珠圈,裡面有漢字楷書「大清銅幣」四字,正中央還有一個突起的圓點,並且在圓內陰刻南京的簡稱「甯」。外圍則以「戶部」兩字為分界,上緣鐫刻出廠年度的干支紀年「丁未」和滿文「ᠸᡝᡳᠯᡝᡥᡝ ᠠᠨᡳᠶᠠᡳ ᡩᠣᠷᠣ ᡳ ᠪᠠᡩᠠᠷᠠᠩᡤᠠ」(光緒年鑄造)字樣,下緣則是面額「當制錢十文」字樣。

光緒32年(公元1906年),掌管全國財政的戶部發現,地方各省濫造「光緒元寶」造成貨幣貶值的危機。戶部為此介入和收回地方造幣權,最終僅保留六家分廠,其中一家就是南京的江寧廠。按照戶部的規定,地方各廠使用的模具皆由戶部統一發放,唯有在背面正中央鐫刻省名,以便於中央考察品質。

宣統3年(公元1911年) 4月,朝廷又進一步頒布《幣制則例》,奠定以大清銀幣為本位,大清銅幣為輔幣的新制度。然而在同年辛亥革命爆發,清廷的現代化貨幣改革只能宣告停止。

類似/相同物件 請看:

臺灣 國立歷史博物館 National Museum of History

https://collections.culture.tw/nmh_collectionsweb/collection.aspx?GID=MSMKM2MZMXM2

中國 國家博物館 National Museum of China

https://www.chnmuseum.cn/zp/zpml/hb/202106/t20210610_250331.shtml

更多相關訊息請參考:

周沁園、李平文 編,《中國機制銅元目錄》(上海:上海科學技術出版社,2021)

黃成,〈機末銅元制度述評〉,《杭州市:杭州大學學報》,(1993),頁76-85

沈飛,〈清末江南省鑄造的銀元〉,《西安市: 收藏》,(2017),頁68-72

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