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July 2011

Five Goat Coin

Five Goat Coin thumbnail

A recent article in a Chinese newspaper described how a Chinese coin collector hid his coins during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) to save them from the Red Guards who were intent on “destroying the old”.  The collector is now donating the coins to the Zhuhai Museum.  Among the coins being donated is a very rare [...]

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Panda Coin Counterfeiters Arrested

Panda Coin Counterfeiters Arrested thumbnail

Fake Chinese coins continue to flood the market and are a major headache to both collectors and investors. An article published on the “China Gold Coin Net” (中国金币网) reports the success of a joint operation by the Hebei and Zhejiang police in breaking up a counterfeiting ring that specialized in producing fake “Panda” gold and [...]

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Chinese Football Charm

Chinese Football Charm thumbnail

In ancient China, charms were created to promote good luck and fortune in the major events of a person’s life such as marriage, the birth of children and promotion to an important government position. The celebration of sports was not a major theme of either Chinese coins or charms until very modern times with the [...]

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Japanese Charm with Unknown Characters

Japanese Charm with Unknown Characters thumbnail

This unusual charm can be found in China but has been puzzling Chinese coin collectors for many years. The reason is that the characters are not Chinese and are not easily recognized as Japanese, either. However, an article in the August 1992 issue of the Japanese magazine “Collections” (收集) provides a plausible answer to the [...]

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Hundreds of Spanish Silver Dollars Found in Dirt Pile

Hundreds of Spanish Silver Dollars Found in Dirt Pile thumbnail

According to a July 6, 2011 Chinese newspaper article, hundreds of old Spanish silver dollars were recently found in an abandoned pile of dirt. A villager walking down the street in Longhai Village in Fujian Province noticed something shiny in some dirt that had recently been dumped.  Picking the object up he realized it was [...]

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Chinese Daoist Mirrors

Chinese Daoist Mirrors thumbnail

Chinese bronze mirrors are usually circular with one side highly polished to provide a reflective surface and the other side decorated with an inscription and symbols. Simple undecorated bronze mirrors first appeared during neolithic times while the earliest decorated mirror, which was discovered in a tomb in Qinghai Province, dates to the Xia Dynasty (2100-1600 [...]

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Japanese Charm of the “Great Buddha of Kamakura”

Great Buddha of Kamakura

A reader was having trouble identifying this “Chinese” charm and wrote me asking if I could provide any assistance. The image displays a Buddha meditating in a lotus position. The charm is made of bronze, has a broad rim, and has a round hole in the center.   The Chinese characters on the other side [...]

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