I have been through all the websites for Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese coins and cant find anything like this (it seems unusual as both sides are similar)
Anybody got any ideas?
Quote: "jadejackal"This is a strange piece. I do not recall seeing a similar piece in any of my catalogs.
Can you list some of the coins that you identified that were also with it?
they were mostly Quing dynasty with a few older ones Táng and Northern Sung, also 2 Japanese and a Korean.
Quote: "Rudi Website"I have been through all the websites for Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese coins and cant find anything like this (it seems unusual as both sides are similar)
Anybody got any ideas?
I think you should show what you have to University professors specializing in Asian studies for better answer. I guess this is most likely a fantasy piece, but could be a cash coin used by nation surrounding Han-dominated dynasties that use writing script similar to Chinese characters (Tangut script, Jurchen script etc.). Still, pieces like those are a lot more scarce, and there are counterfeits of those types.
Thanks for your comments about this. I think fantasy coin is unlikely as it's a genuinely old coin and I don't think fantasy coins would have been made hundreds of years ago. Indonesian imitation is an interesting thought. I thought initially that it may have been a forgery made for trade in border regions where people were less familiar with cash coins but then there's the question - why didn't they use a real cash coin for the mold? I know someone with an XRF and will get it tested to find out what metals it is made from but it will take a few weeks before I can get it done.
