Digital museum showcasing the collection of worldwide legends over the years! 千古不朽博物館展示多年來收藏的世界傳奇故事!
Qing Dynasty
Guangxu Silver Coin, 2 Mace
Guangxu 33rd year
Ürümqi, Xinjiang
清
光緒銀圓貳錢
光緒三十三年
新疆迪化造
Item number: A1954
Year: AD 1907 (AH 1324)
Material: Silver
Size: 23.9 x 23.9 x 1.5 mm
Weight: 6.65 g
Manufactured by: Dihua Bureau Mint
Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2015
This is a Guangxu Silver Coin minted in AD 1907 (Guangxu 33rd year) in Dihua (modern-day Ürümqi), the capital of Xinjiang Province. It was modelled after those produced in Kashgar, a major oasis city in southern Xinjiang. The series comprised four denominations: One Mace, Two Mace, Three Mace, and Five Mace.
The coin was struck using traditional handcrafted methods. On the obverse, three vertical lines of Chinese characters are inscribed from right to left, reading Dihua (迪化), Guangxu Silver Coin (光緒銀圓), and Two Mace (二錢), respectively. This denomination exists in two variations based on script differences: a simplified form using “二” and a more complex form using “貳.”
The reverse is adorned with a floral pattern composed of an eighteen-petalled flower surrounded by nine five-petalled flowers. At the centre, the denomination Two Mace and the mint location Ürümqi are inscribed in Chagatai script, arranged vertically from top to bottom. Interspersed within the inscription is the Persian numeral “۱۳۲۴” (1324), indicating the coin’s minting year in the Islamic calendar.
In AD 1888 (Guangxu 14th year), Li Zongbin, then Governor of Kashgar, ordered the candidate magistrate Luo Zhengxiang to conduct trial minting of silver coins. Following their issuance, these coins were well received and widely accepted in the market. Consequently, in AD 1893, Aksu, another city in southern Xinjiang, also began producing similar coins. In AD 1902, under the directive of Pan Xiaosu, then Governor of Xinjiang, the provincial capital Dihua also commenced the minting of Guangxu Silver Coins. This continued until AD 1907 when traditional methods were replaced by mechanised minting techniques.