When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
His Story Treasures Presents
1918 Hubei Military Government 50 Province’s Currency, a Republic’s Unfinished Story
THE STORY
Imagine a marketplace in early Republican China. A merchant weighs his goods, a customer counts out copper coins, and daily trade continues beneath the uncertainty of changing governments. The empire has fallen, but the shape of the new nation remains unsettled. In people’s hands, money carries both practical value and the symbols of a changing political world.
This coin, identified on its SGS holder as a 1918 Hubei Military Government 50 Cash, belongs to that turbulent chapter.
The year 1918 stood just seven years after the revolution that brought an end to Qing imperial rule. Republican ideals had transformed China’s political language, yet authority remained divided. Provincial administrations and military leaders exerted influence over local life, and regional currencies reflected that fragmented landscape.
The inscription 軍政府造—“Made by the Military Government”—brings this history directly onto the coin. Here, political authority was expressed through an everyday object: a piece of copper-alloy money intended to pass from hand to hand.
THE HUBEI CONNECTION
Hubei held a central place in the story of the Chinese Revolution. The Wuchang Uprising of 1911 began in the province and helped set in motion the collapse of the Qing dynasty.
The Hubei 50 Cash series is associated with Enshi in western Hubei, where local coin production drew upon the familiar designs of neighboring Sichuan. These issues offer a fascinating glimpse into how regional communities supplied their monetary needs during the early Republic.
Its design connects this piece to that broader world of provincial copper currency, while the Hubei attribution gives it a distinct collecting interest.
THE CHARACTER AT ITS HEART
The reverse features a large stylized 漢—“Han”—within a circle, surrounded by smaller circular elements.
In the context of early Republican coinage, this character recalls the political and cultural symbolism of the revolutionary period. Where imperial dragons had once proclaimed dynastic authority, new designs expressed a different vision of China.
It is a striking reminder that even small denominations could carry large ideas.
A COIN TO STUDY AND APPRECIATE
The photographed coin displays dark brown coloration, subdued relief and visible surface irregularities. The central 漢 remains its most expressive feature, inviting a closer look at the lettering and design surrounding it.
Its appeal lies in the meeting of history and material culture: a provincial denomination, a military-government inscription, and a design rooted in the unsettled beginnings of the Republic.
We cannot know whose hands this particular coin passed through. Its historical setting, however, invites us to consider the merchants, households and local communities whose daily lives depended on such currency.
COIN DETAILS
• Country: China, Republic period
• Province: Hubei / Hupeh, as attributed on the holder
• Date: 1918, as stated on the holder
• Denomination: 50 Cash / 五十文
• Issue: Military Government / 軍政府造
• Holder description: 湖北銅幣
• Grading service shown: SGS
• Assigned holder grade: AU50
• Holder number: MP10004579
• Diameter: 37.7 mm, according to the holder
• Thickness: 1.8 mm, according to the holder
• Weight: 18.3 g, according to the holder
CONDITION & HOLDER INFORMATION
Offered in the SGS holder shown in the photographs. The attribution, date, measurements and AU50 grade above reproduce the holder’s information. The grade represents SGS’s assessment.
Please examine both sides carefully for the coin’s visible detail, coloration, surfaces and the condition of the holder. The photographs form part of the description. You will receive the exact encapsulated coin pictured.
FOR THE COLLECTOR
An intriguing addition for collectors of Republican China, provincial copper coinage, Hubei history, military-government issues, or the distinctive 漢 designs of the early twentieth century.
RETURNS & CARE
Your coin will be carefully packed for shipment. We offer returns within 14 days of receipt, including if you change your mind. Please return the item in the same condition received, with its holder intact.
His Story Treasures
Every coin holds a story. Preserve a piece of the past.
