Introduction
Yarkand (also known as Yarkant, Soche, Shache, 莎车) was one of the mints in Sinkiang Province during the Qing Dynasty that struck explicitly hammered coins, in the five fen or half miscal denomination. The others were Kashgar, Khotan, Yangi-Hisar, Aksu, and Kucha. These hammered half miscals struck under Qing rule were also called Tanga coinage, a reference to the original thin, high silver fineness pieces of the Uzbek invader, Yaqub Beg (1865-77) who struck them first as he captured Kashgar and made it his base. Those Yaqub Beg coins are all in Turkic, and bear the dedicative inscription to the Ottoman Sultan, Abdul Aziz. Nevertheless, the Qing Chinese would defeat Yaqub Beg, especially under the leadership of the Han general, Zuo Zongtang (namesake of General Tso's Chicken) and in 1884, the Qing would make Sinkiang a province (all the way till 1949, with the defeat of the Nationalist by the Communist). It would be the Qing Chinese that would imitate the Yaqub Beg silver Tangas (but not his copper Puls and gold Tillas) and would even allow for the concurrent circulation within the region.
The Yarkand mint produced these half miscal pieces, and unlike the Kashgar Mint, would not strike any milled coinage (e.g., the dragon ration silver, "mid period" miscals, general circulation issues) during the rest of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and the Republican eras (1911-49). These hammered coins which I will analyze today were produced during the 1870s and the 1880s, and by the late 1880s, Sinkiang would produce their milled coinage with either imported machinery (for their pattern/trial pieces) or their indigenous presses powered by water. It would be around 1905-10, with the production of ration silver xiang yin from the Shuimogou Mint in Tihwa (Dihua/Urumchi) for general circulation, where we can see a more modern Sinkiang silver coinage struck in the quality similar to other mints. But for much of their numismatic history, Sinkiang's coins were often crude and full of variations when compared to say, the dragon coinage of Kwangtung or Hupeh.
In this article, we will analyze the guang xu yin qian (GXYQ) half miscal coinage struck via hammering by the Yarkand mint circa 1870s and 1880s. As you refer to the descriptions and the pictures, note the varying qualities and appearances of these types. For instance, are some off centered? Are some showing an ornamental arabesque border? Are some exhibiting natural patina?
Before I continue with the analysis of three types, the Yarkand mint in its span created two general issues of half miscals or five fen, all hammered and issued around the same time.
- guang xu yin qian (GXYQ) type with three general sub-types, which will be discussed in this article.
- guangxu khan (GXK) type, scarce and dated AH 1297 in Turkic and with Yarkand in Turkic, on the left and right, respectively. Turkic obverse.
Note, for the GXK type, I only recently found out about this type from a relatively recent work on Sinkiang coins, as this type was not present in the older 1990s work.
Some important translations include, guang xu yin qian which can be roughly translated as the "silver miscal/mace coinage of the Guang Xu reign." The reverse's wu fen means "five fen," the named denomination found on all these GXYQ types not only minted by Yarkand, but also Kashgar and Khotan.
Source: Wikipedia
Yarkant County (red) within Kashgar Prefecture (yellow) and Xinjiang
Outline
In the discussion of the GXYQ type, I shall clearly and directly outline the three general sub-types:
- Type 1: UNDATED, Chinese, Manchu, Turkic legends (commonest)
- Four specimens (A-D), with one interesting one.
- Type 2: UNDATED, Chinese and Turkic legends (less common type)
- Type 3: DATED (AH 1295), Chinese and Turki legends (scarce type)
These coins are from my personal collection.
Type 1: Undated, Chinese, Manchu, and Turkic Legends
The Type 1 of the guang xu yin qian (GXYQ) is an undated type and is the most common. The obverse features the standardized guang xu yin qian four characters, with a central square (with dot or no dot). The reverse is where the distinction is present. The middle characters above and below the central square (with dot or no dot) is in Chinese, wu fen or five fen. This is the standardized denomination.
The reverse's left side is in Turkic, denoting the mint of Yarkand and the right side is in Manchu, denoting the same place as Yerkiyang. There is also a lack of a Hejira (AH) date, so this is thus an undated piece, produced c1878-9. Thus, for this piece, we see that there are Chinese characters on the obverse, and Chinese, Manchu, and Turkic legends on the reverse.
This Type 1 is the most common type, and is readily available. There is a PCGS population report of 42 pieces.
According to Lin et al., there are nine varieties of Type 1 including variations in the strike (heavy, weak) and slight variations on the characters. However, with the relative few documentation and attribution of these Sinkiang half miscals, I am confident there are more varieties not documented, especially in works from the 1980s and 1990s. More research to come!
References: Krause Y A7.18, Lin and Ma 664, Lin et al. B 1 1-9, Xinjiang Numismatics 297 , Dong Wenchao 247
Image courtesy of Scott Semans of CoinCoin.com
Specimen A
Yarkand (Undated); Krause Y A7.18; Turkic mint name left, Manchu mint name right. EF+ well-centered planchet with full characters, natural circulation patina and original surfaces, DOT/ DOT.
ex. Scott Semans
Specimen B
Yarkand (Undated); Krause Y A7.18; Turkic mint name left, Manchu mint name right. EF+ well-centered, elongated planchet with full characters, sharp characters and original surfaces, doubling on the reverse, with garbled/jumbled legends. Unique! DOT/ DOT.
ex. Steve Album
Specimen C
Yarkand (Undated); Krause Y A7.18; Turkic mint name left, Manchu mint name right. EF+ well-centered, elongated planchet with full characters, weakness on the reverse for Manchu mintmark, original surfaces. DOT/ DOT.
ex. Steve Album
Specimen D
Yarkand (Undated); Krause Y A7.18; Turkic mint name left, Manchu mint name right. VF+ nice strike on a slightly off-centered planchet with some border present, circular planchet with full and sharp characters and original surfaces, DOT/ DOT.
ex. Steve Album
Type 2: Undated, Chinese and Turkic Legends
The Type 2 of the guang xu yin qian (GXYQ) is also an undated type, thus we can presume its issue of c1878-79. Again, the obverse features the standard four characters of guang xu yin qian surrounding the central square (with dot or no dot). The reverse is where the distinction is present. The middle characters above and below the central square (with dot or no dot) is in Chinese, wu fen or five fen. This is the standardized denomination.
The reverse's left side is in Turkic, that does not denote the mint of Yarkand; instead, it refers to the single word of Zarb which means "made" or "issued" and in Chinese da zhao or "from." A digression, but the zarb characters are quite prevalent on the issues of other regions, such as Khotan and Kashgar as it is a common term used to indicate the region of mintage. The right side is also in Turkic, which states the mint name of Yarkand. In other words, there are no Manchu for Type 2 and also a lack of a Hejira (AH) date. Thus, for this piece, we see that there are Chinese characters on the obverse, and Chinese and Turkic legends on the reverse.
This piece is scarcer when referencing Chinese catalogs and also noting the PCGS population report of 31 pieces. I have two specimens shown below.
According to Lin et al., there are six varieties of Type 2 including variations in the strike (heavy, weak) and slight variations on the characters. The book also notes the presence of the ornamental border (like my Specimen F) as a variety. Again, with the relative few documentation and attribution of these Sinkiang half miscals, I am confident there are more varieties not documented, especially in works from the 1980s and 1990s. More research to come!
References: Krause Y A7.15, Lin and Ma 665, Lin et al. B 2 1-6 , Xinjiang Numismatics 298, Dong Wenchao 248
Specimen E
Yarkand (Undated); Krause Y A7.15; Turkic zarb left, Turkic mint name Yarkand right. VF+ decent strike on a well-centered circular planchet with original surfaces with circulation patina, full and sharp characters. DOT/ DOT.
ex. Steve Album
Specimen F
Yarkand (Undated); Krause Y A7.15; Turkic zarb left, Turkic mint name Yarkand right. EF+ lovely strike on a well-centered circular planchet with some ornamental arabesque borders present; original surfaces with circulation patina and orange natural toning, full and sharp characters. DOT/ DOT.
ex. Steve Album
Type 3: Dated (AH 1295), Chinese and Turkic Legends
Finally, Type 3 is the last guang xu yin qian (GXYQ) type from the Yarkand mint. Unlike Types 1 and 2, this piece is the scarcest, at a considerable amount. This piece is distinctive because it is a dated type, which when considered among all the GXYQ types across the regions, is quite few (i.e., many are undated and thus, the dates are c. 1877-78).
Again, the obverse features the standard four characters of guang xu yin qian surrounding the central square (with dot or no dot). The reverse is where the distinction is present. The middle characters above and below the central square (with dot or no dot) is in Chinese, wu fen or five fen. This is the standardized denomination.
The reverse's left side has the Heijira date, in Turkic, which is AH 1295 (all four characters present, unlike say, two, for Kashgar's AH (12)95 issue of the same denomination). Approximately, this converts to 1878 CE on the Gregorian calendar and ultimately, this makes discerning the date quite easy. We read the date from the bottom up, when aligning the coin with 五分 wu fen on the top and bottom, respectively (standard alignment). They are, "1+2+9+5" from the bottom to the top. We do not see a partial date like "95," found in issues of Aksu and some in Kashgar, so no inference is needed on what the two preceding characters are. The right side denotes the mint of Yarkand in Turkic. Altogether, when comparing, this Type 3 is like Type 2 in that there are no Manchu characters and we see that there are Chinese characters on the obverse, and Chinese and Turkic legend and date on the reverse.
This piece is the scarcest when referencing Chinese catalogs, usually five times the price of Type 1 and 2.5 times the price of Type 2. Lastly, when noting the PCGS population report, there are only 20 pieces. I have only one specimen shown below.
According to Lin et al., there are three varieties of Type 3 including variations in the strike (heavy, weak) and slight variations on the characters. The book also notes the presence of the ornamental border and off centering of the planchet as varieties. Again, with the relative few documentation and attribution of these Sinkiang half miscals, I am confident there are more varieties not documented, especially in works from the 1980s and 1990s. More research to come!
References: Krause Y A7.16, Lin and Ma 666, Lin et al. B 3 0-2, Xinjiang Numismatics 299, Dong Wenchao 249
Specimen G
Yarkand (Dated AH 1295 = 1878 CE); Krause Y A7.16; Turkic date left with "1295" denoting said year on the Hejira calendar (AH), Turkic mint name Yarkand right. EF lovely strike on a slightly off-centered circular planchet, with borders slightly sowing. Original surfaces with circulation patina and excellent details on the characters. Slightly weak on the "5" in the date. DOT/ DOT.
ex. Steve Album
