British Oriental Silver Trade Dollar 1899

Description

Denomination: One silver dollar (British)

Period: Issued 1895 to 1935

Date: 1899

Origin: Bombay mint

Condition: Very Fine. slight staining and a few marks

Obverse: Draped and helmeted head of Britannia standing facing. head to left. holding trident and shield decorated with the Union flag. three-masted merchant ship to left behind. denomination above. date below all within a meander border

Reverse: Denomination in Chinese characters and Malay script in decorative border of ‘Oriental’ style. Chinese symbol in the centre. all within a meander border

Size and Weight: 39mm. 26.76g

References: KM T5

Features and Provenance: From the Shir Mohammad Collection. With the expansion of trade in the Orient after the Opium Wars. the need to have a coinage specifically for this whole region developed; the British Trade Dollar was the answer and was first issued in 1895. The coin was designed with Britannia on the obverse (wearing a helmet for the first time). but with Chinese and Malay influences. It was made to the same specifications as the Spanish dollar. but they were minted in India. at Bombay and Calcutta. In 1934 the Chinese government recalled all silver and banned private ownership of the precious metal and melted down many coins. leading to a limited number of some dates. If you look closely. you can see the mint mark for Bombay (B) on the trident of our coin on the fork. 

Condition Summary. This varies with the age of coin and there are grades between

Uncirculated (U). As struck with no traces of wear

Extremely Fine (EF). Very slight traces of wear. all parts of legend etc present. visible and clear

Very Fine (VF). Some signs of wear on the higher parts of the relief. all parts of legend etc present. but maybe worn

Fine (F). Wear on the coin and parts of legend etc may be missing or not visible