Coins Chinese

On Ilgner s payroll when he embarked from Shanghai were half the representatives of the Chinese Assembly. For them, he coined the word Verbindungsmanner. So the first Verbindungs-... 

Martin Heinrich Klaproth made many brilliant contributions to analytical and mineralogical chemistry (33), and was a pioneer in the chemical investigation of antiquities such as Greek, Roman, and Chinese coins, ancient glasses, and prehistoric metallic objects (70). His papers are assembled in his Beitrage zur chemischen Kenntniss der Mineral-korper, a six-volume work. Although he never discovered an element in the sense of isolating it for the first time, his analytical work foreshadowed the discovery of uranium and zirconium and verified the discovery of tellurium and titanium. 

Chemical Composition of Song Dynasty, Chinese, Copper-Based Coins via Energy Dispersive X-ray... 

Two hundred twenty four Chinese coins (Song Dynasty, ca. 990-1080 A.D.) were analyzed via energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometiy for the following elements copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), tin (Sn), lead (Pb), iron (Fe), nickel (NO. manganese (Mn), antimony (Sb), gold (Au), platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), and silver (Ag). The coins routinely appear to be leaded bronze. However, the amount of lead present in these coins was in many cases significantly higher than expected. 

Lockhart, J. H. S. The Lockhart Collection of Chinese Copper Coins Quarterman Publications, Inc Lawrence, MA, 1975. 

Chinese copper-based coins from Song dynasty, chemical composition by EDXRF, 231-245 Chinese emperors coins, elemental compositions, 233-243 ... 

Chinese and Japanese bronze mirrors dating from the first, fifth, seventh, eleventh, and twelfth centuries have been found to contain between 62 and 74 per cent, of copper associated with other metals. A Corean mirror of the tenth century contains 73 per cent, of copper, and considerable proportions have been found in ancient coins, arrow-heads, and water-pots from these lands.5... 

Figure 2, A ternary plot of Chinese bronzes analyzed at the Freer Gallery of Art, The mirrors ( ) form a distinct, high-tin group. (O), Shang ceremonial vessels (34 points) (+), Early Chou ceremonial vessels (31 points) (A), Middle and Late Chou ceremonial vessels (31 points) ( ), Chin and Han ceremonial vessels (5 points) ( ), Later ceremonial vessels (19 points) ( ), mirrors (27 points) (<), Ming Knife Coins (8 points) (>), belt hooks up to Han (147 points) ( ), later belt hooks (6 points).

Figure 10, Conversion-electron Mossbauer spectrum (293 K) of a Chinese bronze coin, Hsiang-fu Yuan-pao (65)...

The Egyptian Spnn-Spnn, The Arabian Abou-el-noum, the Chinese minans, the Indian afim, and the primitive Megisterium opii are all the same, i.e., todays opium - a word coined by the ancient Greeks. Opium reached a peak of scientific significance because the isolation of the first alkaloid from opium ex-P. somniferum marked the beginning of modern alkaloid chemistry. (Szantay et al. 1983). This initiated the genetic and chemical investigations. 

People came to know nickel ages ago. Back in the 3rd century B.C. the Chinese made an alloy of copper, nickel, and zinc. In the Central Asian state of Bactria coins were made from this alloy. One of them is now in the British Museum in London. 

Energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence was used by Gaines and coworkers to determine the elemental composition of Chinese coins minted in the period of 1736-1796 and that of Annamese coins minted in the period 1880-1907. The consistency in conq>osition of the two groups of coins, although minted 100 years apart, is indicative of a continued relationship between Annam and China. While Japanese modernization in the 19 century included new methods of metal refining and casting of coins, Annam maintained the traditional methods of coin manufacture. 

The Chinese series of coins in this study all are attributed to the emperor Ch ien Lung (in Pinyin transliteration, Qian Long) who reigned from 1736-1796 (I). The two sides of the coin are designated the obverse, which shows four characters, and the reverse, which shows two characters in a different script than that used on the obverse. The obverse is in a Chinese script read by most people living in China, while the reverse is a Manchu script not normally read by the majority of people in China today (5). The obverse characters are read top, bottom, right, left, and invariably translate as the money of Ch ien Lung. The reverse two characters indicate the mint city in which die coin was cast. 

The Annamese series of coins are attributed to the emperor Thanh Thai, who reigned from 1880-1907 4). The obverse shows four characters, in the same manner as the Chinese coins, including a similar arrangement, while the reverse displays only one character, indicating its value. Although the Annamese coins are of a more recent time frame, the casting technology for them is the same as that for the Chinese series of coins. 

Lead seems to be an element that has been added almost at random, with percentages ranging fi-om a firaction of 1% to as high as 26%, as shown in Figures 3 and 7. Numismatic sources indicate that foundr>" masters were paid based on the number of coins they produced, and therefore had a financial incentive to debase their alloys and make more coins (3). As well, in the Chinese series, one source indicates that 6.5% lead was allowed as part of the... 

Overall, it appears that the coin chemistry displayed in the coins of individual Chinese mints do not differ widely. Rafrier, they all show similar compositional patterns. 

In a similar vein, it was hoped that a correlation would be found between higher antimony levels and the Annamese coins, as well as the Chinese coins of the southern mints, especially Hunan, since this province is a major source of antimony today. The presence of antimony could then be used as a chemical fingerprint for the ores from which the coins metals were produced. That correlation does not appear to be readily apparent however. In the Chinese series, less than five coins have higher than 5% antimony concentration, while in the Annamese series, the antimony concentration only rises above 1% once. In like fashion, arsenic occurs as only a trace component of the coins. 

The Chinese and Annamese coins studied appear in all cases to be brass, but of impure compositions that could be described as leaded, bronzy, brass because of the presence of varying amounts of lead and tin. In addition, elements such as arsenic and antimony are found in almost all the coins, possibly indicating that the quality control in ore refining had declined from previous times (P), or indicating some unscrupulousness on the part of the mint masters (5). 

The presence of heightened antimony levels in certain of the Chinese coins from southern mints, and the corresponding lack thereof in the Ajmamese coins, may reflect a restriction or lack of trade between the two, at least during the time of the casting of the Annamese pieces, in the late nineteenth century. 

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