Item number: A3483

Year: AD 1920

Material: Copper

Size: 26.5 x 26.5 mm

Manufactured by: Wuchang Mint

Provenance:

1. Spink 2023

2. Dr. Werner Klaus Burger Collection

This is a copper coin with a denomination of ten wen, minted by the Wuchang Mint and issued by the Ministry of Finance between AD 1912 and 1928 as a “Founding Commemorative Coin” (kaiguo jinian bi).

The central motif on both the obverse and reverse of the coin features the double-flag design, originally used on the reverse of the earlier Founding Commemorative Coin. The flag on the right is the Five-Coloured Flag of the Beiyang Government era, symbolising the ideal of harmony among the five ethnic groups of the Republic. The stripes of the flag are represented by alternating raised bands and recessed spaces, a pattern referred to as the “even-striped flag” (pingtiao qi). The flag on the left is the “Iron and Blood Eighteen-Star Flag”, which, following the Wuchang Uprising, came to symbolise the federation of the eighteen Han provinces. In this standard version, the flag features nine engraved points forming a nonagon (recessed) and eighteen raised circular stars, and is referred to as the “recessed nine-point circular type” (yuan yin jiu dian). The two flags are crossed and tied together with a tasselled knot. Surrounding the central motif is a ring of fine beading. The upper arc is inscribed with the national title “Zhonghua Minguo” (“Republic of China”), and the lower arc reads “Kaiguo Jinian Bi” (“Founding Commemorative Coin”), all in regular script (kaishu). Both sides are flanked by five-petalled floral decorations, separating the two vertical lines of denomination text.

The other side of the coin also features the same double-flag motif, but rendered in intaglio rather than in relief. As both sides bear what was originally the reverse design, and one is in relief while the other is in incuse, the coin is referred to as having a “composite relief-incuse reverse” (yinyang hebei). This phenomenon occurred due to a misstep in the minting process: after a blank copper planchet was struck by the upper and lower dies, it was supposed to fall away and make way for the next planchet. However, if the struck coin failed to eject and remained lodged in either die, the subsequent strike would imprint the already struck relief design onto the next blank, producing an incuse impression of the motif on one side of the new coin.

The edges of both the obverse and reverse of the copper coin feature raised rims, with fine rectangular serrations pointing inward, a design known as “horse teeth” (ma chi), intended to protect the coin’s design and serve as an anti-counterfeiting measure. The coin’s rim (or edge) is plain and without ornamentation.

The origin of this coin can be traced to initiatives by Zhang Zhidong, Viceroy of Huguang, who in AD 1900 (Guangxu 26) ordered the New Branch of the Silver Coin Bureau to begin trial production of ten-cash copper coins. Mass production commenced the following year upon imperial approval. In AD 1902 (Guangxu 28), the bureau was reorganised into the Hubei Copper Coin Bureau, dedicated solely to coin production, with a branch established at the Hanyang Arsenal to expand output—eventually becoming the nation’s leading producer. In AD 1910 (Xuantong 2), these institutions were consolidated into the Wuchang Mint. After the Xinhai Revolution, the mint became a major coinage facility under the Hubei Military Government, the Provisional Government, and later the Beiyang Government.

In AD 1912 (1st year of the Republic), the Republic of China was established, marking the end of monarchy and the rise of republican governance. The new government decided to issue “Founding of the Republic Commemorative Coins” to promote republican ideals, stabilise public sentiment and finances, and to replace the traditional Chinese cash coins with square holes. The form and style of the new coinage aligned with international monetary standards. The initiative was first led by the Nanjing Provisional Government and subsequently continued under the Beiyang Government. Thereafter, due to prolonged political instability and the fragmentation of authority among regional warlords, copper coins, though nominally auxiliary currency, in practise formed a separate monetary system. Their exchange rate with the silver-based primary currency fluctuated constantly. Coin designs varied across regions, and there were considerable differences in minting quality and copper composition. The units of denomination were also diverse and complex, including wen, mei, fen, li, and xian. In AD 1935 (24th year of the Republic), the Nationalist government initiated further monetary unification, designating the Shanghai Mint as the sole institution authorised to issue coinage, thereby bringing an end to the copper coin system inherited from the late Qing dynasty and ushering in the era of legal tender currency.

Werner Klaus Burger (AD 1936–2021) was a renowned German numismatist celebrated for his research on Qing dynasty coinage. Born in Munich, he completed his sinology studies at the University of Munich in AD 1962 and began teaching German at Fudan University in Shanghai in AD 1963. In AD 1965, following the closure of universities during the Cultural Revolution, he was reassigned to tend sheep in Suzhou. This led him to relocate to Hong Kong, where he devoted himself to numismatic studies. In AD 1974, he completed the first doctoral dissertation on Chinese numismatics, later published as his seminal work Ch’ing Cash. His collection encompassed Qing coinage and related literature. Burger passed away in Hong Kong in 2021 at the age of 85, leaving a lasting legacy in the field of numismatics.

物件編號: A3483

年代: 公元 1920 年

材質: 紅銅

尺寸: 26.5 x 26.5 mm

製造地: 武昌造幣廠

來源:

1. 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

2. 布威納博士舊藏

這是一枚由武昌造幣廠所鑄，財政部於公元1912至1928年所發行之開國紀念幣，面額十文之銅元。

銅元正背面中央均為原開國紀念幣背面之雙旗幣圖，右為北洋政府時期之國旗五色旗，象徵五族共和，五色旗各色條雕刻以陽刻條帶間的空隙來表示，稱「平條旗」；左為鐵血十八星旗，自武昌起義後象徵漢地十八省聯省共和，此普通版為陰刻九角暨陽刻十八圓星，稱「圓陰九點」。雙旗交叉，以纓相繫成結。以細珠圈相隔，上方環列國號「中華民國」；下方環列「開國紀念幣」，皆為楷書。兩側以五瓣花分飾，相隔兩行幣文。

另一面同樣為雙旗幣圖，僅陽刻換為陰刻，陰錢幣兩面皆為背面，且一陽刻、一陰刻，稱為「陰陽合背」。成因為：在製幣原工序中，銅胚應經過上下模的沖壓，而後脫落引入下一銅胚。但若因故前幣未能脫落，停留在上模或下模中，沖壓後幣時，前幣便會帶著已沖壓好的陽刻，一同沖壓至後幣上，留下陰刻幣圖。

銅元正背面幣緣均為凸環，有矩狀細齒向內，稱「馬齒」，作保護幣圖及防偽之用。幣稜光素無紋。

湖廣總督張之洞於光緒二十六年(公元1900年)始由銀元局新廠試製當十銅元，次年奉旨大量製造。光緒二十八年(公元1902年)改組為湖北銅幣局，專責鑄幣，並於漢陽兵工廠另設分廠，產量居全國之冠。宣統二年(公元1910年)，相關機構整併為武昌造幣廠。辛亥革命後成為鄂軍都督府，臨時政府及北洋政府中央重要造幣基地。

民國元年(公元1912年)，中華民國成立，帝制終結，共和方興。政府決定發行「開國紀念幣」，藉此宣揚共和理念、穩定民心與財政，同時替代傳統中國使用的方孔圓錢，形制上接軌世界。最初由南京臨時政府主導，隨後北洋政府繼續發行。此後，由於長期政局板蕩，軍閥割據，銅元名為輔幣，實則自成體系，與銀主幣匯率隨時而升降。幣圖各地不同，工藝與銅質更是差別頗大，紀值單位亦複雜多元，有文、枚、分、釐、仙等。民國二十四年(公元1935年)，國民黨政府開始進一步統一幣制，規定僅上海鑄幣廠有鑄幣權，終結作為晚清遺緒的銅元制，進入法幣時代。

布威納(Werner Klaus Burger，生卒年公元1936-2021年），德國錢幣學家，以研究清代中國錢幣聞名。他生於德國慕尼黑，公元1962年於慕尼黑大學完成漢學學業，公元1963年赴上海復旦大學教授德語。公元1965年，因文化大革命學校關閉，被派往蘇州牧羊。因此移居香港，專注錢幣學研究，最終於公元1974年完成中國錢幣學首篇博士論文，後增補為其代表作《清錢編年譜》(Ch’ing Cash)。其收藏涵蓋清代錢幣及相關文獻。布威納於2021年在香港逝世，享年85歲，其對錢幣學的貢獻影響深遠。