This is a ten-cash copper coin minted by the Hunan Mint between AD 1912 and 1925.
The obverse features a central crossed-flag motif. The flag on the right is the Five-Coloured Flag used during the Beiyang Government period, symbolising the unity of the five major ethnic groups. The flag on the left is the Nineteen-Star Flag, which at the time served as the standard of the Army and Air Force. It was adapted from the Iron-Blood Eighteen-Star Flag, originally representing the federal republican alliance of the eighteen Han Chinese provinces following the Wuchang Uprising. The additional central star symbolises the central government. The Nineteen-Star Flag contains seven visible creases. The two flags are tied with decorative cords, from which tasselled streamers descend and gently rise at the ends. Between the flags is an elliptical chrysanthemum motif composed of twelve petals. A circular border separates the inner motif from the inscriptions. Along the upper rim is the national title “中華民國” (“Republic of China”), with a single dot on each side—also referred to by some as the “two pillars.” The lower rim bears the denomination “當十銅元” (“Ten-Cash Copper Coin”), written in clerical script. The presence of the character “銅” (copper) serves to distinguish this variety, commonly referred to as the “clerical copper” type. The inscriptions on the upper and lower rims are separated on both sides by grapevine and tendril motifs.
The reverse displays a “Jiahe” motif (auspicious grain), with five bundles of rice ears and four rice leaves symmetrically arranged. Each bundle consists of a pair of spikelets growing opposite each other, forming the so-called “twin-ear” configuration. Since the Zhou dynasty, this natural mutation has been considered a symbol of good fortune, owing to its rarity and association with increased agricultural yield, and is therefore called “Jiahe.” Together with the grapevine motif on the obverse, the Jiahe design symbolises abundance and fertility, reflecting the ideal of “prosperous harvests to ensure the people’s well-being and to promote agriculture as the foundation of the nation.” The central stalk is flanked by two robust side leaves. The leaf veins are incised, but they do not connect with the folded sections of the leaves, a feature known as the “detached vein” type. At the bottom, a coiled bundle of rope is wound sixteen times, with the rope’s end hanging downward. A circular border encloses the design. The upper outer rim is inscribed with “THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA,” indicating the national title, while the lower rim reads “TEN CASH,” denoting the denomination. The upper and lower inscriptions are separated on each side by circular dots.
Both the obverse and reverse rims are encircled by raised borders featuring fine square denticles pointing inward, known as “horse teeth,” serving to protect the coin’s design. The coin edge is plain and smooth.
The Hunan Mint was first established in AD 1898, during the 24th year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing dynasty, and ceased minting in AD 1909 (1st year of the Xuantong reign). It resumed operations in AD 1912 (1st year of the Republic), initially issuing coins bearing the Eighteen-Star emblem, and subsequently producing large quantities of ten-cash copper coins with the auspicious grain design. During the First World War, copper became a critical material for munitions, wiring, and shipbuilding, driving up its price. In response, Chinese mints issued higher denomination copper coins, such as twenty-cash pieces, whose face value exceeded their metal worth. Following the war, the price of copper plummeted, generating excessive profits for the mints.
In early AD 1918 (7th year of the Republic), Zhang Jingyao entered Hunan as military governor and provincial leader, ostensibly to campaign against the southern Constitutional Protection Movement led by Sun Yat-sen. In AD 1919 (8th year of the Republic), he expanded the Hunan Mint and issued large quantities of twenty-cash coins (referred to as “double copper coins” to distinguish them from the ten-cash “single copper coins”) and recklessly printed paper currency to enrich himself. The twenty-cash coins were poor in quality and often so debased that in some provinces they were accepted at only half their nominal value. From AD 1919 onwards, due to a nationwide surplus of copper coins, the central government repeatedly issued edicts halting production. Many provinces defied these orders. Eventually, the central government restricted copper shipments into Hunan, and the Hunan Provincial Assembly passed a resolution imposing a deadline to cease minting. The mint finally closed in AD 1925 (14th year of the Republic) when copper stocks were exhausted and the machinery was taken over by the provincial treasury.
The early republican period in Hunan was marked by political instability and frequent changes in military leadership. Initially governed by Tan Yankai, who advocated constitutional reform and brought temporary stability, the province fell under military control following the failed Second Revolution, becoming a battleground for rival warlords. Zhang Jingyao and other Beiyang-affiliated generals successively held power, bringing hardship to the population. In AD 1920 (9th year of the Republic), the “Expel Zhang Movement” emerged as local gentry and intellectuals rose against Zhang’s despotic rule, ultimately succeeding in removing him. Tan Yankai then returned to implement provincial self-governance, though hindered by numerous obstacles. By AD 1926 (15th year of the Republic), the National Revolutionary Army captured Changsha, and the left wing of the Kuomintang, in alliance with the Chinese Communist Party, initiated land reforms in Hunan. This led to the purging of local elites and transformed Hunan into a frontline region in the ensuing Nationalist-Communist conflict.
銅元背面中央為嘉禾圖，五束稻穗與四片稻葉對稱排列，稻穗成雙穗禾形態，即各串稻穗兩兩對生。自周代起，這種稻穗的自然突變便由於其稀有與增產的效果，被視為祥瑞，故稱「嘉禾」。嘉禾與正面葡萄藤幣圖，皆為豐饒多產之象徵，「取豐歲足民之義，垂勸農務本之規」。中央稻稈兩側夾葉較粗壯，葉脈與葉片旋折處陰刻皆不相連。下方繩團纏繞十六圈，綁繩末端垂下。以環相隔，外圈上方環列「THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA」，即國號「中華民國」；下方環列「TEN CASH」即面額「當十」或「十文」。上下環列之幣文，以圓點分飾兩側相隔。
