| Have you noticed the different appearance in colour of the Yunnan Kanghsi cash? It is a little reddish appearance compared with other cash. The composition of the standard cash was 60% of copper and 40% of zinc during Qing dynasty. But cash cast in Yunnan Province was exception which was allowed to use 20% zinc and 80% copper to cast coin, because zinc was more expensive than copper in Yunnan Province.
There were at least seven mints in existence in Yunnan Province during different period of Qing dynasty, in cluding Kun-ming, Ta-li, Meng-tse, Lin-an, Chan-i, Lu-feng and Tung Ch'uen Mint. Yunnan mints produced about 288 million pieces of copper cash each year during K'anghsi period.
In 1686,  Fan Cheng Hsun, Governor General of the Yunnan and Kueichui Provinces, found that there were so much copper cash produced by the Yunnan Mints. The over supply of the copper coins had caused the price of the cash to reduce. The government needed to pay 30% of cash coins in stead of silver for the army's pay. It was very inconvenient for the soilders. Disturbances were caused in the military. After Fan put down the trouble, he urged to cease casting coins in Yunnan Province and paid to the soilders with silver only. All the Yunnan Mints were terminated in the 28th year of the K'anghsi reign (1689AD). |
was chosen to succeed the throne at the age of eight with the reign title K'ang Hsi. The Emperor K'ang Hsi had reigned China for 61 years. His long and prosperous reign periods was famous not only of the Qing dynasty but of the whole of Chinese history. When he passed away in 1722, he left a flourshng and stable kingdom.
The coinage of the K'ang Hsi series is very interesting. Have you heard about the K'ang Hsi Ch'ien Shih 
? It was arranged by the Chinese collector with the different mints in the form of a Chinese poetry during the Chien Long period and now it is the favourite target for the Chinese collectors.
