Maria Thaler Silver Crown Size Dollar with Heavy Toning, this coin is a restrike from the Vienna Mint in Austria
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Monday, June 9, 2014
1899 Victoria Silver Half Rupee in Mint State With Beautiful Toning
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Monday, May 12, 2014
Holey Dollar and Dump - A History 1788 – 1822
Holey Dollar and Dump – A History 1788 – 1822
- 1813 Holey Dollar – 200 years commemorating Australia Coinage
- Australia Silver Holey Dollar from 1803 Spanish Carlos IIII 8 Reale
When the colony of New South Wales was founded in Australia in 1788, it ran into the problem of a lack of coinage. Foreign coins – including British, Dutch, Indian and Portuguese – were common in the early years, but much of this coin left the colony by way of trade with visiting merchant ships.
To overcome this shortage of coins, Governor Lachlan Macquarie took the initiative of using £10,000 in Spanish dollars sent by the British government to produce suitable coins in a similar manner to that described above. These coins to the value of 40,000 Spanish dollars came on 26 November 1812 on HMS Samarang from Madras, via the East India Company.
Governor Macquarie had a convicted forger named William Henshall cut the centres out of the coins and counter stamp them.The central plug (known as a dump) was valued at 15 pence (i.e., 1 shilling, 3 pence, or 1s 3d), and was restruck with a new design (a crown on the obverse, the denomination on the reverse), whilst the holey dollar received an overstamp around the hole (“New South Wales 1813″ on the obverse, “Five Shillings” on the reverse). This distinguished the coins as belonging to the colony of New South Wales, creating the first official currency produced specifically for circulation in NSW. The combined nominal value in NSW of the holey dollar and the dump was 6s 3d, or 25 percent more than the value of a Spanish dollar; this made it unprofitable to export the coins from the colony.
The project to convert the 40,000 Spanish coins took over a year to complete. Of the 40,000 Spanish dollars imported, 39,910 holey dollars and 39,910 dumps were made, with the balance assumed to have been spoiled during the conversion process. The converted coins went into circulation in 1814.
From 1822 the government began to recall the coins and replace them with sterling coinage. By the time the holey dollar was finally demonetised in 1829, most of the 40,000 coins in circulation had been exchanged for legal tender and melted down into bullion. Experts estimate that only 350 Holey dollars and 1500 dumps remain. The rarity of the Australian holey dollar ensures that even those in relatively poor condition are valuable. There are many stories of holey dollars being found in unusual circumstances.
- See more at: http://australiasilver.com/perth-mint-silver/holey-dollar-and-dump/holey-dollar-and-dump/#sthash.3NubI2qi.dpuf
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Fiji Silver Pre Decimal Coin Mintage Information
Fiji Silver Pre Decimal Coin Mintage Information
6D
Year Mintage
1934 160,000
1935 120,000
1936 140,000
1937 40,000
1938 40,000
1940 40,000
1941 40,000
1942 S 400,000
1943 S 400,000
Shilling
Year Mintage
1934 360,000
1935 180,000
1936 140,000
1937 40,000
1938 40,000
1940 40,000
1941 40,000
1942 S 500,000
1943 S 500,000
Florin
Year Mintage
1934 200,000
1935 50,000
1936 65,000
1937 30,000
1938 20,000
1941 20,000
1942 S 250,000
1943 S 250,000
1945 100,000
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Ceylon Silver Coin Mintages Queen Victoria
Ceylon Silver Coin Mintages
| 10 Cents | |
| Year | Mintage |
| 1892 | 2,500,000 |
| 1893 | 2,500,000 |
| 1894 | 3,000,000 |
| 1897 | 1,500,000 |
| 1899 | 1,000,000 |
| 25 Cents | |
| Year | Mintage |
| 1892 | 500,000 |
| 1893 | 1,500,000 |
| 1895 | 1,200,000 |
| 1899 | 600,000 |
| 1900 | 400,000 |
| 50 Cents | |
| Year | Mintage |
| 1892 | 250,000 |
| 1893 | 750,000 |
| 1895 | 450,000 |
| 1899 | 100,000 |
| 1900 | 200,000 |
Saturday, March 16, 2013
1966 Silver Round 50c Coin in presentation Card from the Perth Mint
1966 Silver Round 50c Coin in presentation Card from The Perth Mint, featuring:
- Unique Round Shape
- 80% Silver
- Single Year Issue
- Australian Legal Tender
- Uncirculated Quality
- Presentation Card
UNIQUE ROUND SHAPE
Australia’s first 50c coin was only in circulation during the year of 1966, making this a rare collectable. Made from 80% silver, the coin was often hoarded or melted for its metal value causing the coin to vanish from circulation. After 1966, the new 50c piece was neither silver or round making it distinguishable from the 20c coin.
UNICIRCULATED QUALITY
Issued as Australian legal tender, the coin is presented in uncirculated quality.
PRESENTATION CARD
Each coin is housed in a presentation card with a circular window, revealing the coin’s reverse and obverse designs.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Ireland Silver Shilling - Very High Grade Coin Lustrous UNC
IRELAND Silver Shilling 1942 Lustrous UNC Standard Cat. of World Coins Ref: KM# 14 SHILLING 5.6552 g., 0.7500 Silver, 23.6 mm. Obv: Irish harp Obv. Leg.: EIRE (Ireland) Rev: Bull Edge: Reeded
Monday, August 27, 2012
Three Rare Coins Sell For Nearly $900k
Three rare Australian coins have fetched almost $900,000 at auction - taking out two records in the process.
Australia's first coin, known as the 'Hannibal Head' Holey Dollar, sold for $410,000, while the first gold coin, an 1852 Adelaide pound, netted $370,000.
Both coins fetched record prices for coins of their type sold at auction, with the pound eclipsing the previous record by $240,000.
The coins went under the hammer in Melbourne on Monday night along with an 1813 Colonial Dumps coin, which had a less impressive result, selling for half the estimated price at $100,000.
Coinworks managing director Belinda Downie said it was an exciting auction result.
'It was a win-win. The vendor's happy. I saw really beautiful quality coins sell for very exciting prices, so, from a Coinworks perspective, and an industry perspective, there are no complaints,' she told AAP.
The top selling Holey Dollar is the only one of its type in private hands, with the only other known example housed in the NSW State Library.
'This one is unique for private buyers,' Ms Downie said.
'The quality of the coin is superior to most. It's got a really gorgeous history.'
The Holey Dollar was created from 40,000 Spanish coins acquired by Governor Lachlan Macquarie to alleviate Australia's coin shortage.
Governor Macquarie enlisted the services of convicted forger William Henshall to cut a hole in the centre of each dollar and later to stamp each with the words New South Wales and a five shilling value.
The rare coin gained notoriety after being found in 1881 as part of a bushranger's hoard and was later owned by the Tasmanian governor, Ms Downie said.
'Right from the onset this particular coin has always enjoyed publicity,' she said.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
2012 Britannia Silver One Ounce Fine Silver Bullion Coin
Philip Nathan’s design is beautifully complemented by the current portrait of the Queen by Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS on the obverse.
In keeping with tradition that dates back to the late 17th Century, the 2012 £2 Silver Britannia is struck in the Britannia standard of silver 0.958 Ag.
Obverse Design
The obverse of the 2012 Britannia range bears the current portrait of the Queen by Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS.Reverse Design
The 2012 coin reverse features Philip Nathan’s original, breathtaking portrait of Britannia framed in the crenallated border peculiar to Britannia coins.Britannia; An Enduring Icon of Britain
The figure of a woman, called Britannia, has long been a symbol of British national pride. She first appeared on British coins in the seventeenth century and has subsequently graced the coinage of every monarch to the present day.She made her debut on the coins of the Romans and has, from Tudor times, beautifully symbolized an empire based on maritime power. Great and free, she has fascinated artists and sculptors throughout her history and remains a favourite icon for British stamps, medals and coins.
In 1696 the Britannia standard of silver was introduced as part of the recoinage of William III in an attempt to limit the clipping and melting of sterling silver coins, it being reasoned that there would be little incentive to melt sterling silver when a higher standard was used for wrought plate.
By the time the Queen came to the throne in 1952, Britannia had assumed the status of an immortal, having featured on British coinage for almost 300 years. In 1987 she was elevated to the new gold bullion coinage and today appears on the highest value coins of the realm. The silver version was launched during 1997.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
A Rare Chinese Coin: the Fengtien Silver Dollar
Created in 1897 at the instigation of the General Iktangga (依克唐阿), governor of the Fengtien province, the bureau was destined to modernize the provincial coinage. An early set of dies was commissionned from the Anqing (安庆) mint in Anhwei (安徽), and German-made steam-powered machinery were brought from Tianjin.
The early test issues using the An Hui dies were denominated in maces and candareens, and were designed after the Kwantung dollar. With the success of the Peiyang arsenal dollars, subsequent issues were however redesigned and the first emission meant for circulation in 1898 features a reverse bearing the characteristic circular manchu writings in the style of the contemporary Beiyang coins.
The early test issues using the An Hui dies were denominated in maces and candareens, and were designed after the Kwantung dollar. With the success of the Peiyang arsenal dollars, subsequent issues were however redesigned and the first emission meant for circulation in 1898 features a reverse bearing the characteristic circular manchu writings in the style of the contemporary Beiyang coins.
The last emission, in 1899, has a very similar design. As far as I know, three dies were used for the 25th year of Guang Xu series. The coin I bought is of the first type, as seen below:
Fengtien dollar - single ring (单圈版) with error in FUNG
Fengtien dollar (obverse)
The first set of die used has a single dotted ring around the denomination on the reverse (单圈版 in Chinese). The reverse has an obvious error in the typography of the province name, with a huge empty space between the F and U of FUNG TIEN. The strike is also noticeably weak from the G to the T.
On the obverse, this die is very different from the subsequent ones. The dragon face is beautiful, with some relief on the sides of the dragon nose and a large, “smiling” mouth. The fireball at the center is ornamented with a wide, incomplete spiral probably resulting from a weak strike.
The second strike features a new dragon design; the reverse issues were also partially fixed:
Fengtien dollar - single ring (单圈版)
The province name on the reverse is now correctly typographied, but the strike is still weak on the area from the G to the T. The new dragon design is very different from the previous issue, with a flatter face and a thinner mouth. The spiral on the fireball is complete this time, running all the way to the center.
Fengtien Dollar - double circle (双圈版)
The last emission tries again to correct the problems of the reverse, keeping the new dragon design.
As seen here, the G and T are indeed slightly stronger, but the end of “TIEN” is weaker, while it was crisp in the previous strikes… It seems that like the Kiangnan mint, the early Shenyang mint had troubles with the die adjustement and thus produced weakly struck coins.
A solid circle was added around the denomination, inside the inner dotted circle.
This strike is known as the “Linear circle within dotted circle” die, or 双圈版 in Chinese.
Fengtien dollar - linear circle within dotted circle (双圈版)
After this third strike, the mint machinery was seized by the tsarist Russian army and the Shenyang machine bureau was burned down… The province of Fengtien (nowadays Liao Ning) was indeed going through dark times. Already the theater of the first Sino-Japanese war in 1895, it was then the scene of the conflict between the Russians controlling the leased territory of Liao Tung, and the Japanese army, leading to the Russo-Japanese war. The mint at the Shenyang machine bureau was briefly brought back online in 1903 after years of reconstruction slowed down by the Boxer rebellion.
Eventually, the province fell under Japanese control, later becoming part of the Manchukuo puppet state. The Japanese army and investors continued to develop heavy industries in the region, furthering the move toward automatization that had begun in 1897 with the creation of the Fengtien machine bureau.
Monday, May 21, 2012
2012 Fiji Apocalypse Sterling Silver Coin $10 Legal Tender
The Maya Calendar is the best known of all prophecies. It describes exactly the days of our present fourth period, from 11 August 3114 BC to 21 December 2012′s. The 21st December 2012 after the Mayan Long Count Calendar is the end of human civilization.
On December 21, 2012 happens the so-called “galactic alignment”, where the sun, the moon and all the other planets in our solar system are located perfectly on a line with respect to the center of our galaxy. This event is held only every 26,000 years and is very unique.
What physical and energetic effects it will have on the earth, is still enigmatic. Many consider 2012 as the beginning of a “New Consciousness”, the beginning of a new, more conscious of this age to the present transition period of dramatic transformations.
Country: Fiji
Issuing year: 2012
Face Value: 10 Dollar
Metal: Ag.925, Silver
Diameter: 54 x 32mm
Weight: 20 grams
Condition: Satined
Special: 5C printed glass inlay
Mintage: 1,000 coins
Only 1000 minted....great looking coin
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Republic of Belarus 'Zodiac Signs' Silver Coin Series 925 Legal Tender Numismatics
A silver collector coin issued by the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus in the 'Zodiac Signs' series presenting the image of Pisces. A unique coin produced using the oxidation technology and characterized by oriental stylization. As all coins from this series, the coin has been decorated with colorful zircons.
Obverse:
In the central part images of the Sun and the Moon. Below the graphic symbol of Pisces and the name of the Zodiac sign in Latin and Russian. Around the Sun and the Moon 12 graphic symbols illustrating each of the Zodiac signs. Above the symbols the name of the series issuer – Республика Беларусь (Republic of Belarus), the emblem of Belarus, the mintage year, the assay of silver (Ag 925) and the coin face value (20 Roubles).
Reverse:
In the central part of the coin the image of Pisces surrounded by a circular, geometric ornament, reserved only for this coin, which gives the impression of three-dimensionality.
There are two ruling planets for Pisces – Neptune, the planet of illusion and intuition and Jupiter, the planet of expansion and idealism. People born under this sign are creative, sensitive, gentle and understanding.
In relationships they are delicate, devoted and protective, which makes them excellent partners. Their lives often become chaotic. They are prone to criticism and mood swings and tend to isolate themselves. When they are under a strong influence of Neptune, they escape into illusions and different types of addictions.
Mintage: up to 25 000 pcs
Issuer: National Bank of the Republic of Belarus
Quality: uncirculated
Decoration: zircons
Republic of Belarus 'Zodiac Signs' Silver Coin Series 925 Legal Tender Numismatics
Monday, February 6, 2012
Silver Chinese Dragon Coin Hu-Peh Province
The authentic Chinese Dragon coin listed on this page has been made during the Qing Dynasty which was present in China from the year 1644 until 1911. This dragon coin, or dragon dollar as some call it also, has been struck somewhere between 1909 - 1911 in the Hubei Province which is situated in the center of China. The Hubei province is surrounded by Henan province to the north, Jiangxi and Hunan province to the south, Anhui province to the east, Sichuan province to the west and Shaanxi province to the northwest. Some Silver Chinese Dragon Coin facts.
Here below are the images from an authentic Chinese silver dragon coin and a cheap counterfeit dragon coin, both from the Hu-Peh province in China.
| |
| Authentic Silver Dragon Dollar | Counterfeit Chinese Dragon Dollar |
| (7 Mace and 2 Candareen) | (7 Mace and 2 Candareen) |
| Obverse Side | Obverse Side |
| | |
 |  |
| | |
When comparing both Chinese dragon coins the following differences are easy to see on the counterfeit coin and not on the authentic silver dragon coin.
| |
| Authentic Chinese Dragon Coin | Counterfeit Chinese Dragon Coin |
| Reverse Side | Reverse Side |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| The reverse side of the counterfeit dragon dollar shows another Chinese text, but as there are many dragon coins with different signs on it, this is not the right way to identify these coins as a counterfeit Chinese dragon dollar. What is clear to see when comparing these two pictures is the thickness of the Chinese letters on the counterfeit that does not match the authentic silver dragon coin. | |
Silver Chinese Dragon Coin - Hu-Peh Province
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Straits Settlements 1896 Ten Cents - Queen Victoria UNCIRCULATED with Lustre
Estimated Price: $120 US$
Straits Settlements 1896 Ten Cents - Queen Victoria UNCIRCULATED with Lustre
Friday, February 3, 2012
CHOPMARKED COINS, Worthless or Historically Significant?
For many years I believed what I had heard concerning chopmarked coins; they're damaged and not worth collecting. Then a fellow WINS member posted an image of a coin so full of chopmarks that you could barely make out what type of coin it was, and I was hooked and had to learn more. Here are a few things I have learned as a member of the Chopmark Collectors Club.
Chopmarked coins, unlike most coins that tell us nothing of where they've been, can speak volumes. All of those marks tell us where the coin has been and what it was used for, and are strongly tided to events of the day. Chopmarks differ from countermarks (or counterstamps) in that a countermark was a monogram added by a government making the coin acceptable for use in that country. One of the most well known countermarked examples is the oval bust of George III on various Spanish Colonial coins of the late 18th century (shown at the left).
Chopmarks are basically countermarks used by Chinese bankers and merchants stamped on coins as a defense against debased counterfeit coins. Chopmarks also signified that a coin's composition had been verified and that it was acceptable for use in trade. Chopmarks can take a variety of forms as shown in the table below.
To understand why the Chinese felt it necessary to "chop" all silver (and a few gold and even fewer copper) coins, it is helpful to understand what was going on in China economically at that time.
Prior to 1842 Canton was the only Chinese port open to foreign trade so it stands to reason that the practice of chopping coins probably began in Canton. References in the "Chronicles of the East Indian Trading Company" indicate that chopmarked coins were in use in 1776.
Over time local Chinese officials developed a consortium of merchants known in the west as the Cohong system, to conduct foreign trade. During the 1600's and 1700's foreign traders wanted commodities such as tea, silk, porcelain and lacquer ware, but the only commodity China wanted in return was silver. Ships from England, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, France, Germany, Denmark and America carried to China tons of silver - most of it produced in the mines of Spanish America.
Tao Kuang, Emperor of China from 1820 to 1840, issued an Imperial Edict, ordering that the only form of payment Chinese merchants could lawfully accept for the goods they sold to foreigners was silver coins. This attempt to stop barter caused the English to seek a commodity that Chinese merchants wanted badly enough to risk Imperial wrath to pay for it with silver. Otherwise China would soon have all the world's silver and the East India Company would run out of profits from China trade. That commodity was opium. England had opium, grown in India, and could sell all they could deliver to the Chinese who were willing to pay in silver coins. The Imperial government blamed the English for the terrible increase in opium addiction in China, which ultimately led to war.
Thus came the Opium War, Part 1 was fought between 1838 and 1842, and Part 2 ran from 1850 to 1860. This also triggered the Tai-Ping rebellion, 1850-1865, which was suppressed by the government and went underground to resurface as the Boxer Rebellion. This too was suppressed by the government, but not finished. It turned into two things, the Revolution of 1911, which overthrew the Ching Dynasty; and the Triads, which became secret criminal organizations similar to the Mafia.
China produced very few dollar sized silver coins before 1890 using instead the circulating silver dollar coinage of other countries. The most widely traded coins of the time were the Spain's and Mexico's 8 Reales coins, but other countries not wanting these to become the world-trading standard started producing their own dollar-sized silver trade coins.
One thing thing to keep in mind: the Chinese people accepted the coins above by weight, as "7 Mace and 2 Candareens" of standard silver, but not as a "dollar" which did not become legal tender until 1889. But, with all of the types of dollars and variations of silver content, it was becoming difficult to determine which coins to accept and which to avoid.
Compounding the problem was the influx of counterfeit coins. Researchers have uncovered records describing the production of counterfeit coins for the Chinese market. One was by a Mr. Pablo Bordeauz, "Made in Birmingham in 1792, Counterfeit Spanish Pieces of Eight, Countermarked in China", where he documented manufacturing methods of copper coins plated with silver and specified a production scale amounting to 25,000 pounds of counterfeit coins weekly during 1792.
Another report is that the British established a mint in Canton at the end of the eighteenth century in order to strike forged pieces of eight dated 1778 and that by 1790 several million forged coins were circulating in China. It turns out that the East India Company made a big mistake, and that was to leave the mint in the hands of the natives. They were producing forged Mexico Carolus Dollars, but Chinese workers anxious to make money for themselves too, began increasing the copper content of the alloy and keeping the silver.
Coins put into circulation were .600 fine instead of the correct .902.7. The flamboyant mint of the East India Company went bankrupt and closed its doors.
Between the coins not of Chinese origin and the large number of forgeries, some form of silver content guarantee was needed. To solve this problem, the native bank or moneychanger added their "chop" to each dollar that passed through their hands. This "chop" was normally a single symbol or letter or sometimes a secret symbol known only to that particular money changer that:
1. showed the coin was given out by them,
2. certified the silver content was standard,
3. and that they agreed to accept the coin back without argument.
"Chop" is said to be a word imported by the English from India where the word was "Chappa" or "Choppa", meaning seal or official stamp.
Deciphering the meaning of these little "chops" can be an exercise in frustration. First, they are over 100 years old and many of the characters are no longer comparable to modern-day characters. Therefore it is difficult to translate them into a modern English-Chinese dictionary and necessitates locating someone who can read the old characters.
Secondly, research has shown that many of the "chops" turned into personal marks of identity like a monogram, some even using an assemblage of characters similar to a cattle brand. Chinese characters are made up of meanings, which may describe the person's physical appearance, title or other unique feature. This "chop" change may have been caused when local businessmen took up the practice of chopmarking.
Unfortunately, the practice of counterfeiting coins, even those bearing chopmarks, continues in China today so great care should be exercised when selecting coins for your collection. For some collectors chopmarked coins will always be damaged goods, but for others they represent a moment in history. And, just like in other facets of this hobby, you should always collect what you like, not what someone else tells you too.
Information Sources:
Chopmarks by F.M. Rose, 1978.
Chopmark Collectors Club Newsletter, "Chopmark News", July 1990 through 2008:
- The Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine, July 1945, "The Trade Coins of the far East" by Arlie Slabaugh.
- The Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine, July 1960, "Chopmarks on Chinese Coins" by R.A. Leonard.
- El Duro by Adolfo Herrera, 1914, "Countermarks on Chinese Coins".
- "Sobre los Chap Marks o Contramarcas Chinas", by Manela Gonzalez Fuenteas.
- "Chop Marks Brand Chinese Coins" by Peter F. Hamilton.
- Coins Magazine, September 1970, "The Chop-marked Dollar" by Ray Young.
CHOPMARKED COINS, Worthless or Historically Significant?
Chopmarked coins, unlike most coins that tell us nothing of where they've been, can speak volumes. All of those marks tell us where the coin has been and what it was used for, and are strongly tided to events of the day. Chopmarks differ from countermarks (or counterstamps) in that a countermark was a monogram added by a government making the coin acceptable for use in that country. One of the most well known countermarked examples is the oval bust of George III on various Spanish Colonial coins of the late 18th century (shown at the left).
Chopmarks are basically countermarks used by Chinese bankers and merchants stamped on coins as a defense against debased counterfeit coins. Chopmarks also signified that a coin's composition had been verified and that it was acceptable for use in trade. Chopmarks can take a variety of forms as shown in the table below.
| Chopmark Varieties (as defined by "F.M. Rose") | ||
| Test Marks | The most common usually made with a punch. Its purpose was to test the coin to see if it was silver- plated base metal or hollowed out. |  |
| Edge Cuts | Common, aimed at determining if the coin was a plated fake. |  |
| Small Chops | Common, can consist of abstract symbols such as circles, stars, and crescents etc. or Chinese characters. Most commonly found on Mexican Cap and Rays 8 Reales. |  |
| Large Chops | Common, usually consisting of Chinese characters, pseudo characters or abstract symbols. |  |
| Chops in Relief | Small relief chops are scarce while large relief chops are rare. |  |
| Assay Chops | A rare special relief chop made by a banker, usually retangular containing two or more characters. |  |
| Letter Chops | Scarce, consisting of the Latin alphabet. The most common letter used was the letter 'S'. |  |
| Number Chops | Moderately scarce, consisting of large chops, the number 8 being the most common followed by the number 5. |  |
| Manchu Chops | Extremely rare, consisting of Manchu script. | Example needed. |
| Banker's Ink Chops | These come in red, blue, purple and black ink, and can be difficult to find high grade. |  |
| Paper Chops | The usual paper chop is called the "happy wedding". |  |
| Presentation Chops | Elaborately drawn in India ink comprised of letters surrounded by fancy borders, dragons and flowers often covering the entire coin. | Example needed. |
To understand why the Chinese felt it necessary to "chop" all silver (and a few gold and even fewer copper) coins, it is helpful to understand what was going on in China economically at that time.
Prior to 1842 Canton was the only Chinese port open to foreign trade so it stands to reason that the practice of chopping coins probably began in Canton. References in the "Chronicles of the East Indian Trading Company" indicate that chopmarked coins were in use in 1776.
Over time local Chinese officials developed a consortium of merchants known in the west as the Cohong system, to conduct foreign trade. During the 1600's and 1700's foreign traders wanted commodities such as tea, silk, porcelain and lacquer ware, but the only commodity China wanted in return was silver. Ships from England, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, France, Germany, Denmark and America carried to China tons of silver - most of it produced in the mines of Spanish America.
Tao Kuang, Emperor of China from 1820 to 1840, issued an Imperial Edict, ordering that the only form of payment Chinese merchants could lawfully accept for the goods they sold to foreigners was silver coins. This attempt to stop barter caused the English to seek a commodity that Chinese merchants wanted badly enough to risk Imperial wrath to pay for it with silver. Otherwise China would soon have all the world's silver and the East India Company would run out of profits from China trade. That commodity was opium. England had opium, grown in India, and could sell all they could deliver to the Chinese who were willing to pay in silver coins. The Imperial government blamed the English for the terrible increase in opium addiction in China, which ultimately led to war.
Thus came the Opium War, Part 1 was fought between 1838 and 1842, and Part 2 ran from 1850 to 1860. This also triggered the Tai-Ping rebellion, 1850-1865, which was suppressed by the government and went underground to resurface as the Boxer Rebellion. This too was suppressed by the government, but not finished. It turned into two things, the Revolution of 1911, which overthrew the Ching Dynasty; and the Triads, which became secret criminal organizations similar to the Mafia.
China produced very few dollar sized silver coins before 1890 using instead the circulating silver dollar coinage of other countries. The most widely traded coins of the time were the Spain's and Mexico's 8 Reales coins, but other countries not wanting these to become the world-trading standard started producing their own dollar-sized silver trade coins.
| Major Trade Coins that Circulated in China Note: This table only covers the large trade silver, but other demnominations and coinage from other countries did circulate and receive chopmarks. | ||
| Spain | 8 Reale or "Spanish Dollar", 1732-71 (Rare, conceptual image used until actual image can be obtained.) |  |
| Mexico | 8 Reale or "Pillar Dollar", 1732-72 |  |
| Mexico | 8 Reale or "Carolus Dollar", 1772-1808 |  |
| Hong Kong (British Rule) | "Dollar", 1866-68 Chops on the Queen's face were considered bad luck and are rarely seen. (Conceptual image used until actual image can be obtained.) |  |
| Japan | "Trade Dollar", 1875-78, 416 grains, .900 fine, (increased to 420 grains in late 1875) |  |
| Great Britian | "Trade Dollar", 1895-1938, 416 grains, .900 fine |  |
| United States of America | "Trade Dollar", 1873-85, 420 grains, .900 fine |  |
| France | "Piastre de Commerce of Indo China" 1885-1928 |  |
| Austria | "Maria Theresia Thaler" 1740 to the present. Almost unheard of and their authenticity is questioned by many researchers. |  |
One thing thing to keep in mind: the Chinese people accepted the coins above by weight, as "7 Mace and 2 Candareens" of standard silver, but not as a "dollar" which did not become legal tender until 1889. But, with all of the types of dollars and variations of silver content, it was becoming difficult to determine which coins to accept and which to avoid.
Compounding the problem was the influx of counterfeit coins. Researchers have uncovered records describing the production of counterfeit coins for the Chinese market. One was by a Mr. Pablo Bordeauz, "Made in Birmingham in 1792, Counterfeit Spanish Pieces of Eight, Countermarked in China", where he documented manufacturing methods of copper coins plated with silver and specified a production scale amounting to 25,000 pounds of counterfeit coins weekly during 1792.
Another report is that the British established a mint in Canton at the end of the eighteenth century in order to strike forged pieces of eight dated 1778 and that by 1790 several million forged coins were circulating in China. It turns out that the East India Company made a big mistake, and that was to leave the mint in the hands of the natives. They were producing forged Mexico Carolus Dollars, but Chinese workers anxious to make money for themselves too, began increasing the copper content of the alloy and keeping the silver.
Coins put into circulation were .600 fine instead of the correct .902.7. The flamboyant mint of the East India Company went bankrupt and closed its doors.
Between the coins not of Chinese origin and the large number of forgeries, some form of silver content guarantee was needed. To solve this problem, the native bank or moneychanger added their "chop" to each dollar that passed through their hands. This "chop" was normally a single symbol or letter or sometimes a secret symbol known only to that particular money changer that:
1. showed the coin was given out by them,
2. certified the silver content was standard,
3. and that they agreed to accept the coin back without argument.
"Chop" is said to be a word imported by the English from India where the word was "Chappa" or "Choppa", meaning seal or official stamp.
Deciphering the meaning of these little "chops" can be an exercise in frustration. First, they are over 100 years old and many of the characters are no longer comparable to modern-day characters. Therefore it is difficult to translate them into a modern English-Chinese dictionary and necessitates locating someone who can read the old characters.
Secondly, research has shown that many of the "chops" turned into personal marks of identity like a monogram, some even using an assemblage of characters similar to a cattle brand. Chinese characters are made up of meanings, which may describe the person's physical appearance, title or other unique feature. This "chop" change may have been caused when local businessmen took up the practice of chopmarking.
Unfortunately, the practice of counterfeiting coins, even those bearing chopmarks, continues in China today so great care should be exercised when selecting coins for your collection. For some collectors chopmarked coins will always be damaged goods, but for others they represent a moment in history. And, just like in other facets of this hobby, you should always collect what you like, not what someone else tells you too.
Information Sources:
Chopmarks by F.M. Rose, 1978.
Chopmark Collectors Club Newsletter, "Chopmark News", July 1990 through 2008:
- The Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine, July 1945, "The Trade Coins of the far East" by Arlie Slabaugh.
- The Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine, July 1960, "Chopmarks on Chinese Coins" by R.A. Leonard.
- El Duro by Adolfo Herrera, 1914, "Countermarks on Chinese Coins".
- "Sobre los Chap Marks o Contramarcas Chinas", by Manela Gonzalez Fuenteas.
- "Chop Marks Brand Chinese Coins" by Peter F. Hamilton.
- Coins Magazine, September 1970, "The Chop-marked Dollar" by Ray Young.
CHOPMARKED COINS, Worthless or Historically Significant?
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