Item number: A2927

Year: AD 1936

Material: Copper

Size: 26.0 x 26.0 x 1.4 mm

Weight: 6.55 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a 1-cent coin dated to the 25th year of the Republic of China (AD 1936), reportedly minted by the Guilin Branch of the Central Mint using red copper. However, this coin is a counterfeit.

The obverse of the coin features the emblem of the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party) at its centre. Along the upper edge is the inscription “25th Era of Republic of China,” while the lower edge is inscribed with the character “桂”, the abbreviation for Guangxi Province. The outer rim is adorned with a key-pattern design, commonly found on ancient Chinese bronzeware.

The reverse of the coin features a key-pattern border like the obverse. At the centre is an image of a spade money, a form of currency used during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, which was also adopted by the Nationalist Government as the emblem of the Ministry of Finance. Inside the spade coin is the character “財” (finance) in an oracle bone script-inspired style. On either side of the spade coin, the denomination “壹分” (1 cent) is inscribed in Chinese characters.

The primary reason this coin is identified as a counterfeit is that the Guilin Branch of the Central Mint did not begin producing 1-cent coins until the 28th year of the Republic of China (AD 1939). Furthermore, the character “桂”, symbolising Guangxi Province, should appear on the reverse side of the coin—specifically on the spade money emblem—and is typically rendered in an extremely small size, discreetly positioned within the space between the two legs of the spade.

物件編號: A2927

年代: 公元 1936 年

材質: 紅銅

尺寸: 26.0 x 26.0 x 1.4 mm

重量: 6.55 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚標示為民國25年 (公元1936年)，中央造幣廠桂林分廠以紅銅為原料鑄造的壹分硬幣，該硬幣為偽造品。

錢幣正面的中央為中國國民黨的黨徽，上緣鐫刻發行年份「中華民國二十五年」，下緣則是廣西省的簡稱「桂」。外圍以中國古代經常出現在青銅器上的回字紋作為裝飾。

錢幣背面的周圍亦以回字紋作為裝飾，正中間是春秋戰國時代流通，並且被國民政府用作財政部符號的布幣圖騰，布幣內還有仿造甲骨文的「財」字。布幣的兩側以漢字標示面額「壹分」。

之所以判斷這枚錢幣為偽造品，最直接的原因是民國28年 (公元1939年) 起，中央造幣廠桂林分廠方才開始投入生產壹分硬幣。此外象徵廣西的「桂」字是出現在布幣圖騰那一面，並且以極為迷你的尺寸藏身在布幣兩足之間的空間。