Some kind of Chinese coin?

[Eyetym]

I went out for my second day of hunting and in a tot lot behind the swings I found this chinese coin. It's in pretty good condition and there wasn't any dirt on it or anything.

Anyone have a clue how much this might be worth and if it's rare at all? Maybe some dates? Thanks.

 

[agbkyle]

Being found in a tot lot and it's condition, I'd lean more towards it being a good luck charm, somewhat like on here:
http://www.japaneseweddingfavors.com/japanese_charms.asp

But that's just my guess.

Lot of sites out there showing various ones similair to your find. Try searching for "chinese charms" and look at all the photos. Could also be Japenese, I've found some sites showing simliar to this and being Japenese.
Nice find though..

 

[Carol K]

Don't the Chinese coins have a square hole and the Japanese a round hole in their coins? Or is it the other way around?

My guess is that's it's a Chinese coin, but what year I'm not sure. They have a book out with all sorts of pictures of Chinese coins, but I don't have this book. Maybe someone here does.

 

[Rudy]

Looks like it might be a Chinese cash coin or a modern day Chinese charm coin used in adorning belts and other items.

 

[RickO]

I have a similar one.. although I think mine is larger.. and mine IS a Chinese coin.... RickO

 

[Rudy]

On the first picture, the character on the left is the Manchurian character "BOO", that makes the coin almost certainly from the Ch'ing Dynasty (or a counterfeit used for adornment purposes).

The Ch'ing Dynasty, which started around 1559, and was a period of enlightenment, with the arts and literature reaching a high point under the emperors K'ang Hsi and Ch'ien Lung.

It is not easy to pin your coin down, because the photos are real fuzzy and hard to make out the characters. It looks like it might be from the reign of emperor SHENG TSU (reign title: K'ANG-HSI), dating it to somewhere between 1662-1722.

Like I said, its a rough guess because it is so hard to make out the characters.

 

[Eyetym]

Thanks all for the help and especially Rudy. That was quite an intriguing bit of information! Never would have thought the coin was possibly 400 years old.
Here are some better pics I took with my dad's camera instead of my own. Maybe this can open up some doors.

 

[kovacs01]

hmmm.........

My dad has a coin sword made sometime during the reign of Quianlong (1736-1795). All of the coins are in fantastic shape, with some slight tarnishing. Though the same shape they look quite different. The raised border along the edge is much thinner than on your coin and the characters are a much thinner font as well. Overall, that coin just looks much thicker and bulkier than the ones I have seen.......

I know that doesnt help much, but it's all I have on the subject. Maybe it can rule out that period as the origin of the coin.

 

[talosiv]

That looks like the Chinese coins they use in certain magic tricks. Magic is my other hobby.

 

[Rudy]

Sorry, couldn't find it in my reference material.

 

[SeabeeRon]

Can't help with the ID, but sure is a beautiful coin!!

 

[dutchroots]

Hey, think I found it! Just got lucky after googling and skipping around some images.

CC772. Ch'ing Dynasty, Wen Tsung Emperor, AD1851-1861, AE 50 Cash (50mm). HSIEN-FENG CH'UNG-PAO/KANSU in Chinese and Manchurian, C.14-4. Dark brown patina, clear characters, SCARCE, Fine-Very Fine....$90 Photo

Here's the link to the photo....

http://www.ancient-art.com/images/cc772.jpg

 

[sectshun8]

Hey, think I found it! Just got lucky after googling and skipping around some images.

CC772. Ch'ing Dynasty, Wen Tsung Emperor, AD1851-1861, AE 50 Cash (50mm). HSIEN-FENG CH'UNG-PAO/KANSU in Chinese and Manchurian, C.14-4. Dark brown patina, clear characters, SCARCE, Fine-Very Fine....$90 Photo

Here's the link to the photo....

http://www.ancient-art.com/images/cc772.jpg

Hmm... does look VERY similar. But paying attention to the details its not the same... could be I suppose. But the characters in the ancient-art picture are much finer in detail than the one Eyetym found. The distance from the edge seems different, and the square seems much larger in the one Eyetym found. Possibly a replica?

 

[dutchroots]

Yep, probably a replica. I see lots of places on the web where you can buy packs of Chinese coin reproductions.

 

[sectshun8]

Yep, probably a replica. I see lots of places on the web where you can buy packs of Chinese coin reproductions.

Good job tracking it down though! Cuz that's definitely what it is.

 

[Eyetym]

Dutchroots thank you very very much for finding that pic and information!
I examined the coin and the pic and they are indeed almost identical, however on the reverse side the bottom and right symbols are a tad off the original pic, so it probably is a replica. Maybe i'll contact that guy with the website. Still a good find, thanks again for all the responses!