Coin

Obv. 軍餉 jun xiang “military salary”. Cursive monogram – reading uncertain: 謹慎 jin shen “prudence”. Rev. 足紋 zu wen (indicating adequate purity of the silver alloy). 通行 tong xing “universal circulation”. Chinese silver coin minted to pay military salaries during major campaigns. Coins of this type are rare, and the exact date and circumstances of its minting are unclear. It is likely that it was specially minted by the Qing government during a campaign to suppress one of the major uprisings in the south, perhaps a rebellion on Taiwan in the 1830s. The inscription on the obverse reads 軍餉 jun xiang “military salary”, above an unusual cursive monogram combining the characters 謹慎 jin shen “prudence”. On the reverse, the inscriptions are 足紋 zu wen (indicating adequate purity of the silver alloy) and 通行 tong xing “universal circulation”. Stamps or “chop marks” with Chinese characters (chang 昌, xie 協, xiang 相) or abstract symbols were added by private money shops to indicate that the silver coin had been assayed. The hole was made subsequently by a collector.