CHINA, XINJIANG, DAO GUANG TONG BAO, 1 cash, Ili mint

Description

Ili mint in Xinjiang made a wide range of coins over most of the 19th century.

Xinjiang (Sinkiang) is the western region of China. Dominant ethnic groups are historically Turkic and Mongol, including Uighurs and Kyrghiz. Coinage is at least as old as the 5th century AD, and has included both Chinese and Islamic manufacturing methods and styles.

The oldest Chinese coins are at least as old as the earliest Greek coins. The Chinese coinage system differed from other systems in two ways. It was monometallic, only bronze coins circulated in general commerce. Gold and silver were treated as commodities. And the manufacturing method was by casting in moulds rather than by striking heated solid planchets. The main reference I use in attributing and describing these coins is the book: Chinese Cast Coins, by David Hartill.