1 Cash - Xianping Yuanbao; Tin imitation

Weight

0.36 g

Diameter

10.7 mm

Thickness

0.85 mm

Material

Tin

Shape

Round with a square hole

Edge Type

Plain

Technique

Cast

Front design

Four Chinese ideograms read clockwise.

Back design

Plain

Year of Minting

NA

Ruler

NA

Mint location

NA

Mint mark

NA

Orientation

Coin alignment ↑↓

Inscriptions

Obverse: 咸 寶　平 元

Context

This is a tin imitation of Chinese cash coin that is consistent with descriptions given by early Dutch travelers to Java and Sumatra around the 1600s. According to Yih (2012:33) and Mitchiner (2012:24-23), Xianping Yuanbao is one the most popularly imitated. This imitation is noted by Robinson (2015) as particularly distinctive, with stylized but legible rendering of Chinese characters. Robinson (2015) provided the following sample: Size and weight are not consistent between coins, for example: See: Mitchiner, Michael (2012). "Coin Circulation in Palembang (Sumatra), circa AD 1710 to 1825. Including Coins made in Banten, Siak, Kampar, Indragiri, Jambi, Palembang and Batavia" https://www.orientalnumismaticsociety.org/archive/ONS_213.pdf , pp: 36-37 Robinson, Frank S. (2015). Palembang Coins http://www.fsrcoin.com/palembang.html Yih, Tjong Ding (2012) “Tin cash imitations from Palembang in the former Dutch East Indies: genuine local imitations or modern counterfeits?” https://www.orientalnumismaticsociety.org/archive/ONS_212.pdf , pp: 32-36

Rarity

Rare

Coin type

Standard circulation

In circulation

No

Demonetized

Yes

Marketplace listings

0