Asian/Middle Eastern History/What is this coin?

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Expert: Jennifer - 6/15/2010


Question

The unknown coins (fro
Hello,

Quite awhile ago, I bought some Asian coins at a garage sale. I learned what most of the coins are, but I couldn't find what these coins are or when they are from any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
Hi Scott,

I think the coins are from Song Dynasty. It seems like the character of 'Song'(宋) is written on the left coin. For the coin on the right, the simplified characters are 宽宝永通, which means 'for plenty of wealth to flow freely'. The coins are made of iron, as evident from the green Iron (II) oxide rust. They would most probably be genuine, looking at the abrasion on the coins, but it wouldn't be possible for me to comment further unless I can touch and feel it.

I hope that helps. Feel free to ask me any further questions.

Regards,
Jen

Asian/Middle Eastern History

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Jennifer

Expertise

I can answer most questions on the history of Singapore, Indus civilizations, Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang dynasty of China. Also, I can answer some questions on Mauryan, Gupta dynasty of ancient India. Other areas, I may have some problems.

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I did case study for them and helped in a local museum.

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