I am seeking your assistance in helping me identify and better
understand a few of my old charms, coins and tokens.
Please contact me if you can
provide information on any of the
following.
This is a very unusual Chinese coin or charm which appears to show a
man and a
woman engaged
in some type of sexual activity.
The charm has no Chinese inscription
and is unlike any of the Chinese
marriage charms with which I am familiar.
This may simply be an erotic bedroom scene.
Or, perhaps, the
couple is just involved in some type of harmless activity which is not
obvious to this observer.
The reverse side is smooth with only a small spindle depression in the
center.
The charm has a diameter of 28.5 mm and a weight of 14.7 grams.
This is another unusual and interesting charm.
A horse with long reins is shown above the square hole.
Below the square hole is a man who appears to be running toward a hut
or house at the left.
This may be a Japanese charm since I am aware of Japanese charms which
depict a monkey dragging a horse.
However, this charm seems to have a different theme.
The other side of the charm appears to have two Chinese
characters with one character above the square hole and the other below.
There is considerable wear on the charm and I am unable to discern what
these two characters are.
The charm has a diameter of 24 mm and a weight of 5.9 grams.
This Chinese token is displayed at Chinese
Tokens and has clearly seen much use. It was probably cast in
Jiangsu Province in the middle to late 1800's.
Because of the wear, I am still trying to decipher the characters.
The character at the top looks like qian
(前) meaning before, front, forward, etc.
The character to the left of the center hole appears to be mao (茂) which means "rich and
splendid".
I cannot make out the characters to the right and below the center hole.
For your reference purposes, this is the other side of the token.
The inscription reads yi
bai wen zheng (一佰文正) which means
"one hundred cash coins only".
The token is 27 mm in diameter and weighs 6.7 grams.
The inscription on this old charm reads yu jin deng qing (玉禁澄清).
However, I am having difficulty understanding the hidden meaning
of this inscription.
The reverse side of the charm displays a dragon on the right and a
phoenix on the left.
The charm has a diameter of 34 mm and a weight of 11.8 grams.
Again, I would very much like to hear from you if you can provide
information on any of the above charms and tokens.