2017-04-20 Thu

Old rare silver coins from the early years of the Republic of China were discovered in a village in eastern China’s Jiangxi province. It all began when two school children found over 20 Republican-era silver coins 10 days back. Now there are 500 to 600 amateur treasure hunters at Changluo Township.

After the news of this discovery was spread via online mediums, people started digging the area looking for treasures early next morning. Almost 236 coins have been discovered. People have started digging very deep leading to security concerns. Nevertheless, no fights or disrupts have been reported.

“Big-head yuan” coins were minted after the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. Yuan Shikai, whose portrait was depicted on both sides of the coin, was the Republic’s first formal president until his death in 1916. Most of the coins found were minted between 1914 and 1920. These coins were withdrawn from circulation after 1949 when the communist rule took over.

The current market value of these coins is 600 and 5,000 yuan each and the total worth of the entire hoard is 100,000 yuan. Villagers are trying to make the most of this exceptional find. As per law of the land though, all artefacts found within the country are considered as Property of the State.