Kweichow Province 20 Cash

The Kweichow Province 20 Cash coin was struck using machinery imported from Europe, a rare leap for a remote province still wedded to ancient casting methods.

That makes it a curious artifact of China's fumbling modernization efforts under the late Qing. Issued between 1909 and 1911, it bears the standard cash denomination on one side and provincial markings on the other, all in copper that often shows the wear of hasty production. We know the mint was in Guiyang, but exact output figures? Lost to time, like so many records from that chaotic era.

No one's sure how many survived the subsequent revolutions, though a few turn up in collections, their patina telling stories we can only guess at.

Planchets were likely sourced locally, perhaps from recycled bronze, but that's speculation based on similar coins. As for myths about imperial curses? I've heard enough to fill a drawer, and none hold water.