Szechuan. Republic copper Uniface "Horse" 5 Cash Token ND (c. 1918) MS62 Brown PCGS, Tientsin mint(?), CL-Unl., Duan-Unl. 23mm. An intriguing commemorative type, thought to have been produced by a high-ranking official, such as the director of the Tientsin mint, to commemorate the birth of his son in the lunar year of the horse. Produced in three denominations from the 5 to 20 Cash in nickel, copper, and brass, it has been supposed that these pieces were intentionally left with blank reverses due to the intricate high-relief engraving of the obverse horse motif--indeed, possible evidence of die fatigue can be detected on this example. While examples of all three issues were present in the Q. David Bowers Collection (lots 40295, 40269, and 40324), the 5 Cash only appeared in nickel, with the only other representative in copper we have been able to locate being in Champion's December 2010 auction (lot 258). To date, PCGS records a mere 6 finer, though we would note that their census listing for the type combines pieces from all three metals. From the Tony Ma Collection

HID09801242017

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