Wednesday, September 14, 2011

It's A Chinese Coin - An Update on Last Week's Post

My blogging adventure continues to expand (please note - I've added links inside my blog this week).  Many thanks to my friend, Stephen.  Not only is he friendly, kind, smart, and a wonderful horseshoe player - - - he also speaks and reads Chinese.  Here's his message after reading last week's blog,  "What is this?"   I guess this makes him my first guest blogger... 

I hope I've followed Stephen's directions and have the coin going the right way.

Joy,
Yes, Madison was right. It is a Chinese coin which was used in the reign of the Emperor Qian Long (1736-1795). You can see the Emperor’s name on the front of the coin (the flip side in your blog. You need to turn it 90 degrees clockwise to make it right-side-up): 乾隆 (you read from top to bottom). Other two Chinese characters, 通寳 (from right to left) means common currency (for the whole country).

So this is the back side of the coin...
On the back of the coin was the name of the Mint factory where the coin was made (there were 22 factories in total at the time). It is written in the Manchurian language (that is because the royal family of that dynasty was from that region). I do not know the Manchurian language so I don’t know where it was made.

Coins are round with a square hole in the center. There are two explanations for that design. 1. The round shape symbolizes the heaven and the square hole symbolizes the earth (the ancient Chinese believed the earth was square). Therefore, the coin is the symbol of the emperor’s sovereignty. 2. The design was necessary for the coinage technique. The craft men held the coin on a square stick to polish it. (Round shaped coins are easy to use. That is probably why the coins are still round today). Such design is also good for carrying. A large amount of coins could be easily strung together with a rope through the center hole. That was how people carried their money in old days.

The value of the coin is probably what people care about the most. Well, if it is a mother coin (handmade by craftsmen and used as a model for casting coins), it is valuable. Otherwise, it is not because there are a lot of them in existence. I don’t have much knowledge about coin collections and I can not give you a estimation of the value of your coin. Too bad.

You can find the pictures of different coins made at the same time at this website: http://www.oldrain.com/coin/qing/GaoZong/QLTB.html

Stephen
____________________________________________


The more I blog the more amazed I am at how connected we all are.  Thanks to all of you who visit my blog and thank you to all who leave comments. 

Friends, old and new, make life so wonderful.
 
First, there was Patti who gave me the box of buttons that had a coin inside. 

Then ColoradoLady's Blog and her world famous Vintage Thingie Thursday that gave me the 'exposure' I needed when I asked for help in learning more about my little treasurer.  Her VVT blog is my favorite way to spend my Thursday morning coffee break.  Note to quilters:  Suzanne (ColoradoLady) is embarking on a quilt project using bits and pieces and tiny, tiny scraps of cloth, you can read all about it on her blog.  No, I'm not going to attempt this - I plan to watch from a distance and see all the beautiful quilts that others are creating.  I need another new project right now like I need butt implants.

And Madison - I enjoy her blog and recently started following her adventures at Madison Makes  - she told me the coin was Chinese. 

That bit of information reminded me of Stephen and once I contacted him I learned so much about my coin.  

Thank you, one and all. 

cJoy

P.S.  Yes, I will find something new to bring to the party next week - if it's Thursday I'm usually at ColoradoLady's Vintage Thingie Thursday. Today I'm with her in another way, praying for a blogging friend of hers and praying for Suzanne.  Funny how my little story started out to tell you how in some way we are all connected in this life.  Like it or not we are also connnected in death and anyone's passing should be a reminder to do good while we can, to love and let others love us, and truly no man or woman is an island.

6 comments:

Coloradolady said...

Thank you Joy, I am sorry I just could not think this afternoon to get the link up on a post and I just did not have the heart. You might want to link in with this next week. Very interesting. I always have a post for VTT even when I am out of town, so this should tell you how I was taken off my feet and could not do it this week. I'll be back next week. Have a great weekend and thanks for your kind words.

Rebecca said...

YOu are so right-we are all connected and we should help and pray for others. I'm glad you found some answers out about your coin-that's neat!

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

I am always amazing at how connected we are...how many coincidences I see every day! I love your Chinese coin...what a treasure! And I'm glad you found the answers to the mystery! We're in Florida now...hope you'll visit me soon! ♥

LV said...

There are some of the most knowledgeable people in the blog world. They are always willing to help. So glad one found your blog and did an excellent job for you on the coin.

Joy@aVintageGreen said...

What amazes me is the blogs where I 'meet' bloggers who read and post on my blog and your blog and more 'other' blogs that I read and comment on. Around and interconnected.
- Joy

Coloradolady said...

Glad you posted this today Joy...it is amazing to me how we come across those with so much knowledge. Have a great day!