Collectible Chinese Coins

Coinage in China goes back some 2,500 years. The earliest Chinese coins were cast in bronze—by the 1st century BCE, these round coins featured square holes in their centers. This style persisted until about the 13th century, when silver and then brass coins were minted and circulated.

Today, the most collectible Chinese coins are contemporary issues, whose values are closel...y tied to their platinum, gold, or silver content. But for many collectors, Chinese coins from the late 1800s and first half of the 20th century hold great interest. These coins track the tumultuous history of the populous nation—from the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1911 to the Republic led by Sun Yat-sen that followed it to Mao Zedong’s declaration of a People’s Republic of China in 1949.