Item number: A2703

Year: AD 1906

Material: Copper

Size: 24.1 x 24.1 x 1.0 mm

Weight: 3.75 g

Manufactured by: Hupeh Copper Coin Mint, Wuchang

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2015

This is a copper coin known as the “Great Qing Copper Coin” (Da Qing Tongbi), minted by the Hubei Copper Coin Bureau in AD 1906 (Guangxu 32nd year), with a face value of five wen.

The obverse bears the central inscription “Great Qing Copper Coin”. The left stroke of the “moon” radical in the character “Qing” (清) is rendered almost vertically. At the centre of the coin is a small disc engraved in intaglio with the character “鄂”, the abbreviation for Hubei Province. This inner disc is relatively small. A fine beaded circle separates the central area from the outer rim. Along the upper outer rim, Manchu script is arranged from left to right, reading: “badarangga doro i aniyai weilehe”, which translates to “Made in the Guangxu era”. On either side of the Manchu inscription are the Chinese cyclical characters “丙午”, indicating that the coin was minted in the 32nd year of the Guangxu reign, corresponding to AD 1906. On the left and right sides of the outer rim, the characters “戶部” (Ministry of Revenue) appear from right to left, indicating that the coin was produced using dies authorised and issued by the Ministry. Along the bottom rim is the inscription “Value Five Wen”, meaning it was equivalent to five traditional cash coins. The final stroke of the character “文” (wen) is noticeably thicker, marking this as a revised variant of the ministry-issued pattern.

The reverse features a dragon motif symbolising the Qing imperial house. Above the dragon’s head is a pair of concentric circles, referred to as the “double-crowned dragon”. A fine beaded circle encircles the central design. Along the upper outer rim, from right to left, is the inscription “Guangxu Nian Zao” (“Made in the Guangxu era”), corresponding with the Manchu text on the obverse. Along the lower outer rim is the English inscription “TAI–CHING–TI–KUO COPPER COIN”, meaning “Copper Coin of the Great Qing Empire”.

In AD 1900 (Guangxu 26), in response to a monetary crisis caused by a shortage of silver and an overabundance of copper coins, the Qing government introduced machine-struck copper coinage modelled on the one-cent coin of British Hong Kong. This marked a departure from traditional imperial coinage based on round coins with square holes, which were gradually removed from circulation. However, the system remained bimetallic, with both silver and copper as currency bases. By AD 1904 to 1908 (Guangxu 30 to 34), due to large-scale mechanised production and uncontrolled provincial minting over the years, copper coins became overly abundant, leading to devaluation and trade barriers among provinces. In response, the Qing court began reforming the copper coinage system.

In AD 1905 (Guangxu 31), the Ministry of Revenue established the Central Mint and began issuing the “Great Qing Copper Coin” to serve as a unified national currency, intended to remain in use regardless of changes in reign. In AD 1906 (Guangxu 32), the Ministry of Revenue was restructured into the Ministry of Finance (Duzhibu), consolidating fiscal authority. The “Regulations for the Rectification of Currency” were enacted, requiring all branch mints to use master dies issued by the Central Mint as standard. In AD 1910 (Xuantong 2), the Qing government formally adopted the silver standard and designated copper coins as subsidiary currency, thereby decoupling them from traditional cash coins. Before these reforms could be fully implemented, the Qing dynasty collapsed following the Xinhai Revolution in AD 1911 (Xuantong 3).

In AD 1894 (Guangxu 20), Zhang Zhidong, the Viceroy of Huguang, memorialised the throne to establish the Hubei Silver Coin Bureau and the Wuchang Mint, initiating silver coin production. In AD 1902 (Guangxu 28), a minting facility was added to the silver bureau to produce copper coins. That same year, a separate Copper Coin Bureau was founded to focus exclusively on copper coinage. In AD 1905 (Guangxu 31), the Hanyang Arsenal established its own Copper Coin Bureau and began minting coins. In AD 1906 (Guangxu 32), the silver bureau and the Hanyang Arsenal were ordered to cease copper coin production, and the Copper Coin Bureau was tasked with issuing the new “Great Qing Copper Coin”. The discontinuation of the two-wen and five-wen denominations in that year was likely due to their low seigniorage. In AD 1909 (Xuantong 1), the bureau was closed, and the following year, it was merged into the Silver Bureau as the Wuchang Branch Mint under the Ministry of Finance, continuing production of the Great Qing Copper Coin. In AD 1911 (Xuantong 3), the Xinhai Revolution broke out, leading to the abdication of the Qing emperor.

The Guangxu Emperor, personal name Zaitian, was the eleventh emperor of the Qing dynasty and nephew of the Tongzhi Emperor. He ascended the throne in AD 1875 under the reign title Guangxu. Although nominally in power, effective control remained with Empress Dowager Cixi for the majority of his reign. His rule coincided with a period of both internal turmoil and external threats. In AD 1898, he supported reformers such as Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao in launching the Hundred Days’ Reform, a campaign aimed at institutional modernisation. The movement was suppressed by Cixi, and the emperor was placed under house arrest at the Pavilion of Tranquil Longevity in Zhongnanhai, where he remained until his death.

物件編號: A2703

年代: 公元 1906 年

材質: 紅銅

尺寸: 24.1 x 24.1 x 1.0 mm

重量: 3.75 g

製造地: 湖北銅元局，武昌

來源: 大城郵幣社 2015

這是一枚由湖北銅元局，於光緒三十二年(公元1906)所鑄之「大清銅幣」。幣值五文。

銅幣正面中央錢文為錢名「大清銅幣」，「清」字「月」旁首撇近乎直筆，正中小圓臺上陰刻湖北省之簡稱「鄂」，小圓臺較小。以細珠圈分隔，外圈上方環列滿文，由左至右為「ᠪᠠᡩᠠᠷᠠᠩᡤᠠ ᡩᠣᡵᠣ ᡳ ᠠᠨᡳᠶᠠᡳ ᠸᡝᡳᠯᡝᡥᡝ」(badarangga doro i aniyai weilehe)，即「光緒年造」。滿文兩側干支紀年「丙午」，指出製造年為光緒三十二年丙午年，即公元1906年。珠圈外圈左右側由右至左分列「戶部」，標示此銅幣為戶部製版及授權製造。外圈下方環列「當制錢五文」，標示幣值，即可兌舊通寶五枚。其中「文」字最後一捺筆較粗重，為部頒版的改版。

錢背中央為象徵清帝室的團龍，龍首上方有雙圈，稱「雙冠龍」。以細珠圈相隔，外圈上方由右至左環列「光緒年造」，與錢面滿文呼應。外圈下方環列「TAI–CHING–TI–KUO COPPER COIN」，即「大清帝國銅幣」。

清廷於光緒二十六年(公元1900年)，為救銀賤錢貴之弊，仿英屬香港「一仙」銅幣形制，始鑄銅元。一改帝制中國圜法，方孔圓錢逐漸退出流通，惟此時仍為銀銅複本位制。至光緒三十年間(公元1904至1908年)，由於機製量大，加以各省濫鑄積年，銅元充塞，致貶值與各省貿易壁壘，清廷始整頓銅元鑄行。光緒三十一年(公元1905年)，設戶部造幣總廠，更造「大清銅幣」，取其清室世代行用，不以新君更造之意。光緒三十二年(公元1906年)，改戶部為度支部，一統財權。訂定《整頓圜法章程》，飭令各分廠以戶部總廠統一製發之幣模為祖模。宣統二年(公元1910年)，確立銀本位，以銅元為輔幣，銅元不再與制錢掛勾。未及施行，宣統三年(公元1911年)，辛亥革命爆發，清王朝覆滅。

光緒二十年(公元1894年)，湖廣總督張之洞奏設湖北銀元局武昌造幣廠，開鑄銀幣。光緒二十八年(公元1902年)，於銀元局附設造幣廠開鑄銅元。同年，另設銅元局專鑄銅元。光緒三十一年(公元1905年)，漢陽兵工廠附設銅元局，開鑄銅元。光緒三十二年(公元1906年)，湖北銀元局與漢陽兵工廠奉命停鑄銅元，由銅元局鑄新幣「大清銅幣」。宣統元年(公元1909年)銅元局停辦，次年併銀元局附設銅元局為「度支部武昌造幣分廠」，續鑄大清銅幣。宣統三年(公元1911年)，辛亥革命，清室遜位。

光緒帝，名載湉，是清朝第十一位皇帝，於公元1875年即位。在位期間名義上親政，但實際政權長期掌握在慈禧太后手中。其統治時期正值晚清內憂外患交迫之際，面對列強壓力與改革呼聲，光緒帝於公元1898年支持康有為、梁啟超等人推動戊戌變法，企圖進行制度革新，最終變法失敗，被慈禧幽禁於中南海瀛台直至去世。