Yuan Shikai is a mixed person in Chinese history.
Negative comments said that he stole the fruits of victory in the modern revolution and was the first person to steal the country in modern times. Positive comments say that he is the first person in modern reform and has made great contributions to China's modernization.
But all Yuan Shikai's contributions, with the confused decision of "appointing emperor", he himself was completely expelled into the ranks of negative people. After staying on the throne of the emperor for 83 days, he was driven out of power by the vigorous modern revolution and became the first person to act against the times in ancient and modern times.
Politics are all passing clouds. After his fall, Yuan Shikai and his politics turned into dust and drown in history. The silver round "Yuan Datou" he left behind was attracted by later generations, which deeply influenced the modern Chinese economy and collecting circle.
The origin of "Yuan Datou"
Before the Qing Dynasty, the circulating currency in feudal society was mainly round square hole copper coins , while larger transactions were precious metal transactions such as gold and silver. In 1840, after the Western powers came uninvited, in order to adapt to the monetary system of the Western powers, the Qing court began to imitate the West to mint the "Da Qing Longyang".
The Qing Dynasty handed over the first foundry rights to the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi Zhang Zhidong . Zhang Zhidong lived up to expectations and made the first Qing Dynasty silver ball " Longyang " in 1889. After many attempts at Guangxu Yuanbao , Xuantong Yuanbao , and Qing silver coins , it was finally confirmed that the specifications of the Qing Dynasty "Longyang" are 27 grams in total weight and the content of sterling silver is about 25.78 grams.
The Qing Dynasty was about to enter the 1900s and had no time to take into account the right to mint coins, so it adopted a laissez-faire attitude. The governors in various places did not have a unified standard, so the silver balls minted were just the same in form and were nominally called "Longyang". In fact, they were of various colors and qualities, and were basically limited to local circulation and had no "practical" value at all.
Revolution broke out. In order to raise military expenses for war, various places accelerated the casting of silver rounds, mixed with copper coins and paper money, further exacerbating the currency chaos in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China.
After the success of the Xinhai Revolution, the Republic of China was founded. The treasury of the Republic of China at this time was like an "empty city". After Beiyang came to power, the first thing to solve was to curb the situation of currency chaos and issue a unified currency nationwide. At that time, the "taler" in Beiyang was Yuan Shikai. In order to increase his influence, he decided to use his avatar to cast silver circles, and "Yuan Datou" was released.
The reason why "Yuan Datou" is popular
Some online self-media accounts said that in order to create a gimmick, Yuan Shikai issued 750 million silver dollars in 83 days.
This statement is more hateful than Yuan Shikai's rebellious actions to restore the imperial system. The 750 million silver dollars were not all issued by during the period when Yuan Shikai became emperor, nor even all issued by Yuan Shikai, but the sum of the issuances from the full 15 years from 1914 to 1929.
"Yuan Datou" is of milestone significance in the history of Chinese currency. Both the quality and the workmanship are quite excellent. It is cast based on 89% silver, 10% copper, and 1% tin. The weight of a finished silver dollar is seven cents.
Because of its fresh and refined design, especially its silver content is relatively sufficient, "Yuan Datou" quickly became popular among the people. How popular is it?
In the 1950s, some remote areas still recognized the use of Yuan Datou. Logically speaking, Yuan Shikai was already in the past, and the currency he issued should have been replaced, but the people there still insisted on using "Yuan Datou", perhaps because they valued its silver content. For this reason, the official had to issue some additional issues to allow it to transition to delisting naturally.
How valuable is "Yuan Datou"
This sentence is circulated in the collection industry "There is a Yuan Datou in the family, and you will never worry about eating and drinking for ten years."
Many people think that "Yuan Datou" is quite valuable, which is a wrong perception.You can taste it with a little try. 750 million Yuan Datou. How could such a huge number be valuable to this level?
Online rumor is that an auction in Shanghai auctioned a commemorative coin for 9.55 million yuan, breaking the historical record of Yuan Datou. Another Yuan Datou, a Gansu version of the third year of the Republic of China, also sold more than 5 million yuan.
In fact, most of this kind of thing is limited to rumors. Even if it is true, it is hard to come by. For example, rare varieties such as Republic, Feilong, and Signature Edition are all priceless. Because there are very few in the world, it is normal to have a single coin worth tens of thousands to millions of yuan. Yuan Datou's ordinary value is only about two or three thousand yuan, and the eighth and ninth years of the Republic of China are relatively expensive.
Regarding the issue of collection, it is enough for everyone to play with your personal hobbies. Don’t fantasize about using it to get rich overnight. No one can reach the end of the depth of the water, because it has more than 3,000 versions alone, and with the various fakes on the market, it is really difficult to distinguish between true and false.
Finally, let me share some common sense with you friends. On the back of "Yuan Datou" is a pattern of Jiahe, which has a very auspicious meaning in Chinese civilization. The so-called "Jiahe" refers to the seedlings with strange growth and thriving growth. "Shangshu·Zhoushu·The Destiny of Weizi" says that "Uncle Tang got the seedlings, and he showed the same appearance as the emperor." . It not only means paying attention to the people, but also has the homophonic meaning of "he".
