Item number: A3453

Year: AD 1908-1911

Material: Copper

Size: 33.2 x 33.1 x 1.8 mm

Weight: 13.8 g

Manufactured by: Yunnan Silver Coin Mint Bureau (Yunnan Mint), Kunming

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a copper coin known as the “Great Qing Copper Coin,” struck by the Yunnan Silver Coin Bureau. It is composed of red copper and denominated at twenty wen.

The obverse features a central circular platform engraved in intaglio with the character “Yun” (雲), indicating the place of minting—namely, Yunnan Province. The enlarged “Yun” character is commonly referred to as the “large Yun” type. Surrounding it are the four Chinese characters “Da Qing Tong Bi” (大清銅幣) in regular script, arranged to be read in a clockwise order from top to bottom, right to left. The outer rim is bordered by a fine bead circle. At the upper edge, there is an inscription in Manchu script: ᠪᠠᡩ᠋ᠠᡵᠠᠩᡤᠠ ᡩᠣᡵᠣ ᠨᠠᠢᠮᠪᠠᠷᠠᠨ ᠵᠠᠪᠠᠯᠠ, which reads from left to right as “badarangga doro naimbaran jabala”, meaning “Made in the Guangxu Year.” Variants in the style of the Manchu script exist, though the legibility of this particular specimen is hindered due to wear. On either side of the Manchu inscription, the Chinese characters “bingwu” (丙午) are arranged from right to left, corresponding to the year the die was issued—Guangxu 32nd year (AD 1906). At the lower edge, the denomination is engraved in regular script as “Valued at twenty wen of standard coinage” (當制錢二十文). On either side of the coin, the characters “Hubu” (戶部)—also read right to left—identify the mint as under the Ministry of Revenue.

The reverse of the coin features a central design of a coiled dragon, emblematic of the Qing imperial house, appearing amid swirling clouds and flames. A fine bead circle separates the central image from the outer inscriptions. At the upper edge, the Chinese characters “Guangxu Nian Zao” (光緒年造) are arranged in a right-to-left arc. At the lower edge, the English legend “TAI–CHIING–TI–KUO COPPER COIN”—meaning “Great Qing Empire Copper Coin”—is inscribed in a left-to-right arc. Both the obverse and reverse are enclosed by a raised rim with fine teeth inside, serving to protect the coin’s design and deter counterfeiting. The edge of the coin is flat and smooth, without any ornamentation.

In AD 1900 (Guangxu 26th year), in response to the economic imbalance caused by depreciated silver and overvalued traditional copper cash, the Qing court began minting copper coins modelled after the one-cent coin of British Hong Kong. These included coins such as “Guangxu Yuanbao” (光緒元寶). This policy marked a departure from the traditional Chinese cash coinage system; round coins with square holes gradually fell out of circulation. However, the monetary system at this time still adhered to a dual silver-copper standard. From AD 1904 to 1908 (Guangxu 30th year onward), the large-scale mechanised production and excessive minting by provincial authorities led to a surplus of copper coins, which depreciated in value and exacerbated trade barriers among provinces. In AD 1905 (Guangxu 31st year), the Qing court established the Ministry of Revenue General Mint and promulgated the Regulations for Reforming the Currency System, requiring all branch mints to adopt the unified die patterns issued by the General Mint. A new coin type, “Great Qing Copper Coin,” was introduced to signify the enduring use of Qing dynasty coinage across reigns, regardless of the enthronement of new emperors. In AD 1906 (Guangxu 32nd year), the Ministry of Revenue was reorganised as the Ministry of Finance, consolidating fiscal authority. By AD 1910 (Xuantong 2nd year), the silver standard was officially established, and copper coins were designated as subsidiary currency, no longer tied to traditional copper cash. Before these reforms could be fully implemented, the Xinhai Revolution erupted in AD 1911 (Xuantong 3rd year), leading to the fall of the Qing dynasty.

The Bao Yun Mint in Yunnan ceased operations in the 25th year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1899). Thereafter, the region primarily relied on circulating currencies such as dragon dollars from Hubei allocated for military provisions, banknotes and trade silver dollars issued by the French Banque de l’Indochine, Vietnamese silver coins, and Tibetan-style silver coins minted in Sichuan. In the 32nd year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1906), Ding Zhenduo, Governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, initiated the establishment of the Yunnan Dragon Dollar Mint. He later travelled to Shanghai to procure machinery from a German manufacturer and recruited technicians from Sichuan. In the 34th year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1908), the Yunnan Provincial Silver Coin Bureau was finally completed on the original site of the Bao Yun Mint in Kunming. Operating under the name of the Yunnan Branch Mint of the Bureau of General Accounts, it officially began minting both silver and copper coins. The copper coin adopted the denomination “Great Qing Copper Coin.” Although a one-wen coin had originally been planned, it was never realised due to production costs. Ultimately, coins of ten and twenty wen denominations were issued. The coins were primarily made of red copper; in later periods, owing to copper shortages, some twenty-wen coins were cast in brass. Mint marks denoting place of issue included characters such as “Chuandian” (川滇), “Yun” (雲), and “Dian” (滇). In the 3rd year of the Xuantong reign (AD 1911), when the Qing government unified the national coinage system, all master dies except for those bearing “Dian” were ordered to be destroyed. Between AD 1907 and AD 1911 alone, 1,670,084 ten-wen coins and 498,230 twenty-wen coins were minted. After deducting production costs, the profit margin reached 46%, which was seven times greater than that of silver coin minting. Following the Xinhai Revolution, due to Yunnan’s remote location, political instability, and the local population’s established monetary habits, the “Great Qing Copper Coin” continued to be minted until the 12th year of the Republic of China (AD 1923).

Emperor Guangxu, personal name Zaitian, was the eleventh emperor of the Qing dynasty, ascending the throne in AD 1875. Although he nominally exercised sovereign power, real political authority remained largely in the hands of Empress Dowager Cixi throughout his reign. His rule coincided with a period of severe internal turmoil and foreign aggression in late imperial China. In AD 1898, facing mounting pressure for reform, the emperor supported Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao in implementing the Hundred Days’ Reform—a sweeping attempt at institutional modernisation. However, the reform failed and Guangxu was subsequently placed under house arrest by Cixi in the Yingtai Pavilion in Zhongnanhai, where he remained confined until his death.

物件編號: A3453

年代: 公元 1908-1911 年

材質: 紅銅

尺寸: 33.2 x 33.1 x 1.8 mm

重量: 13.8 g

製造地: 雲南銀元局，昆明

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚雲南銀元局所鑄行之「大清銅幣」。紅銅質，面額二十文。

錢幣正面中央為一圓檯，陰刻「雲」字，為紀地，表為滇省所出。「雲」字較大，稱「大雲」。四方環列「大清銅幣」楷書。四字由上至下，由右至左對讀。外側以細珠圈相隔，最上緣環鐫滿文「ᠪᠠᡩ᠋ᠠᡵᠠᠩᡤᠠ ᡩᠣᡵᠣ ᠨᠠᠢᠮᠪᠠᠷᠠᠨ ᠵᠠᠪᠠᠯᠠ」，由左至右即「光緒年造」。滿文樣式亦有版別之分，惜因文字漫漶，無法識讀。滿文之兩側，由右至左分列「丙午」二字，當紀幣模所頒行之年，光緒三十二年(公元1906年)。下緣環鐫楷書「當制錢二十文」紀值。錢幣左右兩側由右至左分列「戶部」二字紀局，表幣模為戶部所頒。

錢幣背面中央幣圖為象徵清帝室的團龍，於雲渦與浮焰中隱現。外側以細珠圈相隔，上緣由右至左環鐫漢文「光緒年造」。下緣由左至右環鐫英文「TAI–CHIING–TI–KUO COPPER COIN」，即「大清帝國銅幣」。錢幣正背面以凸環為幣緣，內列細齒，作保護幣圖及防偽之用。幣稜光平無紋。

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」銅元形制，始鑄「光緒元寶」等銅元。此政一改傳統帝制中國圜法，至此方孔圓錢逐漸退出流通。惟此時仍為銀銅複本位制。至光緒三十年以降(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，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，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。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。

雲南寶雲局自光緒二十五年(公元1899年)停爐，當地行用錢則以湖北協餉流入之龍元、法國東方匯理銀行的紙幣與貿易銀元、越南銀元、四川所鑄藏洋等貨幣為主。光緒三十二年，雲貴都督丁振鐸倡設雲南龍元局，後赴滬自德廠購入機械，自四川延請技工。光緒三十四年(公元1908年)，於昆明寶雲局原址，雲南省銀元局終於建成，始正式鑄行銀銅各幣。銅幣以「大清銅幣」為幣名。原定幣值一文之銅元，因成本故未能實行，最終鑄有當十及當二十銅元。幣材以紅銅為主，後期由於銅料不足，部分二十文友以黃銅鑄者。中央紀地有「川滇」、「雲」、「滇」等字。宣統三年(公元1911年)，清廷統一幣制，「滇」以外之祖模均被銷毀。僅就公元1907至公元1911年間，當十銅元鑄有1,670,084枚，當二十銅元鑄有498,230枚。扣除成本，利潤率46%，為銀元鑄行獲利之七倍。辛亥革命後，因地處邊陲、政局不穩、居民行用習慣等原因，「大清銅幣」仍鑄行至民國十二年(公元1923年)。

光緒帝，名載湉，為清朝第十一位皇帝，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。