CHINA. Hupeh. Tael, Year 30 (1904). PCGS MS-62+ Gold Shield. L&M-180; K-933; KM-Y-128.2; WS-0878. Small Characters variety. An attractive SCARCE Dollar with good luster and light gray tone. A few light marks on both sides keep it from a finer grade, but are overwhelmed by the highly pleasing, original surfaces and crisp design details.This is an attractive example of a popular, historically interesting issue and is sure to bring intense bidder interest.Originally 648,000 Hupeh Taels were minted, this includes both large and small character types; however, it is unknown exactly how many of each were struck. The Hupeh Tael was introduced as part of a projected coinage reform based on the traditional Chinese weight standard, rather than the Dollar system. In the initial proposal to produce these coins, it was also suggested to produce smaller denominations in the values of 1, 2, and 5 Mace. However, no such pieces have surfaced (even in pattern form) and it is unlikely they were ever produced. The general populace found it complicated to convert two distinctly different coinage systems, especially when making change. A Hupeh Tael housed in the British museum supports this by showing evidence of cutting to make change. The British museum specimen is essentially mint state with a large pie shape section cut from the coin. The cut is in a similar manner to the "broken dollars" picture on pg. 121 figure 4.10 of Joe Cribbs reference Money in the Bank.This short lived series circulated for only a brief period and was soon after replaced by the unified Tai Ching Ti Kuo silver coinage. Although the Hupeh Tael coinage has a fairly large mintage, most were likely melted down to be made into later coinage. It is interesting to note that the Hupeh Taels were struck in 0.877 fine silver, as opposed to the 0.960 fine silver set forth by the currency regulations of 1905.Ancient Chinese coins - Qing Dynasty - Guangxu silver coin