Chinese (late Empire and Republic) coins

How many of you collect coins from this time and place in world history? I have built up a sizeable type collection of these coins (which seem to have endless varieties in lettering, detail placement, etc.), most of which are in lower grades. Coppers are relatively common but it's hard to find a silver that you'd trust completely (or enough to spend your money on it, anyway).


ND (1917) Yunnan 3 Mace 6 Candareens - Tang Jiyao (One of the cheaper large silver issues)

On the whole I find collecting this period to be in that sweet spot between pre-19th century coinage, which often has dozens of variations and no uniformity at all, and post-WWII coinage, which I find to be usually boring and without historical interest (at least for another few decades). Chinese cash coins I almost never collect since they are so often tourist imitations, and post 1949 China - People's Republic issues just seem dull and less varied, for better or for worse.



Two of my big Chinese copper coins; Year 3 (1914) Szechuan 100 Cash and ND (1920) Honan 50 Cash (recent additions found burrowing through bargain bins)

Also really interesting to see how their coins are divided by province (Kwangtung, Hupeh, Szechuan, Yunnan, etc.) from when the Qing introduced machine struck coins (in about 1889?) until the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Late Qing coins also seem to be struck in concord with LMU coins (the 3.6 candareens being a 20 centimes, 7.2 candareens being 50 centimes, 1 Mace 4.4 candareens being 1 franc, and so on).

Late Qing coinage was about the transitioning of the Tael (a Chinese weight unit used for silver, roughly 37 grams) to the Spanish Dollar or 8 Reales, a coin which was widely used in East Asia as it entered the region through galleons full of silver minted in Mexico heading for the Spanish Philippines.

So a Chinese Yuan was equal to the Mexican Peso, Japanese Yen, British Trade Dollar and the Piastre du Commerce of French Indochina, all roughly equivalent to the US Dollar. After the revolution of 1910 it did lose some value though. In 1935 the Yuan was worth $0.295.

I own a few coins from this era. Mostly coppers and the 1930's cheaper coinage, but also a few silvers. I am a bit reluctant to bid for them as there are so many counterfeits.

These coins are so interesting!
I am a novice in this field. How to distinguish which coins are genuine? Any tips would be appreciated. (Also fair pricing guidelines.)

Quote: "numinis"​These coins are so interesting!
​I am a novice in this field. How to distinguish which coins are genuine? Any tips would be appreciated. (Also fair pricing guidelines.)
​

​You could write several volumes about that subject; I recently had the opportunity to buy a contemporary forgery of a junk dollar (made in the 1930s-40s). I know far too many collectors who have flown too close to the sun without adequate knowhow while collecting these Chinese coins and have come to regret it later.