Coin from the Republican era

This Chinese coin dates from the early days of the Republic of China. The Xinhai Revolution (Xinhai geming 辛亥革命) in 1912 finally overthrew the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912), marking the end of more than two thousand years of imperial China. The Republic of China was established and Yuan Shikai 袁世凱 (1859–1916) was chosen as the republic’s first president. A former Qing Dynasty military commander, he effectively “hijacked” the revolution and sought to re-establish absolutist power by proclaiming himself emperor in 1915. His plan did not quite work out, as he died a year later.

This coin is no longer a traditional Chinese coin with a square hole in the centre (fangkong qian 方孔錢), but a modern, machine-minted example. On the obverse are the crossed flags of the newly founded republic, and above them is the inscription Zhonghua minguo kaiguo jinian bi 中華民國開國紀念幣, which means “Commemorative coin for the founding of the Republic of China”. This is therefore a coin that was minted in 1912 as a commemorative coin to mark the founding of the republic. The reverse bears the inscription shiwen 十文, in the centre, which means “ten monetary units”. The English inscription The Republic of China runs along the top of the coin’s edge, while the English designation of its value ten cash can be read at the bottom. (MG)