Gansu Province Silver Fatman Dollar Yuan Shikai Year 3, 1914 China Republic
	
		
			
			
China Silver Dollar
			
The National Coinage Silver Fatman Dollar
			
Gansu Province, Yuan Shikai Year 3, 1914
			
			
			
			Authenticity guaranteed!
			
26.8 grams; Silver 900; size: 39.0 mm
			
Obverse: YUAN SHIKAI military and official of the QING dynasty as well as the newly born Republic of China. Self proclaimed emperor in 1916.
			
Lettering:
			年三國民華中
			肅 甘
			
年三國民華中 means the 3rd year of The Republic of China (1914AD).
			
Gansu Province
			
Reverse: 壹 圓 means one dollar within a double good harvest designs.
			
Edge: Reeded
			
Engraver: Luigi Giorgi
			
3 (1914) Y# 329
			
 
			
The appearance of this coin denotes that it was issued by Kansu Provincial Mint. Two Chinese characters denoting Kansu Province appears on the both side of Yuan's bust. Chinese numismatic reference always point out that the silver content of this coin is very low, but I think it doesn't matter for the collectors.
			
 
			
A Brief Introduction of Kansu & Its Mint
			
Kansu is a province located in north-central China. The west end of the Great Wall and east end of the " Silk Road ". A mint was built in 1920 for issuse Cash coins, the mint then moved to Lanchow in 1928 and began produce silver dollars until 1935. The mint closed in 1939. It was reopened in 1949 but only for few months and closed again shortly after Commuist took over. The YSK dollars with KANSU characters ( K-759 or K&M World Coins Y#-407 ) were minted between 1930 to 1931. 
			
 
			
It is very strange that the conventional type of "Yuan Shih Kai" coins which were great trusted by the Chinese, and were widely circulated throughout in China in those days. I think those who collect Chinese coins, they must have at least one or two Yuen's coins, because Yuan's coins are very common. But I find that type of coins were seldom talking by any coinage related web site in the world.
			According to the "Regulations of the National Coinage of the Republic" which was announced by the Board of Finance in 1914. The national coins were first minted by the Tientsin Mint in the 3rd year of the Republic (1914), followed by the Wuchang, Nanking, Kwangtung and Hangchow etc., mints.
			
Although bearing dates of Yr. 3 (1914) and Yr. 8-10 (1919-21), these Yuan Shi-Kai Dollars were struck for years afterwards. Coins dated Yr. 3 (1914) were struck continuously through 1929 and were also later restruck by the Chinese Communists. Later again in the 1950's this coin was struck for use in Tibet. Coins with dates Yr. 9. and 10 (1920 and 1921) were struck at least until 1929. The total mintage of all four dates is estimated at more than 750 million pieces.
			
The Yuan Shikai "dollar" issued for the first time in 1914, became a dominant coin type of the Republic of China. Yuan Shikai (16 September 1859 ?6 June 1916) was a Chinese general, politician and "emperor", famous for his influence during the late Qing Dynasty, his role in the events leading up to the abdication of the last Qing Emperor, his autocratic rule as the first President of the Republic of China, and his short-lived attempt to restore monarchy in China, with himself as the Hongxian Emperor (simplified Chinese: 洪宪皇帝; traditional Chinese: 洪憲皇帝; pinyin: H髇gxi鄋 Hu醤gd? Wade朑iles: Hung2-hsien4 Huang2-ti4).
			
Yuan Shih Kai (1859AD-1916AD) was born in Hsiang-Cheng of Honan Province in the 9th year of the Hsien Fung reign. In 1882, he followed the commander of Anhui army, Wu Chang-Ch'ing went to Korea to help the Korean king train a new imperial army. In 1884, he was recalled back to China. By the help of Li Hung-chang , he became a 3rd-grade official in charge of training a modern army at Hsiao-Chan near Tientsin in 1895. Later, he was promoted to the position of assistant minister in charged of military training, as he pretended to support institutional reforms. In 1897, he promoted as the governor of Shantung province, and two years later he was promoted again to be the governor of Chihli province. In 1901 he promoted as the minister of Peiyang, gradually becoming the leader of the Peiyang warlords, as he won the trust of Empress Dowager Szu Hsi. Yuan took part in the suppression of Boxers insurgent in 1900. In 1907, Yuan was summoned to the court to became a grand minister of the Privy Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs. After Dowager Empress died, he was stripped of all his offices in 1909.
			
			In 1911, when the revolutionary uprising broke out, Yuan appeared as the only man who could lead the country to peace and unity. Yuan accepted Dr. Sun's conditions that Dr. Sun would give up his presidency and Yuan would take over him. Yuan was the prime minister of the Qing government at that time. With the support of the imperialist power, Yuan forced Emperor Hsuen Tung to give up his throne on 12 February 1912, thus ending the 268 years of Manchu rule. After the unification of North and South China, Yuan Shih Kai took presidency in the first year of the Republic on 12 Feb. 1912. But Yuan attempted to be an absolute monarch of the Empire. He moved the seat of the new government from Nanking to Peking. Then, he filled all important post with his supporters. While Yuan was in complete control of the government, Yuan mobilized public opinion to make popular the idea that constitutional monarchy could save China. In 1915, Yuan accepted the Japanese imperialists' 21 Demands which were guiding China into a colony.
			
			He preclaimed himself Emperor at Peking on 12 Dec. 1915, reign title as "Hung Hsien" which lasted only 83 days (12 Dec1915-22 Mar1916). Many provincial governor-generals did not accept Yuan as emperor. Facing strong opposition and in the absence of foreign support, Yuan was forced to abolish the monarchy in March 1916, and remained the president until he died on 6 June 1916. Later, those who had been under Yuan became warlords. These caused China then to become divided and the Warlord Era had begun.
			
 
			
 
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