Vault protector coin

[2] These coins were believed to have charm-like magical powers that would protect the vault while bringing wealth and fortune to the treasury.

There is some speculation by the Chinese numismatist Guan Hanheng (關漢亨) that an enormous silver Ban Liang cash coin manufactured by the Kingdom of Qin in the year 336 BC had been cast to serve as some form of vault protector.

[3] Only one of these vault protector coins is known to exist and it was owned by a coin-collector from the city of Tianjin named Fang Yaoyu (方藥雨) during the beginning of the twentieth century and it was later owned by another private coin-collector called Chen Rentao (陳仁濤) before it ended up in the collection of the National Museum of China during the 1950s.

Almost immediately did the Qing start imitating Ming dynasty coinage, including vault protector coins.

A special Shunzhi Tongbao vault protector coin was cast that was 6 centimeters in diameter and contained the Manchu reverse inscription "Boo Yuwan" (ᠪᠣᠣᠶᡠᠸᠠᠨ).

[3] A description of this vault protector coin also appears in the book "Zhongguo Guqian Daji" (中國古錢大集) written by Hua Guangpu (華光普), where it is valued as being worth 1.200.000 yuan.

[10][3] In 1936 Arthur B. Coole (邱文明) claimed that only four of five of these vault protector coins were ever produced by the Ministry of Public Works Mint in Beijing.

[4] A Xianfeng Yuanbao (咸豐元寶) vault protector coin was cast at the Ministry of Public Works mint with a reverse inscription that reads "鎮庫 ᠪᠣᠣᠴᡳᠣᠸᠠᠨ" (Zhen Ku Boo Ciowan).

[10][3] Furthermore, Ma Dingxiang claims that there exists only a single other specimen of a "companion vault protector coin" that was produced simultaneously by the Ministry of Revenue Mint in Beijing.

[3] At the time of this auction, this sale had broken the record for the highest amount of money that was ever paid for a Qing dynasty era coin.

[3] A specimen that was previously in the collection of Ma Dingxiang and sold at auction held in the year 2011 for an amount of $111,286 (RMB 690,000).