Item number: A4728

Reference number: Kann#1517

Year: AD 1916-1949

Material: Gold

The results after XRF testing

Size: 18.3 x 18.3 x 1.2 mm

Weight: 4.3 g

Provenance: Auction World 2026

This is a gold coin featuring the portrait of Yuan Shikai dated the third year of the Republic of China on the obverse, paired with the imperial dragon design from the Da Qing Tongbi (copper coin of the Great Qing) on the reverse.

The obverse displays a three-quarter profile bust of Yuan Shikai in military uniform, decorated with the Grand Order of Merit (Da Xunzhang), the highest honour of the Republic. Judging by its physical dimensions, this effigy likely derives from the die used for the ten-cent (one-jiao) silver subsidiary coin. Inscribed above the effigy along the rim is the legend reading “Third Year of the Republic of China” (Zhonghua Minguo San Nian). The perimeter is defined by a beaded circle within a raised outer rim.

The reverse features a coiled dragon enveloped in clouds, which occupies the entirety of the field, omitting any textual indication of nominal value. This motif is derived from the central coiled dragon design of the Da Qing Tongbi, though the outer legend reading “Da Qing Tongbi” has been removed. The rim on the reverse similarly comprises a beaded border and a comparatively thick outer rim.

Owing to historically negligible domestic gold mining output, gold long failed to assume a dominant function within currency circulation in ancient and imperial China. Following the mid-nineteenth century, Western powers sequentially adopted the gold standard, leading to a prolonged appreciation of gold relative to silver on international markets. Consequently, the Qing imperial government—bound to an uncoined silver bullion standard (sycee taels)—suffered calamitous foreign exchange losses termed “sterling deficit” (bang kui) when servicing foreign debts and paying the punitive indemnities of the First Sino-Japanese War (Treaty of Shimonoseki) and the Boxer Protocol. To stabilise exchange rates and arrest external currency drain, the Qing court ordered the establishment of the central mint in Tianjin in the twenty-ninth year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1903), later designated the Board of Revenue Mint (Hubu Zaobi Zongchang). Under central imperial authority, trial strikings were conducted in the thirty-second year (AD 1906) and thirty-third year (AD 1907) of Guangxu for the “Guangxu Bingwu” and “Guangxu Dingwei” Great Qing gold coins (Da Qing Jinbi). Both varieties were engraved by Japanese die-sinkers, featuring delicate calligraphic characters on the obverse and an imperial coiled dragon on the reverse, with a designated nominal face value of one Treasury tael (Kuping liang). Nevertheless, because the imperial court remained deadlocked over the monetary standard—specifically the doctrinal dispute between the traditional tael (liang) and the decimal dollar (yuan), as well as the dilemma between gold and silver standards—and because China’s annual domestic gold extraction remained critically deficient (in AD 1907, for instance, national gold production reached only approximately 6,771 kilograms, representing roughly one per cent of global output), the treasury lacked the necessary reserves to sustain gold-coin issuance. As a result, the Da Qing gold coins never entered regular monetary circulation; most were retained as court gifts presented by Yuan Shikai, then Viceroy of Zhili, for Empress Dowager Cixi to confer as imperial largesse, or were melted down by goldsmiths into jewellery in the absence of an operative gold standard.

As the central political figure spanning the late Qing dynasty and the early Republic, Yuan Shikai (AD 1859–1916) was born in Henan Province. In the eighth year of Guangxu (AD 1882), he accompanied the imperial army to Joseon Korea, subsequently serving as the imperial resident representative in Pyongyang from the age of twenty-six for twelve years until the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War in AD 1894 prompted his recall. Thereafter, Yuan successively held positions as Judicial Commissioner of Zhili Province, Senior Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Works, Governor of Shandong, and Viceroy of Zhili concurrently holding the title of Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince. In AD 1903, he was appointed Associate Commissioner of the Army Reorganisation Bureau, aggressively spearheading the organisation and modernisation of the Beiyang New Army, before his elevation to the Grand Council in AD 1907. In early AD 1909, the Prince Regent Zaifeng dismissed him from public office amidst deep suspicion; Yuan retreated to his native home citing an alleged “foot ailment”. Following the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution in the third year of the Xuantong reign (AD 1911), the beleaguered Qing court was compelled to recall Yuan to active state service as Governor-General of Huguang and Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet. Yuan subsequently negotiated terms of peace with the revolutionary forces on behalf of the Qing throne, orchestrated the formal abdication of the Xuantong Emperor (Puyi), and in the first year of the Republic (AD 1912) succeeded Sun Yat-sen as Provisional President of the Republic of China, before being formally elected President in AD 1913. On 7 February in the third year of the Republic (AD 1914), President Yuan Shikai promulgated the National Currency Regulations (Guobi Tiaoli) and its accompanying enforcement bylaws, thereby definitively codifying a national silver standard. The currency unit was established as the yuan, legally anchored to pure silver weighing six mace, four candareens, and eight cash of Treasury weight (Kuping 0.648 liang). Under the statute, the standard gross weight of the one-yuan primary coin was fixed at Kuping seven mace and two candareens (approximately 27 grammes); its fineness was initially set at 90 per cent silver to 10 per cent copper, before being adjusted to 89 per cent silver and 11 per cent copper (yielding 23.978 grammes of pure silver), subject to exceptionally stringent tolerance standards (remedy). Concurrently, the regulations instituted a decimal subsidiary silver currency comprising the half-yuan (zhongyuan), twenty-cent (liangjiao), and ten-cent (yijiao) pieces, all set at a statutory fineness of 70 per cent silver. The premier institution entrusted with executing this minting programme was the Central Mint in Tianjin under the Ministry of Finance. In December AD 1914, the Tianjin Mint formally inaugurated the regular striking of the Year 3 Yuan Shikai effigy coinage, subsequently distributing master hub dies (zumu) to branch mints across Nanjing, Wuchang, Guangzhou, Fengtian, Chengdu, and Hangzhou for widespread production, thereby establishing the “Yuan Big Head” (Yuan Datou) silver dollar as the ubiquitous legal tender of the nation.

The artistic execution of the Yuan Shikai gold and silver coinage was predominantly directed by Luigi (L.) Giorgi, an Italian chief engraver. Employed by the Tianjin Mint between AD 1910 and 1920, Giorgi had previously formalised the final standard design of the late Qing imperial dragon dollars (longyang) and single-handedly engraved dies for several of the most consequential issues of the Republican era. Between May and December AD 1914, Giorgi executed the master dies for the Year 3 one-yuan national coin, engraving Yuan’s three-quarter bust on the obverse with his minute Latin signature, “L. GIORGI”, incised just above the left shoulder. However, upon submitting pattern trial pieces to President Yuan for executive approval, government authorities determined that national legal tender ought not to display the surname of a foreign artisan, insisting instead on a purely domestic aesthetic character. Consequently, the signature was removed from the authorized circulation dies, retaining solely Yuan Shikai’s profile and the imperial-style Republican era mark “Third Year of the Republic of China” on the obverse, while the reverse depicted an open, crossed wreath of grain ears (jiahe) enclosing the value “One Yuan” (Yi Yuan). Beyond the primary dollar and subsidiary silver coinage, Giorgi designed diverse coin and medal dies, including the Yuan Shikai Republican Commemorative Coin, the Flying Dragon gold and silver presentation medallions, and the five-cent cupronickel piece.

Towards the close of AD 1915, Yuan Shikai sought to inaugurate a constitutional monarchy, designating the forthcoming year under the imperial reign title of Hongxian and proclaiming the Empire of China (Zhonghua Diguo). Between the winter of AD 1915 and early AD 1916, Minister of Finance Zhou Xuexi, acting in anticipation of Yuan’s imperial enthronement, instructed the Tianjin Mint to prepare dies engraved by Giorgi for the issuance of the “Hongxian First Year Ten Yuan” gold coin (commonly termed the Small Flying Dragon gold piece). Its obverse exhibited Yuan Shikai in full military dress in three-quarter profile, whilst the reverse featured a winged imperial dragon displayed, grasping a compass in its left talons and five arrows in its right, enclosed by the inscriptions “Empire of China” above and “Hongxian Era” below. The issue was originally conceived for province-wide subscription at a premium above nominal value to raise emergency fiscal revenue; however, due to the rapid annulment of the imperial monarchy, formal minting was aborted, and only a negligible quantity was struck for presentation to high state dignitaries or preservation in official archives.

Among extant Yuan Shikai gold patterns, there is also the “Year 3 Yuan Shikai gold coin with the reverse dragon of the Xuantong Year 3 Da Qing Tongbi”. In physical diameter, weight, and presumptive face value, this piece corresponds closely to a five-yuan denomination. This specimen forms a corresponding pair with another gold variety that shares the identical dragon reverse but bears the obverse reign legend “Hongxian Era”, both being exceedingly scarce. These two gold coins were struck using the identical Da Qing Tongbi dragon reverse die; however, their respective obverses represent diametrically opposed political dispensations: the Republican polity symbolized by “Third Year of the Republic of China”, and the monarchical regime symbolized by “Hongxian Era”.

Between AD 1914 and 1916, the Chinese political landscape experienced profound upheaval, whilst Yuan Shikai vacillated between his identities as President of the Republic of China and Emperor of the Empire of China. Early scholarship posited that such hybrid strikings might reflect these conflicting ideological currents, representing either a “caprice of the mint” or experimental patterns produced by mint engravers during preliminary trials for a five-yuan gold denomination. Modern numismatic research alongside official Bank of China despatches dating from AD 1916 also indicates that the Central Mint was actively preparing to strike gold national founding commemorative coinage to meet institutional protocol and fund-raising requirements. It is plausible that this undenominated miniature gold medallion—its reverse field entirely occupied by the dragon motif, leaving no space to incise a face value—could not ultimately be sanctioned for regular issue as a five-yuan coin, surviving solely as a trial pattern, a mint caprice, or a commemorative medal. Today, however, it is predominantly regarded as a fantasy piece fabricated after AD 1916.

Yuan’s monarchical ambitions ultimately ignited the nationwide National Protection War (Huguojun) against his rule. On 1 March AD 1916, Yuan was forced to revoke the monarchy, and he subsequently died of uraemia on 6 June of the same year.

By the eighth year of the Republic (AD 1919), Minister of Finance Cao Rulin revived plans for a gold standard—primarily configured to secure revenue for the ruling Anfu Club. The Tianjin Mint was once again directed to adopt the effigy of Yuan Shikai, striking the Year 8 Yuan Shikai Jiahe (wreath of grain) gold coins in denominations of “Ten Yuan” and “Twenty Yuan“. These Jiahe gold pieces constituted the first formal central trial strikings of gold standard circulation coins in modern Chinese history. However, owing to shifts in international gold standard conventions and the ultimate failure to secure external consortium loans, production ceased after only an extremely modest trial run, marking the historical conclusion of gold coinages bearing the effigy of Yuan Shikai.

物件編號: A4728

參考書目編號: Kann#1517

年代: 公元 1916-1949 年

材質: 金

XRF分析結果

尺寸: 18.3 x 18.3 x 1.2 mm

重量: 4.3 g

來源: Auction World 2026

這是一枚民國三年袁像金幣背大清銅幣龍圖。

錢幣正面為袁世凱五分側面胸像，身著軍裝，胸前配戴民國的最高榮勳：大勳章。該像圖據尺寸推測，可能為一角版的面圖。上方環鐫「中華民國三年」。幣緣有珠圈及邊環。

背面為蟠龍盤旋於雲霧之中，充滿整個背面區域，從而並未標示任何面額文字。該幣圖源自大清銅幣中央龍圖，但去除外側的「大清銅幣」銘文。幣緣有珠圈及較厚的邊環。

中國古代由於黃金開採量極低，黃金長期未能在貨幣流通中扮演主導角色。十九世紀中葉後西方列強相繼實行金本位制，導致國際市場金貴銀賤，使實行銀兩本位的清政府在對外匯兌與甲午賠款、庚子賠款中承受了鉅額的「鎊虧」損失。為穩定匯率與防止外匯損失，清政府於光緒二十九年（公元1903年）下令在天津籌建鑄造銀錢總廠（後命名為戶部造幣總廠），並於光緒三十二年（公元1906年）與光緒三十三年（公元1907年）以中央名義首度試製「光緒丙午年造」與「光緒丁未年造」的大清金幣。這兩款大清金幣均由日本雕模師雕刻，幣面文字纖秀，背面鐫刻蟠龍紋，面額定為庫平一兩。然而，由於清廷內部對於「圓兩之爭」及「金本位」與「銀本位」的政策猶豫不決，加上當時中國黃金年產量極低（例如公元1907年全中國黃金產量僅約6,771公斤，僅占全球產量約百分之一），根本不足以支撐金幣發行，因此大清金幣並未真正進入市面流通，多數僅作為直隸總督袁世凱進呈慈禧太后賞賜之用的宮廷禮品，或因金本位未立而被銀樓熔毀為首飾。

作為清末民初政壇的核心人物，袁世凱（公元1859至1916年）出生於河南省，早年在清光緒八年（公元1882年）隨軍赴朝鮮，並於26歲時出任清朝駐平壤代表長達十二年，直至公元1894年甲午戰爭爆發回國。此後，袁世凱歷任直隸省署按察使、工部右侍郎、山東巡撫及直隸總督兼太子少保，並於公元1903年受命主持練兵處會辦大臣，大力組建北洋新軍，隨後於1907年晉升為軍機大臣。公元1909年初，攝政王載灃因疑忌袁氏而撤銷其官職，袁世凱遂以「足疾」為由隱退原籍。清宣統三年（公元1911年）辛亥革命爆發後，清廷被迫重新起用袁世凱為湖廣總督及內閣總理大臣；袁氏隨後代表清政府與革命軍議和，並促成宣統皇帝退位，於民國元年（公元1912年）接替孫中山就任中華民國臨時大總統，並於公元1913年當選正式大總統。 民國三年（公元1914年）2月7日，大總統袁世凱頒布《國幣條例》及《國幣條例施行細則》，正式確立銀本位制度，規定以庫平純銀六錢四分八釐為貨幣單位，定名為「圓」。依據條例規定，國幣主幣（壹圓）標準總重為庫平七錢二分（約27克），成色最初定為銀九銅一，後調整為銀八九、銅一一（含純銀23.978克），並制定了極為嚴格的公差標準； 同時規定了中圓（半圓）、貳角、壹角等成色為70%的十進位銀輔幣。 負責鑄造國幣的核心機構為財政部天津造幣總廠，該廠於公元1914年12月正式開鑄民國三年袁世凱半身像國幣，隨後頒發祖模給南京、武昌、廣州、奉天、成都、杭州等造幣分廠大量鼓鑄，使袁像銀幣成為全國流通廣泛的法定國幣。

袁像金銀幣的圖案設計主要出自意大利籍首席雕刻洋技師魯爾智·喬治（Luigi / L. Giorgi） 之手。喬治於1910年至1920年間受聘於天津造幣總廠，曾主持清末龍洋最終樣式的定型，並一手打造了民國時期多款重要幣模。1914年5月至12月間，喬治雕刻完成民國三年壹圓國幣祖模，其正面為袁世凱五分側面像，左肩上方刻有其極小英文簽名 「L. GIORGI」。然而，當樣幣進呈大總統袁世凱審定時，官方認為國幣不宜保留外國雕刻師的姓名，要求保留純粹的中國貨幣特色，因此正式鑄行的流通幣去除了簽名字樣，正面僅保留袁世凱五分側面像與「中華民國三年」紀年，背面則為未合攏的交互嘉禾與「壹圓」面額。除了壹圓主幣與銀輔幣外，喬治還設計了袁像共和紀念幣、飛龍金銀章以及伍分鎳幣等多種幣模。

公元1915年底，袁世凱欲推行君主立憲，定次年改元「洪憲」，建立中華帝國。公元1915年冬至1916年初，財政部長周學熙為配合袁世凱登基稱帝，指令天津造幣總廠由喬治雕模，籌備發行「洪憲紀元拾圓」金幣（又稱小飛龍金幣），其正面為袁世凱戎裝五分面像，背面為展翅飛龍，左爪持指南針、右爪持五箭，上環「中華帝國」，下環「洪憲紀元」。此金幣原計劃發行至各省倍價收買以籌集資金，但因帝制取消而停鑄，僅有少量進呈或分發給顯貴。

存世的袁像金幣，還有「民國三年袁像金幣背宣統三年造大清銅幣龍圖」。其規格尺寸與推定價值與面額五圓的金幣相當。該錢幣與另一枚同背龍圖但正面幣文為「洪憲紀元」的金幣構成了相對的版別，均極為罕見。這兩枚金幣使用了完全相同的背面大清銅幣龍圖模具，然而正面卻分別標註了代表共和政體的「中華民國三年」與代表帝制政體的「洪憲紀元」。

公元1914年至1916年間中國政局劇烈動盪，袁世凱也在中華民國大總統及中華帝國皇帝的身分間猶疑。早期認為這種混搭版可能反映了思潮的矛盾衝突，因而可能是「造幣廠戲作品」（caprice of the mint），或者是造幣廠雕刻師在試製五圓金幣過程中的樣幣。現代錢幣學研究與公元1916年中國銀行公函檔案亦顯示，當時造幣總廠正籌備開鑄開國紀念金幣，以應對各機關應酬與籌款的需求，而或許，此枚無面額的小型金章，因背面的龍圖佔滿了整幅圖案，導致無空間刻劃面額，故最終未能正式作為五圓金幣發行，僅能作為試作樣幣、戲作品或紀念金章存世。今日，多認其為公元1916年以後的臆造品。

袁氏稱帝的訊息，最終引發全國性的護國軍反袁起義，公元1916年3月1日，袁世凱被迫取消帝制，並於同年6月6日因病去世。

至民國八年（公元1919年 ），財政總長曹汝霖推行金本位計劃，實則為安福系籌措財源，天津造幣總廠於是再度採用袁像銀幣，鑄造了面額為「拾圓」與「貳拾圓」的民國八年袁像嘉禾金幣。這批嘉禾金幣是中國近代首次由中央正式製作的金本位流通金幣試鑄品，但因國際金本位環境改變及借款未成，最終僅鼓鑄少量即告停鑄，同時成為了最後的袁像金幣。