Chihli (1900) cash
This specimen was lot 1414 in Steve Album Auction 52 (Santa Rosa, CA, May 2025), where it sold for $7,800. The catalog description[1] noted, "QING: Guang Xu, 1875-1908, AE cash, Dagu mint, Zhili Province, produced at the Imperial Navy Yard, Taku Fort mint, likely struck circa early 1900, a rare machine struck or superbly made mu qián (mother coin), XF, ex Daniel K. E. King Sale, 2 June 1991, Lot 699, with original auction ticket and collector's tag. This mint was destroyed during the Boxer Rebellion in June 1900 in the Battle of the Taku Forts by Allied forces consisting of Russian, British, Japanese, German, Austro-Hungarian, and Italian troops. Some sources read the Manchu mintname as boo hu and attribute it to the Shanghai Kiangnan Arsenal (cf. Zeno-10110). We believe further research is needed to confirm this attribution."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 1.64 g, brass, this specimen 3.06 g.
Catalog reference: Hartill-22.1147.
- Hartill, David, Cast Chinese Coins, 2nd ed., London, 2017.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Dustin Wagner, Auction 52, featuring the Dr. Robert A. Rosenfeld Collection and the Almer H. Orr III Collection, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2025.
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