CHINA, Charms. 19th century. Æ ‘Poem Cash’ Charm (26mm, 4.98 g, 12h). Copying a Jiangning mint coin. Good VF.

Electronic Auction 571 – Session 2
Lot: 1313.
Closing Date: Sep 26 2024 10:00 ET

World, Bone

Estimate: $ 300

BID NOW

CHINA, Charms. 19th century. Æ ‘Poem Cash’ Charm (26mm, 4.98 g, 12h). Copying a Jiangning mint coin. Kang XI Tong Bao in Hànzì characters / Boo in Manchu script and Ning in Hànzì characters. Cf. Hartill 22.119 (for official cash); cf. Hartill, Amulets 4.3428. Brown patina with light green deposits. Good VF.

The ‘poem cash’ are a series of officially issued cash coins of the Kangxi reign whose Hànzì mint names can be arranged to form a rhyming - yet meaningless - poem. The series proved to be quite popular and various charms and copies were made. The present example is doubtless a later charm, as, rather than having the mint name in both Manchu and Hànzì, the Manchu text simply reads boo, as is seen in the mint formula of later Qing coins.

Closing Date and Time: 26 September 2024 at 11:44:00 ET.

All winning bids are subject to a 20% buyer’s fee.