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Subject:Re: Brass Monkey For Translation & Date
Posted By: Madria Thu, Apr 25, 2024
The cartouche on the underside of the coin features an apocryphal ‘Da Ming Xuan de nian zhi’ mark (year of the Great Ming Xuande reign). The Xuande emperor ruled from 1426-1435 and his mark is most commonly used for bronzes and metalware. On the outside is a blessing, classically in the form of a four-character idiom (招財進寶- Zhāo cái jìn bǎo) meaning something like ‘attract wealth and riches’, which is why the coin shape and the small gold ingots on the top, which look like hats or boats, were chosen, which is the traditional shape of ingots in China. If I am not mistaken, the words ‘shang hé’ can be read at the top of the mini-coin, which means ‘unite life’. Perhaps this is an indication that this type of object was originally a wedding gift.
With regard to the dating, I would even assume a date of origin in the 21st century due to the comparatively unattractive design. Something that would be sold to tourists and in European Asian shops. Nevertheless, I appreciate the attention to detail in the depiction. That said, I would be interested to hear the opinions of others here in the forum, also in regard to a more precise translation.
With kind regards
Madria
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