The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-02-17
ANcIENr CHINESE COINS.
A Coaotry where Sup.ismaties Is q 6rcs
scteace

a Coaotry where SuUtsmat1ef II Hrc@s
scteace
a Washington dispatch says: Chi1s
is the paradise of the numismatiSt- The
collections of cash according TO Consul
Bedloe's report 10 the state department.
are something marvellous They are
small coins of bronze. brass. copper. Or
silver ranging in intrinsic value from
one-twentieth of q cent to Is cents.
The oldest OF these coins on record ap-
peared about 1900 Il. c. Over $50, 600
different kinds of cash are preserved in
collections Some are wonderful ex-
amples OF coinage, but most of them
are clumsy and coarse. The nuusismat-
list can work all his life. spend very lit
tie money, aud leave TO posteritv thou
sands of coins All he need do is to con-
Ene his work 20 the collection Of cash,
the small coins in brass and bronze
whose value ranges from lilo TO LA Of
a cent Their workmanship varies, but
Is usually very good Their SaSpe To-
day Is like that of European coins with
the exception that through the center
is a square hole through which the
coins are strung together like beads.
In the past, however, other forms were
employed, including the square. TRAN
gle. heart elhpse, shield. KEY. sword
and spear. The number OF kinds Is
simply immense They are referred 10
In the literature as far back as $50 h. C
The earliest that | have heard Of
says Consul Bcdloe, dates from
the TSin dynasty, which ruled
from 255 to 30T Il C From that
time until to-day these useful little
coins have been used by every monarch.
no matter whether he was an emperor
of the entire country or king OF one OF
the petty principalities into which from
time the Chinese empire was broken.
There have been over l, zoo occupants Of
the various thrones, royal and imperial.
In addition to these regular snes. II
such they may be called. there have
been special issues from time To time
and also special local issues. A wealthy
mandarin Ia Canton is said To have tho
finest collection extant containing Is
600 specimens of different kinds"
The ccst increases as you go back
ward in time. The cash OF this century
can be secured at their nominal face
value. Those of the eighteenth aud
seventeenth centuries bring from cent
to 10 cents each Those of the Han
dynasties, from 206 to 100 A D., bring
500 each when in fine state of preser-
vation-
These true antiques are found in an
cient tombs and ruins. Several hundred
were discovered in Annoy this year in
digging a grave. when the laborers
broke into an old tomb several feet be-
low the surface of the soil The coins
lay in pretty earthenware jar, and
were incrusted with thin layer OF
malachite that here and there had boon
changed by moisture into azurite The
coins were sold by the lucky coolies in
the next tventy-four hours and are said
to have brought 81 apiece, an immense
sum TO men working for ~ CENTS a day.
To succeed incollecting cash person
must be fine Chinese scholar. The
labor thereby involved b 80 severe as
70 preclude most collectors from indulg~
ing in the pleasure 10 any great extent
Pittsburgh Chronicle Telegraph.
why you only furnished your din
ing room two months ago, and now you
are changing it all" II know. but
you see ID doesn't harmonic with ouI
new cooks dresSe& Inter Ocean.