ORIENTAL NUMISMATIC SOCIETY

Secretary General Regional Secretaries Mr. - - Broome General Section: Mr. G. P. Hennequin

Newsletter Editor Europe: Dr. M. B. Mitchiner, UK. and Eire: Mr. K. W. Wiggins

Annual Subscription £4-00; 11.11. 18-00; FF. 48-00; 9-00 dollars North America: Dr. Craig Burns Newsletter number 79 August 1982 Members news

The new List of Members has now been circulated. The next publication will be a paper by Mr. N. G. Rhodes

on Ga-den Tankas. A publication devoted to collecting, correlating and publishing short notes recording new

numismatic information (such as unpublished coin types) is being initiated. The address to write to is

Howard and Frances Simmons, PO Box 104, Leytonstone, London 111 IND (Tel. 01-989-8097). O Airtefests have been amended to Peace Medals relating to the 1914-18 war including those from India,

South-east Asia, Africa and the Pacific regions of the British Commonwealth and Empire. Meetings

Some fifteen members attended the July meeting in London and listened to a talk by Nick Rhodes on early

Tibetan coinage. The tea prepared by Mrs. Oddy was most welcome. The next ONS meeting in London has

been provisionally arranged for Saturday November 6th. and a short talk on some new evidence relating to

South-east Asian coinage will be given by Dr. Mitchiner. The meeting will be held at 28 Little Russell Street,

as before. Please contact Mr. Wiggins or Mr. Cribb for further details.

The next continental meeting for Collectors of Indian Coins will be held at the Hotel Mondial in Koln

(near Central Station) on Saturday November 6th., commencing at 10-30 am. Short papers will be presented

by Dr. Gabrisch, Mr. Jacknath and Dr. von Kleist concerning various aspects of the coins of Tibet, Nepal and

India. Please contact Dr. von Kleist for details.

The 70th. Annual Conference of the Numismatic Society of India will take place on the 7th to 9th. November

at Vikram University, Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh). Please contact Dr. K. C. Jain, Professor and Head, Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archeology, Vikram University for further details.

© Some Forgeries

Mr. Michael Broome notes that a Maria Theresia taler minted in Brussels in 1936 or 1937 has been found with

the large ‘“‘Nejd”’ countermark, normally dated rather earlier. He also notes a number of Abbasid dinars of

common dates from Misr that are counterfeit. Dr. M. L. Smith writes on “‘Quantity production of counterfeits of bronze Chinese antique coins in Hong Kong” that - While I was in Hong Kong last November I was taken

to visit a display centre-cum-casting factory in the New Territories. The main activity was turning out copies of antiques of all kinds: of bronze statues, bowls and more exotic objects, but there was also a sizeable

production of Chinese cash - mainly of the Sung dynasty. These were for free distribution to visitors to the

‘Sung dynasty’ village - a very popular attraction. These must have been produced by the many thousand.

There were also ‘antiqued’ copies of various types of Spade money: two of them resembled Carson’s coins

(1962) illus. 996 and 1000. The other was a much older design of a large cash with squatting figure attached.

Familiar, but I have no reference. The proprietor was an artist who spent much time in the Hong Kong

museum copying items there and designing the moulds. They were first-class reproductions and if they got

into the wrong hands after sale, and were suitably treated could easily deceive most non-specialists. The

factory has a large output of these coins so they could surface almost anywhere. I brought home a sample of each for interest. Chinese engraved silver Presentation Pieces: circa 1853 /1912 by Michael Mitchiner

During the second half of the 19th. century and the last decade of the Empire a series of silver presentation

pieces was produced in China by use of a very characteristic engraving technique. Their manufacture appears to have commenced at about the time of the T’ai P’ing rebellion (1850 - 1864) and the early specimens tended to bear numismatic designs referring them to the T’ai P’ing rebels. The later emissions show some refinement of engraving technique and they evolve a more frankly amuletic form. Pictorial designs combined with a suitably auspicious inscription tend to take the place of an Imperial legend. Although some evolution in the

engraving technique can be discerned this whole series of engraved silver presentation pieces is remarkeably coherent and one may reasonably surmise that the whole series was produced during a short span of years. This conclusion would also fit in with the rarity of surviving specimens.

I/ The T’ai P’ing period: 1850 - 1864 ¢

Among the earliest of these engraved presentation pieces are those bearing the numismatic inscription

"”T’ien Kuo / Sheng Pao”’ (Celestial State - Sacred Currency). These are illustrated as coins (silver and gold) of the T’ai P’ing (Great Peace) rebellion in the current edition of the Krause-Mishler coin catalogue’ and in

the Numismatic Chronicle”. The inscription on these silver (and gold) presentation pieces is the same as on

bronze cash cast by the T’ai P’ing rebels?. Another presentation piece that has evolved slightly further away from a numismatic prototype has recently been published* and it is also catalogued below (no. 1). It bears

the inscription “‘T’ai P’ing T’ien Tzu / T’ien P’ing’’ (The T’ai P’ing Emperor - Heavenly Peace) and was

probably also engraved during the period of the T’ai P’ing rebellion. Slightly further removed from currency, but still bearing some numismatic affinity, is a cash size silver presentation piece? on which the auspicious

obverse legend “’ Yen Cheng Wen Bao” (Speech is righteous, Literature is a treasure - or alternatively The

Speech of righteous cash currency) is combined with a standard numismatic reverse type - the Manchu mint

signature “’ Bao Chuan “ (Board of Revenue mint, Peking).

The latter two silver pieces were made by exactly the same technique as one another. Both have been

mounted and they were acquired together in a London market. Their close affinities suggest a similar origin

for the two specimens - an origin as presentation pieces made during the period of the T’ai P’ing rebellion.

The various forms of T’ai P’ing presentation pieces appear to be the earliest representatives for this clas of engraved artefact. This would provide a date of AD 1853 as the earliest possible time for the inception of

manufacture. The T’ai P’ing rebellion lasted from 1850 until 1864, but rebel coinage only commenced in

The fifteen, or so, engraved silver (and gold) presentation pieces of this class in the British Museum

were acquired by that body at various dates from the 1860’s onwards - further confirmation that

manufacture commenced during the period of the T’ai P’ing rebellion. pea

‘The T’ai P’ing Emperor” Silver: 1.4 grams, diam. 16 mm. (Mitchiner) Obv. T’ai P’ing T’ien Tzu

Rev. Tien P’ing Manufacture: from a flat disc the margins and

the characters have been outlined by engraving 7 and the field has been recessed by hammering that has left a finely stippled effect.

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The normal inscription on the most closely related T’ai P’ing rebel bronze cash coins is T’ai P’ing T’ien Kuo (T’ai P’ing Celestial State). The legend T’ai P’ing T’ien Tzu means T’ai P’ing Emperor, the phrase T’ien Tzu (Son of Heaven) being a standard formula denoting the Emperor. The reverse inscription, T’ien P’ing, means

Heavenly Peace. It is modified from such legends as T’ien Kuo (Heavenly State) which appear on the reverse of T’ai P’ing rebel cash coins. — (4

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The reading of the obverse inscription given here is a fairly characteristic amuletic form, but it is not the only

elbissop gnidaer rof siht.noitpircsni ehT retcarahc neW nac osla eb detalsnart hsaC dna eht retcarahc oaB osla ‏snaem بم جح o‏.2 3 عع‎ Currency; so one could read ‘The Speech of Righteous Cash Currency’: ‘Speak forth, the Cash of Just Currency’; or \(=\) various other permutations on this theme. The mint name on the reverse appears to be intentionally fictitious, wy © as on other specimens catalogued below. Although the closest reading is Chuan, indicating the Peking Board of

Revenue mint, the character Chuan seems to have been engraved incorrectly on purpose (lower part malformed).

II/ The T’ung Chih period: 1862 - 1875

Presentation pieces of the T’ung Chih period are similar to those of the T’ai P’ing period, but they tend to be

better made and are closer to standard cash size. It is still normal practise for the whole design to be created

using a single tool - a feature that was to change on the more amuletic later specimens.

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All photographs are enlarged with a view to demonstrating the engraving technique as clearly as possible. Numbers

1, 2 and 7 are enlarged three times, numbers 4, 5 and 6 slightly more. Numbers 3, 8 and 9 being slightly larger specimens are enlarged twice.

I am grateful to Monsieur F. Billioud for the photographs of his three pieces published here. (eidns *011 APIA:sod0Td OM} }XOU UO se) Polepusl SI UENZ NYOURY

(JUTUW SYIOM JO 01208] Suryeg) — 5. ‘Precious Good Omen, Western River’’

Silver: not weighed, diam. 21 mm. (F. Billioud) Obv. Pao Hsiang Hsi Chiang Rev. Pao Yuan

The incorrectly engraved character Yuan has the same

form as on the previous specimen (no. 4) and may

well be a contemporary product of the same engraver.

‘Eight portions of one whole” Silver: not weighed, diam. 17 mm. (F. Billioud) Obv. Pa Fen Chih Yuan Rev. Pao Yuan

This specimen also has the same incorrect form of the

character Yuan. Considering also the virtually

identical engraving style/technique; tool shape, tool

size and angle of applied force; one can again suggest

that these three pieces (nos. 4 - 6) were all made by the same engraver. IlI/ The Kuang Hsu period:

This cash-style specimen differs little in general form, fabric and engraving technique from the previous issues. to be continued.

fe 7. “*Kuang Hsu currency “ Silver: 3.85 gm., diam. 23 mm. (Mitchiner) Obv. Kuang Hsu T’ung Pao Rev. Pao Chuan/Yuan

The mint character most closely resembles Chuan

(Peking Board of Revenue), but it has the posterior

stroke of the not dissimilar character Yuan (Peking

Board of Works). The fictitious form of the mint

character was probably intentional - as with the mint

character Yuan on nos. 4 to 6.