Item number: A2864

Year: AD 1897

Material: Silver

Size: 18.9 x 18.9 x 0.7 mm

Weight: 2.55 g

Manufactured by: Anhui Silver Coin Bureau

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2020

This is a Guangxu Yuanbao silver coin minted in the 23rd year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1897) by the silver coin bureau located in Anqing, Anhui Province.

The obverse of the coin features a five-clawed coiled dragon breathing a fireball, with six-petalled floral ornaments flanking both sides. Along the lower edge, the English denomination “7.2 CANDAREENS” is inscribed, while the upper edge bears the issuing location “AN-HWEI PROVINCE” rendered in Wade-Giles romanisation.

The reverse of the coin is heavily worn, yet its overall design layout remains discernible. At the centre is a beaded circle enclosing the four-character inscription “光緒元寶” (Guangxu Yuanbao), rendered in both Chinese and Manchu script. Outside the beaded circle, six-petalled floral motifs adorn both the left and right sides. The upper edge bears the Chinese inscription “安徽省造” (Minted in Anhui Province), while the lower edge indicates the denomination as “庫平七分二釐” (Kuping 7.2 Candareens).

In March of the 23rd year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1897), Deng Huaxi, then Governor of Anhui, submitted a memorial to the imperial court requesting permission to establish a mint. However, in the 25th year of Guangxu (AD 1899), as part of a broader central initiative to consolidate and reform provincial mints, the court ordered the closure of the Anhui Silver Coin Bureau. As a result, its coinage operations lasted for only a brief period of two years.

物件編號: A2864

年代: 公元 1897 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 18.9 x 18.9 x 0.7 mm

重量: 2.55 g

製造地: 安徽銀元局

來源: 福君錢幣 2020

這是一枚光緒23年 (公元1897年)，位於安徽省安慶的銀元局發行鑄造的「光緒元寶」銀幣。

錢幣正面是一隻吐著火球的五爪蟠龍，左右兩側以六瓣花飾作為裝飾。錢幣下緣打印英文面額「7.2 CANDAREENS」(七分二釐)，上緣則以威妥瑪拼音標示發行地點「AN-HWEI PROVINCE」(安徽省)。

錢幣背面的磨蝕十分嚴重，但是尚能辨識錢幣的設計格局。正中央有一道珠圈，裡面是以漢滿兩文鐫刻的「光緒元寶」四字。珠圈外圍的左右兩側各以六瓣花飾裝飾，上緣以漢字標示「安徽省造」，下緣則是面額「庫平七分二釐」。

光緒23年 (公元1897年) 3月，時任安徽巡撫的鄧華熙向朝廷奏請建設造幣廠。不過在光緒25年 (公元1899年)，朝廷整頓各地的造幣廠，決定關閉安徽銀元局，其鑄幣時間僅有短短的兩年。