A Short Primer on Chinese Weights and their Equivalent Denominations

The 5 Denominations found in General Issued Chinese Coins

From the smallest denomination (5 Cent) to the largest (1 Dollar)

General Information:

• All coins were struck in silver
• All coins were machine struck (milled)
• The first machine struck coinage for general issue were at the Kwangtung Mint, with their first dies imported from the Heaton Mint, in Birmingham in 1888. 
• Numerous provinces in China, along with the Central Mint, issued coins of the same size and denomination. 
• Chinese denominations were based on the Ku Ping Treasury weight system. 

1. The 5 Cent 
1. Weight: 3.6 Candareens 
2. The 10 Cent
1. Weight: 7.2 Candareens
3. The 20 Cent
1. Weight: 1 Mace and 4.4 Candareens
4. The 50 Cent
1. Weight: 3 Mace and 6 Candareens
5. The One Dollar
1. Weight: 7 Mace and 2 Candareens

Information regarding subsequent Republican Issues:

• During China's Republican era, there was a general shift from the weighting system of the Qing, such as denoting coins with the Mace and Candareen system. 
• During this era, there were terms such as "1 Yuan" - a Chinese Dollar, that was the same size and weight as a Dragon Dollar of the Qing era, aka bearing a weight of 7 Mace and 2 Candareens
• For smaller fractional issues, terms such as "Jiao" were used, denoting 10 cents. This is evident in Fukien and Kwangtung issues during the Republican era. 

Information regarding Sinkiang:

• During this era's Qing and Republican years, there was a general adherence to a system called the Xianping Treasury Weight system, that was different than the standard Kuping System of the Chinese Treasury. 
• For instance, the Xianping tael of Sinkiang, a "Sar", was heavier than their Kuping counterparts.