A recent Chinese newspaper article describes how some valuable coins from a popular peasant uprising at the end of the Qing Dynasty were saved from being used as scrap iron for a backyard furnace during the Great Leap Forward campaign of 1958-1961. The article entitled “Grandfather Saved Iron Coins from the Taiping Rebellion” was published [...]
Chinese coins
China recently auctioned the largest gold coin the country has ever minted. In the year 2000 when it was produced, it held the distinction of being the largest gold coin in the world. The coin sold for about $1.18 million (7.70 million yuan) at an auction conducted by China Guardian Auctions on May 14, 2011 [...]
The “da guan tong bao” (大觀通寶) coin shown here was cast during the years 1107-1110 of the reign of Emperor Hui Zong of the Song Dynasty. The coin is considered one of the most beautiful of all Chinese coins due to its exquisite calligraphy. The Emperor himself did the calligraphy and his style has become [...]
Most ancient Chinese horse coins display only a horse with no rider. Horse coins displaying a horse with a rider are much scarcer and those originating from the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD) are particularly rare. The specimen at the left is a later version of one of these Song Dynasty horse coins with a rider. [...]
The ban liang coin was the official money of the state of Qin during the Warring States period. When Qin Shi Huang conquered the various “warring states” and unified China for the first time in 221 BC, the ban liang became the official coinage of the empire. The ban liang continued as the official currency [...]
Zhong Kui lived during the reign (712-756 AD) of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. However, just at the moment he achieved the pinnacle of success which would guarantee him fame and fortune, he suffered such misfortune that he took his own life. Over the centuries, a mythical Zhong Kui evolved who, now immortal, protects [...]