Under the Kangxi Emperor the weights and standards of the brass cash coins changed several times and the bimetallic system of Qing dynasty coinage was established.

Today Kangxi Tongbao cash coins are commonly used as charms and amulets where different forms of superstition have developed arounds its mint marks and calligraphy.

Meanwhile in Kangxi 5 (1667) all provincial mints would re-open again but three years later a large number of them would close down due to the high price of copper in China at the time.

[9] In 1684 the ratio of copper to zinc in the alloys in the Kangxi Tongbao cash coins was reduced from 70% to 60% all while the standard weight was lowered to 1 qián again and were known as Zhongqian (重錢), while the central government's mints in Beijing started producing cash coins with a weight of 0.7 qián known as Xiaoqian (小錢) or Qingqian (輕錢).

These commemorative kāng xī tōng bǎo cash coins were given to children as yā suì qián (壓歲錢) during Chinese new year, some women wore them akin to how an engagement ring is worn today,[14] and in rural Shanxi young men wore this special kāng xī tōng bǎo cash coin between their teeth like men from cities had golden teeth.

[15] According to David Hartill this myth was first reported around the year 1851 in China and attributes this to similar stories which were circulating about the "Bun" Kan'ei Tsūhō cash coins from Japan at the time.

As the name Kangxi was composed of the characters meaning "health" (康) and "prosperous" (熙)[20][21][22][23] the Kāng Xī Tōng Bǎo cash coins were already viewed as having auspicious properties by the Chinese people.

Sometimes these coins had obverse inscriptions wishing for good fortunes and the twenty mint marks on their reverse, these inscriptions include: Kāng Xī Tōng Bǎo cash coins produced at the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Public Works in the capital city of Beijing are excluded from these poems.

[27] Coin-swords made from Qing dynasty cash coins with the inscription Kangxi Tongbao are considered to be the most effective, this is because the reign of the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing dynasty lasted an entire 60-year cycle of the Chinese calendar and thus according to feng shui cash coins with this inscription represent "longevity".