Item number: A1872

Year: AD 1912

Material: Silver

Size: 31.1 x 31.1 mm

Manufactured by: Shuimogou Mint，Dihua

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2015

This is a silver coin minted in the first year of the Republic of China (AD 1912), during the Ren Zi year. The Xinjiang provincial government continued the policies of Wang Shunan from the late Qing Dynasty, addressing military payroll issues by independently minting silver coins using machinery from the Shuimogou Mint in the provincial capital, Dihua (Urumqi). This coin is unique among modern Xinjiang silver coins as it is the only one to feature both the solar and lunar calendar years while omitting any inscriptions in Uyghur script.

The obverse of the coin features a beaded circle with a pair of crossed Five-Coloured Flags at the centre. Notably, the flags on this coin are arranged vertically rather than in the official horizontal stripes. This deviation may be attributed to Xinjiang’s geographical remoteness and limited access to accurate information, leading the local government to approximate the national flag’s design based on their own interpretation.

Within the coloured segments of the flag, one stripe contains a row of five beaded dots, while the other four stripes are adorned with floral-patterned beads. At the centre of the flags, a vertically inscribed sexagenary cycle date “壬子” (Ren Zi) is present.

The reverse of the coin features two beaded circles. At the centre, the denomination “餉銀伍錢” (Military Pay Silver, Five Mace) is inscribed in Chinese characters, arranged in the order of top, bottom, right, and left. Surrounding this central inscription, an outer ring bears the issuing date “中華民國元年” (First Year of the Republic of China), arranged in a circular pattern.

After the revolutionary forces in Hubei fired the first shot in October AD 1911 to overthrow the Qing government, provinces across central China quickly responded to the call for independence. Facing this upheaval, the Qing imperial court initially planned to retreat westward to Xinjiang to stage a comeback. However, in January AD 1912, a pro-republic uprising erupted in Xinjiang, forcing the Qing court to abandon its plan. Following Xinjiang’s declaration of support for the republic, the province fell into internal struggles among competing factions. Eventually, power was consolidated by Yang Zengxin, who ruled Xinjiang until his assassination in AD 1928.

物件編號: A1872

年代: 公元 1912 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 31.1 x 31.1 mm

製造地: 水磨溝造幣廠，迪化

來源: 大城郵幣社 2014

這是一枚民國元年 (公元1912年)，時值壬子年間，新疆省政府延續王樹枏在清朝末年為了解決駐軍軍餉問題，自行以省會迪化(烏魯木齊) 水磨溝銀元局的機器鑄造之銀幣。這枚錢幣是新疆近代發行的銀幣中，唯一兼用陽曆和陰曆以及沒有鑄造維吾爾文的錢幣。

錢幣正面有一道珠圈，正中央有一對交叉的五色旗，值得注意的是這枚錢幣的五色旗是豎狀，而非官方的橫條排列，可能是新疆路途遙遠訊息閉塞，使得地方政府僅能自行想像國旗的樣式。五色旗的色塊上，其中一條以五個珠點排列，另外四個條塊則是有花草紋裝飾的珠點。而在旗幟中間有直豎的干支紀年「壬子」。

錢幣背面有兩道珠圈，正中央是按照上、下、右、左順序以漢字標示的面額「餉銀伍錢」，外圍則是環形的發行紀年「中華民國元年」。

公元1911年10月，駐守於湖北的新軍發起推翻清政府的起義第一槍後，中原各省紛紛響應獨立的號召。清皇室面對這樣的變局，原有打算西遷至新疆圖謀東山再起的打算。然而公元1912年1月，新疆當地也爆發響應共和的起義，使得清皇室原先的計畫只能被迫打消。新疆宣布擁護共和後，省內仍陷入各個勢力爭權的混亂之中，最終由楊增新獨攬新疆大權直到公元1928年遭到刺殺身亡為止。