Item number: A3731

Reference number: Wang#415、Kann#1047、Y#17、LM#689

Year: AD 1893 (AH 1311)

Material: Silver

Size: 21.7 x 21.8 mm

Manufactured by: Kashgar Mint

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2025

This is a silver two-qian (or mace) piece struck from AD 1892 (Guangxu 18) onwards by the Mint of the Mining and Coining Bureau subordinated to the Assistant Military Circuit of Kashgar.

The obverse bears the vertical inscription in Chinese “Guangxu Yinyuan”, with the denomination “two qian” placed horizontally on either side and read from right to left.

The reverse carries an Old Uighur inscription arranged from bottom to top and from right to left. The lower portion reads “ضرب كاشغر” (zarb Kashgar), meaning “struck at Kashgar”, and the upper portion “بر مشقال” (bir mishkal), meaning “two qian”. In the space above the inscription appears the date “۱۳۱۱”, corresponding to AH 1311, or approximately AD 1893. Both sides have a raised rim and fine denticles, and the edge is milled.

The cultural sphere of northern Xinjiang had long formed part of a broader Central Asian continuum. As early as the eleventh century, the Karakhanid dynasty within the region struck silver coinage whose monetary standards remained closely connected to those of Central Asia. In southern Xinjiang, small-scale transactions traditionally relied on the copper pul, while larger settlements were made using silver ingots or cut silver. Conventionally, fifty pul exchanged for one tänggä, and one tänggä was worth roughly one liang of silver. After the Qianlong Emperor pacified Xinjiang, the Qing administration abolished the old pul issues and introduced Qianlong-era cast copper coins in Yarkand, Uqturpan and Aksu, while retaining the traditional name “pul” and local weight units. This arrangement placed Xinjiang nominally within the imperial fiscal system while allowing local practices to persist in daily use, resulting in the distinctive “red-cash” currency.

During the Tongzhi reign, the forces of Ya‘qub Beg of the Khanate of Khoqand occupied southern Xinjiang and established the so-called “Jettishar Khanate” or “Hanfuk Kingdom” centred on Kashgar. Between AD 1865 and 1875 local minting activities were largely interrupted. The region was reconquered in AD 1876 by Zuo Zongtang, who led Xiang Army forces and other militia units. Early in the Guangxu reign, Zuo was appointed to oversee military affairs in Xinjiang; even before the entire region had been recovered, he authorised experimental silver coinage to be struck at Lanzhou in Gansu under the designation “Xinjiang”. After reconquest, he ordered the immediate withdrawal of the tänggä silver coins issued under Ya‘qub Beg, allowing them to fall out of circulation naturally through market discounting in order to minimise monetary disruption. Subsequently, Aksu recast square-holed copper coins in the style of Qianlong-era issues and produced silver currency in the forms of xiangping and xiangyin, gradually reintegrating Xinjiang into the standard monetary system of the Qing Empire.

During the Ya‘qub Beg period, Russian assistance had enabled the establishment of small arsenals at Kashgar, Aksu and Korla for the manufacture of firearms. In the late Qing period, Urumqi saw the creation of a mechanical workshop powered by water, intended for repairing guns and casting copper coins. Nevertheless, these technological developments did not immediately improve the quality of silver-coin production in southern Xinjiang. Well into the late nineteenth century, local silver coins continued to be produced with hand-operated equipment and traditional methods. The resulting pieces were often crudely made, with inferior die materials necessitating frequent replacement and producing numerous die varieties. The scarcity of documentary evidence further complicates research, making the study of Xinjiang silver coins significantly more difficult than that of provincial issues from the interior.

In AD 1892 (Guangxu 18), Uighur merchants reported that the “tänggä silver coins” (small five-fen pieces) still circulating from the Ya‘qub Beg occupation period were of inconsistent composition and difficult to distinguish, leaving traders vulnerable to fraud. They petitioned the authorities to produce new silver coinage. The Assistant Military Circuit Commissioner of Kashgar, Li Zongbin, therefore instructed Luo Zhengxiang, a probationary magistrate, to strike trial silver pieces. Upon issuance, these new coins were well received in the market. Technically, however, they continued to rely on traditional hand-operated tools, the reverse retained Islamic-style Uighur calligraphy and decorative motifs, and the weight standard followed the local xiangping system, differing from the kuping tael standard used for the “dragon dollars” of the interior provinces.

物件編號: A3731

參考書目編號: Wang#415、Kann#1047、Y#17、LM#689

年代: 公元 1893 年 (回曆 1311年)

材質: 銀

尺寸: 21.7 x 21.8 mm

製造地: 喀什道礦務鑄錢局

來源: 大城郵幣社 2015

這是一枚由從屬分巡喀什噶爾兵備道的礦務鑄錢局於光緒十八年(公元1892年)起所鑄之光緒銀圓貳錢。

銀幣正面為豎文漢字「光緒銀圓」，左右兩側，由右至左橫列「貳錢」紀值。

背面中央幣銘為老維吾爾文，自下而上，自右而左依序讀，下半部為「ضرب كاشغر」(zarb Kashgar)，即「鑄於喀什噶爾」。上半部為「بر مشقال」(bir mishkal)，即「二錢」。上方幣銘間隙有「۱۳۱۱」，即回曆1311年，約公元1893年。

錢幣正背面幣緣均有邊環及細齒，幣稜則為齒邊。

新疆北疆地區文化長期以來與中亞地區為同一體系。早在十一世紀前後，新疆境內的喀喇汗王朝便已鑄造銀幣，其貨幣制度與中亞一帶保持密切連結。南疆地區長期使用以紅銅鑄成的普爾(pul)作為小額交易媒介，而重量較大的結算則依賴銀錠或銀片。傳統上，五十枚普爾折一天罡(tänggä)，而一天罡約值銀一兩。乾隆平定新疆後，為使新疆逐步融入帝國統一的錢幣架構，官方收毀舊制普爾，在葉爾羌與烏什、阿克蘇等地重新鼓鑄乾隆通寶方孔銅錢，但仍沿用了普爾之名與本地重量單位，使新疆在名義上遵從內地制度，在實際使用上則保留地方慣例，成為別具特色的「紅錢」。

同治年間，浩罕汗國阿古柏部入據南疆，在喀什噶爾建立「哲德沙爾汗國」或稱「洪福汗國」。於是於公元1865至1875年間，當地鑄幣業務一度中斷。後由左宗棠率湘軍等團練，於公元1876年平定。光緒初年，左宗棠奉命督辦新疆軍務。未及完全收復全境之前，他已在甘肅蘭州以「新疆」名義試鑄銀幣。收復後，他又嚴令禁止阿古柏時期的天罡銀幣繼續使用，讓其在市場運作中自然折價退出，以減少幣制震盪。隨後，阿克蘇依乾隆制錢形式重鑄方孔銅錢，並製造湘平與餉銀等銀質貨幣，使新疆逐步重新回到清帝國的通用貨幣體系裡。

喀什、阿克蘇與庫爾勒在阿古柏時期曾由俄國援助，設兵工廠試造火器，清末在烏魯木齊成立機器局，用水力推動機械修理槍炮並兼鑄銅錢，但這些進展未能立即改善南疆銀幣的鑄造技術。直到十九世紀末，新疆地方銀幣仍以手工機具與土法打製為主，鑄造粗糙、模具材質不佳，導致版模需要頻繁更新，造成大量版式差異。加以文獻記載極少，使研究新疆銀幣的難度遠高於內地各省。

光緒十八年(公元1892年)，地方的維吾爾商人反映，市面流通的阿古柏佔領時期「天罡銀幣」(五分小銀幣)，成分混雜和不易識別容易上當，呈請政府鑄造銀圓。因此時任喀什道員的李宗賓命令候補知縣羅正湘試鑄銀圓，發行後得到市場的接受和好評。但技術上繼續沿用傳統手工工具，背面仍採伊斯蘭風格的維文書法與花飾，重量單位仍採湘平，與採用庫平兩制的內地龍洋不同。