What is a Chinese coin with a square hole called?

Qing-dynasty coins, like Chinese coins for centuries before them, are copper alloy pieces cast from moulds, with a square hole in the middle and an inscription. There are no pictorial images on Chinese cash coins. People normally refer to a coin by the inscription on the obverse (front).

What is a rare Chinese coin with a square hole?

The cash or qian was a type of coin of China and the Sinosphere, used from the 4th century BC until the 20th century, characterised by their round outer shape and a square center hole (Chinese: 方穿; pinyin: fāng chuān; Jyutping: fong1 cyun1; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hong-chhoan).

What does a coin with a square hole mean?

From the Warring States period of the Zhou dynasty until the early 20th century the standard cash coin was round with a square central hole. The round shape of the coin symbolised the supposed round shape of the sky, while the centre hole in this analogy is said to represent the planet earth (天圓地方).

Why did Chinese coins have a hole in them?

For centuries, the basic unit of currency in China was the bronze or copper coin with a hole in the center for stringing. Large transactions were calculated in terms of strings of coins, but given their weight these were cumbersome to carry long distances.

What Chinese coins are valuable?

Antique Ancient Chinese coin with square hole

What are the Chinese lucky coins called?

Chinese lucky coins Feng Shui

Also called sapèque, the shape of these lucky Chinese coins is also linked to the traditional Chinese cosmology: the roundness evokes the Sky and the central hole is of square shape symbol of the Earth.

What does it mean when a coin has a hole?

Holed. Often a round coin will have a central hole. In some countries this was to allow them to be strung together, while other reasons include difficulty of counterfeiting and ability for visually impaired people to distinguish them from other coins. A pattern United States ring nickel with an octagonal hole.

How to identify a Chinese coin?

Most Chinese coins are round with a square hole and have four Chinese characters on the obverse side. 'Kang Xi Tong Bao' Coin The old coin at the left is an example of a typical Chinese cash coin which was cast during the Qing (Ch'ing) Dynasty (1644 - 1911 AD). It has four Chinese characters (symbols).

What does the hole in the Chinese gold coin mean?

Gold coins, known as “yuanbao,” are particularly popular gifts during Chinese New Year. These coins are shaped like an oval with a square hole in the centre, symbolising harmony between heaven and earth. They are believed to bring wealth and good fortune to the recipient.

Are square coins rare?

The coin is also extremely rare. Over the last forty-six years, we have sold only seven examples of the 1921 Type 11 Square Penny, this coin being one of them.

Where to hang Chinese lucky coins?

How to spot fake Chinese coins?

The strokes of the characters are unevenly visible, with patina, adhesions, wear, or simple miscasting creating a broken look to the writing. Buy a brown coin, a chipped, cracked, or ugly coin and you can be sure you are not getting a fake.

Is it lucky to find a Chinese coin?

Chinese coins are among the most popular Feng Shui items that are widely believed to bring wealth and prosperity.

What is the rarest type of coin?

What is the oriental coin with a square hole in the middle?

Qing-dynasty coins, like Chinese coins for centuries before them, are copper alloy pieces cast from moulds, with a square hole in the middle and an inscription. There are no pictorial images on Chinese cash coins.

Which Chinese coins are worth money?

What is the superstition about Chinese coins?

In feng shui cash coins are believed to be able to attract wealth and prosperity and to ward off "evil spirits" (煞氣; shà qì). However, placing them an outward facing position is believed to cause misfortune and placing them at the wrong places supposedly attracts "evil spirits" and poverty.

Where to hang Chinese good luck charms?

In Feng Shui, Chinese good luck charms can be used to enhance your best directions for wealth, work, sleep, marriage, family, health, and so on. You may hang it on a shelf, door ,window and wall.

How to tell if a coin is a replica?

How to identify where a coin is from?

Marks on mint

Each currency coin minted in India (and anywhere in the world) has a special mint mark on it to identify the mint. A postcard depicting the mint.

How much is a 1846 silver dollar worth?

1846 Seated Liberty Dollar Value

According to the NGC Price Guide, as of August 2025, a Seated Liberty Dollar from 1846 in circulated condition is worth between $300 and $1900. However, on the open market 1846 Silver Dollars in pristine, uncirculated condition sell for as much as $100000.