17th Century Chinese Coin?

[crazydigger]

Might be my oldest find yet. Anybody got any ideas?

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Diving for Pleasure and Treasure - Grab it through Amazon!

[Mackaydon]

Once some of the crud is removed, ID-ing the coin should be much easier.
Don........

 

[dirtlooter]

looks pretty good to me, would put a smile on my face if I found it!

 

[vpnavy]

Need to clean that puppy up a little more to figure it out. Thanks for sharing...

 

[CASPER-2]

THOSE WERE BROUGHT OVER WITH THE CHINEESE IN CALIF.
THEY WOULD SPEND THEM WITH EACH OTHER IN THE GOLD AND RAILROAD CAMPS ETC
EVENTUALLY WHEN THEY STARTED EARNING US MONEY - THEY BECAME WORTHLESS
THEY WERE THEN TRADED OR SOLD AS GOOD LUCK CHARMS

 

[danimal03]

nice find. I have dug about 2 dozen of these over the years in western camps and Casper is right. However, apparently sometime in the 1920's or so it was fashionable to sew these coins on items. I once had an estate sewing basket with approx. 12 coins sewed onto it. I may still have the picture and will add it later if I can find it. So it is going to depend on the context of how you found it. I once found a single one at the Battle of Middleburg site at an early house that was mixed. I personally feel that this particular coin came off something in the 1920's. All my west coast dug ones are Gold Rush content. Yours has a fair amount of crud on it. there are many variations and types of these things. The most common dug one out west is the smaller type that looks similar to yours and they date from approx. 1720's-1790's. I forgot the exact year. but they are dated by dynasty and not my a specific year. Similar to if our modern coins were marked 'Obama years' which would give you an approx. date range.

the coins of the previous reign are from 1660's-the 1720's. these coins are more scarce out west. I have dug only 3 of this type.

there are earlier 'bronze' coins and this get complicated as to dating them. yours could be one of these. I have found only one of these bronze early types out west but it was modified and partially melted so I can't date it. but it is way thicker than the regular 1700's type. But with yours it is hard to tell and I am not a Chinese con specialist nor can I read Chinese. Only reason I have some knowledge is because I found some and wanted to know more. I have just forgot some parts of what I knew but there are sites dedicated to Chinese coins. If you know someone who can read it; they should be able to read the date and you can match the rein.

If your coin really was a souvenir of the Gold Rush and made it your way; that it a neat and historical find. It may be impossible to tell the context. but if the site is for sure pre 1920's, it may very well just be. but even if it fell off a basket in the 1920's, it is still very old and still a neat find. I have always enjoyed finding these.

Due to the vast number found in China they generally do not have much value. but some do. I know rare ones can be up to $100 or so. I just have no idea which ones are the rare ones. but even if it has a nominal value, it is still a nice find, super old, and I would put it in my display case. Congratulations. there may be more. and have fun researching it. I did with mine.

 

[crazydigger]

nice find. I have dug about 2 dozen of these over the years in western camps and Casper is right. However, apparently sometime in the 1920's or so it was fashionable to sew these coins on items. I once had an estate sewing basket with approx. 12 coins sewed onto it. I may still have the picture and will add it later if I can find it. So it is going to depend on the context of how you found it. I once found a single one at the Battle of Middleburg site at an early house that was mixed. I personally feel that this particular coin came off something in the 1920's. All my west coast dug ones are Gold Rush content. Yours has a fair amount of crud on it. there are many variations and types of these things. The most common dug one out west is the smaller type that looks similar to yours and they date from approx. 1720's-1790's. I forgot the exact year. but they are dated by dynasty and not my a specific year. Similar to if our modern coins were marked 'Obama years' which would give you an approx. date range. the coins of the previous reign are from 1660's-the 1720's. these coins are more scarce out west. I have dug only 3 of this type. there are earlier 'bronze' coins and this get complicated as to dating them. yours could be one of these. I have found only one of these bronze early types out west but it was modified and partially melted so I can't date it. but it is way thicker than the regular 1700's type. But with yours it is hard to tell and I am not a Chinese con specialist nor can I read Chinese. Only reason I have some knowledge is because I found some and wanted to know more. I have just forgot some parts of what I knew but there are sites dedicated to Chinese coins. If you know someone who can read it; they should be able to read the date and you can match the rein. If your coin really was a souvenir of the Gold Rush and made it your way; that it a neat and historical find. It may be impossible to tell the context. but if the site is for sure pre 1920's, it may very well just be. but even if it fell off a basket in the 1920's, it is still very old and still a neat find. I have always enjoyed finding these. Due to the vast number found in China they generally do not have much value. but some do. I know rare ones can be up to $100 or so. I just have no idea which ones are the rare ones. but even if it has a nominal value, it is still a nice find, super old, and I would put it in my display case. Congratulations. there may be more. and have fun researching it. I did with mine.

I sure appreciate the feedback Danimal. I found this in the farm field behind my 1800's rental home in upstate NY.

 

[danimal03]

no worries. just trying to help. I went into my case and pulled a few out just for reference. the big one at top is he earlier style and it roughly dates to 1663-1723. the rest are the more common 1723-1796 (approximate date guess) style. you can see that there are slightly different shapes and varying marks. the marks on the back vary as well. to be honest I forgot what they mean. but I do know that each is marked where it was made. so ones made in Peking will be different than Canton, etc.

the damaged coin at right is much heavier. it is the one I referenced above. I believe it is modified to clean under nails by a gold miner. though damaged and missing a big piece, it is still heavy. last pic is trying to show the thickness. this coin may be earlier and may be early 1600's or even late 1500's. but that is just speculation. if your seems like the weight of a thin brass coin, my hunch is it is the common 1723-1796 version. I only average 1 x Chinese coin a month when I hunted gold camps so they are not easy to find. But I know guys who have found whole strings of them at one time. they were originally strung together, hence the holes for easy carrying.

The best I ever dug was eight in one day. but some months I dug none. hence the 1 x per month average. nice 200 year old piece of history that no doubt traveled all over the world. if you think it may be the earlier heavier bronze type coin it may be more special. I would take it to some who can read Chinese if it feels like the heavier version. but at the very least is it the 1723-1796 version.

 

[CoinandRelicMan]

These coins also were used as decoration on woven products (baskets etc.) from the Orient had some on a basket my Mom had, they were late 1700s or there abouts. Looked like yours.

 

[hikeinmts]

If you can clean it and email me, I will i.d. it for you. I live/hunt in S. Korea, have found 100s of those kinds of Chinese coins, and have the best (and newest) references.
My email address: [email protected].