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Home , Cash (Chinese coin), Cash (unit), Fen (currency), Qing dynasty coinage, Taiping Rebellion

JOHN W. OLSEN An important factor in recognizing ethnic subcultures archaeologically is the extent to which ethnicity was maintained through the An Analysis of EastAsian preservation of traditional social and eco- Excavated in Tucson, Arizona nomic patterns (Schuyler 1980). In the case of the Chinese in 19th and early 20th century America, many aspects of material culture suggest the pervasiveness of traditional ABSTRACT Chinese lifeways in the face of continual con- The Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese low denomi- tact with the overwhelming presence of nation coins from late 19th and early 20th century Anglo-American society (Chare 1976; Olsen archaeological deposits in Tucson, Arizona, are ana- 1978; Jones 1980; Whitlow 1981). lyzed. Many authors have suggested the recovery of Recently, many archaeologists have East Asian coins in frontier American sites provides focused their attention on the investigation of evidence of their use as within Asian ethnic communities. Evidence for such utilization is dis- the processes by which ethnic enclaves cussed along with the contention that latrines may emerged and were maintained in frontier provide the most readily accessible corroborative data. America. East Asian immigrants brought a unique combination of traditions and - Introduction guages quite distinct from those of other American populations which were expressed The people of province in southern within the framework of an equally distinctive had suffered many decades of local un- material culture. The pervasive stereotype of rest and inept Manchu rule during the Qing East Asians (particularly Dynasty when, in 1850, Guangxi became the Chinese) as “coolie” laborer, mer- starting point of the Taiping led by chant, or laundry operator, however, has the revolutionary Hong Xiuchuan. The social often resulted in a rather restricted view of the and economic upheavals which characterized interaction between these immigrants and the the between 1850 and 1864 Anglo-American culture in which they found began the exodus of thousands of Chinese themselves immersed. from the southern provinces to foreign coun- The recognition of East Asian ethnic com- tries which held the promise of individual munities in frontier period archaeological freedom and the possibility for social and contexts has resulted in the accumulation of economic advancement. data which supplement the historical record California’s newly discovered fields and and provide valuable insight into aspects of the expanding railroad systems in the western Asian life in America which were not deemed lured a large percentage of the of sufficient importance at the time to warrant Chinese population displaced by the instabil- detailed chronicling. In particular, the ques- ity during the late . The plight of tion of the relative economic autonomy of Chinese and other East Asian immigrants in many aspects of commercial life within these America is well documented from ethnohis- enclaves has received attention due to the torical sources (Ch’en 1923; Chinn 1969; recovery of Chinese and other East Asian cur- Miller 1969; Nee and Nee 1972) and the rency in archaeological contexts in America. archaeological record, which has begun to provide relevant data for interpreting Asian Background lifestyles in frontier America (Briggs 1978a, 1978b; Ho 1978; Greenwood 1980; Jones This paper presents further evidence of the 1980). semi-autonomous nature of intracommunity 42 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, VOLUME 17 economics within one frontier East Asian other pastimes. As such, Tucson‘s tung community in Tucson, Arizona, occupied dur- organizations, such as the Ying On Associa- ing the latter half of the 19th and early 20th tion established locally during the 1930s, con- centuries. stituted the primary mechanism through The years between the beginning of the which social cohesiveness and ethnic identity Taiping Rebellion in 1850 and the passage of were maintained (Schweitzer 1952). the United States Chinese Exclusion Act of Throughout much of the history of Chinese 1882 witnessed the influx of large numbers of occupation in Tucson, the city block defined Chinese into the western states. The 1880 by Main, Jackson, Meyer Streets, and Broad- United States census states that over 75,000 way Boulevard formed the focus of the Asian Chinese were resident in California alone, community. In this area, both standing struc- while Oregon supported a population of some tures and archaeological features, such as 10,000 additional Chinese (Fong 1978:2). latrines and ovens, have produced East Asian Arizona does not seem to have drawn such artifacts, including 65% of the coins analyzed large populations of East Asian immigrants in here. spite of abundant employment opportunities A total of 91 East Asian coins were un- for unskilled laborers in agriculture, mining, covered between 1967 and 1973 during archae- and the territory’s expanding railroad system. ological investigations conducted by the The 1880 census records a total of only 1630 Arizona State Museum as part of the Tucson Chinese living in Arizona, of which all but 100 Urban Renewal (T.U.R.) project. Unfor- resided in Tucson and Pima county (Fong tunately, the analysis of the T.U.R. archae- 1978:5). By 1890, however, principally as a ological materials has not yet progressed to result of the passage of the Chinese Exclusion the point where detailed chronological inter- Act, Tucson’s Chinese population had pretation is possible. In contrast to many of dropped to only 215. The remaining 1300 souls the other recent finds of East Asian coins in were apparently induced to emigrate to the western United States that can be asso- and or simply to return to ciated with temporally discrete features their homeland. Of course, only legal resi- (Kleeb 1976; Farris 1979), the T.U.R. remains dents of Arizona are included in these census are, at present, impossible to accurately artic- figures and there is reason to believe that a ulate with the chronology of the community’s substantial population of illegal Asian immi- habitation because no report has been pre- grants remained in southern Arizona (Ch’en pared on the excavation and the artifactual 1923; Schweitzer 1952). As a consequence, material recovered has not been fully ana- Chinese population statistics for the city of lyzed. For this reason, chronological ques- Tucson are unclear until the San Francisco tions relating to the deposition of these coins earthquake and fire of 1906 forced the recon- must, for the moment, be set aside in order to stitution of immigration and naturalization glean as much information as possible from records, including those of Arizona‘s Chinese the coins themselves. residents (Ch’en 1923; Fong 1978:4). Before turning to a detailed discussion of By the late 1870s, the Chinese had gained a the East Asian coins recovered during the foothold in Tucson and city records reflect T. U.R. investigations, a general consideration their activity in laundry, restaurant, and of basic strategems employed in the analysis various mercantile businesses. In spite of a of these currency systems is germane. As relatively small population, Tucson’s Chinese Farris (1979:48) and Keddie (1978) have community flourished during the late 1800s. pointed out, coins derived from archaeological Social activities focused on the tung, or deposits are rarely employed in roles other “benevolent association,” where Chinese than as terminus post quem dating devices. In men could gather for informal discussions and the case of Chinese and other East Asian coins AN ANALYSIS OF EAST ASIAN COINS 43 recovered from archaeological sites in the to local political instability and lack of avail- Western Hemisphere, this restricted use is able raw materials, particularly . Con- compounded in two principal ways by the sequently, various provincial mints occa- relative isolation of immigrant Asian popula- sionally gained dominance, in terms of num- tions from the mainstream of Anglo-European bers of coins issued, as neighboring mints society. closed down. First, the pervasiveness and tenacity of For example, during the Kang Xi regnal era traditional East Asian cultures in the face of all provincial mints in China except the overwhelming contact with foreign influences in were closed from 1662 is well known. One only need examine the to 1667 (Wylie 1858:98). During this period of rapidity with which Mongol and Manchu rul- time, however, the national mints in ing houses were acculturated by the Chinese and the Jiangsu provincial mint continued to and the extent to which Chinese ethnic en- issue hundreds of millions of coins which were claves persist in such far-flung locations as distributed throughout the country. Conse- Singapore, San Francisco, and to quently, the frequent appearance of Kang Xi understand this phenomenon. coins minted in Nanjing, for example, in a This cultural tenacity resulted in the desire particular archaeological site should not be to maintain traditional economic patterns taken as evidence that the originally cir- within the ethnic community, perhaps through culated only in east-central China. BFals the use of currency from their original homes ( 1980:71) discusses the problem of equating as media of exchange. This hypothesis has mint location with area of circulation, and been suggested by Kleeb (I976), Farris (1979), detailed information on the history of minting and Hattori (1979) who have documented this in China may be found in Wylie (1858), phenomenon in California and Nevada Bushell (1880), and Kann (1939). Chinese settlements. The sheer quantity of small denomination The second important aspect of East Asian coins issued by the Chinese imperial mints currency to be considered, vis-a-vis its value must have been staggering and constitutes to the archaeologist, is that talismanic or another factor in analyzing the significance of divinatory properties supposedly inherent in coins bearing particular mint designations. many of these coins often led to their curation The relatively low monetary value of these over long periods of time. small denomination coins, perhaps as low as For example, coins of the Chinese Kang Xi I/S to 1/10 of a each (Kleeb 1976:506), reign period ( 1662-1722) were considered par- necessitated producing extremely large annual ticularly powerful charms. It was believed that issues. The immense quantity of Chinese 20 of these coins strung together so that the coins minted during the late 17th through early names of the mints could be read as a verse of 20th centuries, combined with their inten- four pentameter lines was protection against tional curation for monetary and talismanic disaster by sea or land while traveling (Bushell purposes, certainly accounts for the wide- 1880:211). Certain Kang Xi period coins were spread dispersal of coins produced at any also sought after for fabrication into finger particular mint. rings due to their supposed intrinsic value as charms (Wylie 1858:62). As geographical indicators of population Identifying Features movement, East Asian coins recovered in North American archaeological sites must be Numerous treatments of 19th and early 20th treated cautiously. In China, during the entire century East Asian coinages, particularly Qing Dynasty (1644491 1) provincial mints those minted in China, may be referred to by regularly suffered temporary shut-downs due those interested in the general concepts of 44 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, VOLUME 17 East Asian numismatics (Burger 1976; Bushell 1880; Coole 1965; Craig 1976; Cresswell 1971; 1 Gibbs 1944; Krause and Mishler 1980; Schjoth 1965; Wylie 1858; Yeoman 1967); however, a number of points peculiar to these currency systems as regards their proper identification and description must be mentioned. East Asian “” coins (Figure I) most frequently occur in archaeological sites in North America in the form of small (generally 19-25 mm in diameter) metallic discs bearing the characteristic square perforation (hao) present as a result of finishing the coins to remove casting imperfections (Beals 1980:58; Grierson 1975), as a means of conserving metal in cast coins (Burger 1976:32), and to provide a method of stringing large quantities of cash together to facilitate handling. 2 Although these coins are often referred to as having been cast in or , these A terms must be applied with caution as specific metallic contents vary through time and as a function of local copper availability at any given mint. Coins of the early Qing Dynasty cast between 1644 and 1722, for example, were authorized by the Chinese to be composed of 50% copper, 41.5% , 6.5% , and 2% (Wylie 1858:45), however these proportions are rarely found in coins 1 minted outside Beijing during this period. After 1722 the authorized metallic composi- tion consisted of equal parts of copper and zinc (Wylie 1858:45). During the reign period of the Xian Feng (1851-1861) and afterward, composition of the coins varied. Copper supplies derived mainly from south China were interrupted by the Taiping Rebel- lion and related social disorders so that many B Chinese coins minted after 185 I were cast in a variety of metals including and zinc (Bushell 1880: 199-200). The issuance of rela- 0 5 tively large denomination coinage and paper dMM money beginning in 1853 in response to this FIGURE 1. Typical East Asian cash coin. A. Obverse face copper shortage naturally placed a premium illustrating sequence in which are read; “Xian Feng Tong Bao,” Current Coin of the Prevail- on extant earlier coins of small denomina- ing Abundance (Period). B. Reverse face illustrating tions. typical Manchu mint mark, “Bu Yuwan.” Board of Public During the Tong Zhi reign period (1862- Works Mint, Beijing. AN ANALYSIS OF EAST ASIAN COINS 45 1874) an attempt to standardize alloys is re- (Wylie 1858:84), hence although their effect on flected in the Qinding Hubu Zefi (Regulations the already weakened Chinese economy may of the Imperial Board of Revenue) for 1865 have been great, many counterfeit issues con- which states the officially decreed alloy was to tinued to circulate in the same way as official- be 54% copper, 42.75% zinc, and 3.25% lead. ly sanctioned coins. The attempt to isolate Provincial mints, however, continued to issue counterfeit East Asian coinages within assem- coinage that diverged radically from this ideal blages derived from archaeological contexts in composition depending upon the local avail- North America is an important endeavor but ability of the alloy's constituent elements one must be extremely cautious about select- (Bushell 1880:210). Some other classes of East ing specific criteria considered sufficient for Asian coins, such as those minted during the positive identification (Kleeb 1976503). 19th century for circulation in Viet Nam, are composed of nearly pure zinc. The Tucson Urban Renewal East Asian Coins The quality and absolute size of East Asian cast or struck coins should not be taken as The principal data derived from the analysis sensitive indicators of authenticity. The of these coins is summarized in Tables 1-3. recognition of counterfeit Chinese coins has Specific comments relating to the various been the subject of many specialized articles coinages within this assemblage follow. (Zheng 1956; Peng 1958; Wang 1965; 1965), however few of these texts deals with China the Qing period and fewer still treat non- Chinese East Asian coins in any detail (Kleeb Eighty-four (92%)of the 91 East Asian coins 1976503). Nonetheless, it is clear that al- collected during the T. U.R. investigations though counterfeiting of currency flourished derive from Qing Dynasty and Republican era during the economic strife of the late 19th cen- China. Of these, 15 are too poorly preserved tury in China, even among Buddhist clergy to allow precise identification, leaving 69 (Bushell 1880:200), the variation in quality which have been positively or provisionally among the officially sanctioned imperial mints attributed to specific regnal eras. was so great that no readily discernible char- Of the six Qing reign periods identified in acteristics may be identified to unequivocally the collection (Table l), that of Kang Xi (1662- distingusih counterfeit from authentic issues. 1722) is represented by the most coins [21] For example, the coins produced at many of followed by Jia Qing (1796-1820) [15], Qian the provincial mints during the reign period of Long (1736-1795) [ 141, Guang Xu (1875-1908) the Xian Feng emperor (1851-1861) are of [Ill, Dao Guang (1821-1850) [6], and Xian notoriously poor quality (Wylie 1858:82). In Feng (1851-1861) [2]. In spite of the relatively particular, coins cast by the provincial mint at small sample size, coins of the earlier Qing , Jiangsu, exhibit such low standards Dynasty (pre- 1820) are reported in larger num- of quality control that many uncirculated bers. This phenomenon may be a result of a pieces are virtually illegible. Xian Feng period complex set of factors including the economic coins exhibit enormous variation in alloy decay characteristic of the late period and composition, diameter, and design elements, intentional acquisition of earlier Qing coins for such as the size of the square central perfora- tallismanic and divinatory purposes. There are tion (hao) and the width of the coin's thick- also indications that prior to the Dao Guang ened rim (guo). emperor's assumption of the throne in 1821 Another important point to be considered is more provincial mints were in operation at any that many illegal coinages were nonetheless in given time than in later periods (Wylie 1858; general circulation during the late Qing period Bushell 1880), hence the explanation of this TABLE 1 T.U.R. CHINESE COINS CATEGORIZED ACCORDING TO REIGN PERIOD OF MANUFACTURE

KANG QIAN JIA DAO XIAN GUANG XI LONG QING GUANG FENG XU REPUBLIC (1662-1722) (1736-1795) (1796-1820) (1821-1850) (185 1-1861) (1875-1908) (191 1-1949) UNKNOWN

A49169? A49184 -449165 .449 164 A49182? A49181 A49173 A49168 A49171 A49189 A49 I66 A49178 A49190 A49187a 1 A49170 A49172 A49191 A49167 A49179 2 A49 193 A49180 A49174 A491% A49 I85 A49 I88 A49197 A492 16 A49I75 A49200 A49 186 A49214 A49225 A49228 A49176 A49202 A49195 A49242 A49243? A49229 A49177? A49204 A49199 6 II A49232 A49192 A49206 A49207 A49233 A49198 A49209 A49208 A49235 A49201 A49218 A49211 A49237 A49203 A49219 A49226 A49238 A49205 A49230? A49227 A49244 A49210 A4923 I? A49236 A49246 A49212 A49234 A49239 A49247 E A49213 14 A49241 A49248 cn A492 15 15 A492 17 A49220 A4922 1 A49240 A49245 21 aSpecimenA49187 consists of six coins. < P C 5 AN ANALYSIS OF EAST ASIAN COINS 47

TABLE 2 T.U.R. CHINESE COINS CATEGORIZED ACCORDING TO MINT LOCATION REIGN PERIOD

Kang Qian Jia Dao Xian Guang Xi Long Qing Guang Feng Xu Republic Unknown Total MINTLOCATION

8 5 6 1 1 1 1 14 37 Unknown 6 6 2 2 1 17 Board of Revenue, Beijing Board of 3 2 1 6 Public Works, Beijing 1 1 , 1 1 , Hebei I 1 Xi’an, l? 3 4? , 1 1 , Zhejiang I 1 9 11 , 2 1 1 4 , 1 I Dongchuan , Yiinnan I? I? , ?

TABLE 3 NON-CHINESE EAST ASIAN COINS CATEGORIZED ACCORDING TO REIGN PERIOD OF MANUFACTURE

JAPAN Go-Mizuno (161 1-1680) Komei (1847-1866) A49I63 A49183 A49194 VIET NAM (UNITEDDAI VIET) Tu Duc (1848-1883) A49222 King George VI (19361952) A49223 A49224 differentially high representation of early Qing six (43%) of the dynastic Chinese coins are too coins may be simply a function of production poorly preserved to allow classification as to levels through time. Figure 2 (a-f) illustrates mint of origin. The reverse face of Qing coins examples of the obverse faces of the six Qing cast prior to 1700 are characterized by mint reign period coins identified. marks bearing both a place name in Chinese Ten distinct mints have been positively on the right and its Manchu equivalent on the identified among the Qing Dynasty coins in left (Wylie 1858:64). Only three of the Chinese the T.U.R. collection (Figure 3, a-j) with one coins recovered in Tucson bear this mint mark Kang Xi period specimen tentatively identi- configuration (Figure 4), consequently only fied as having been cast at the Sichuan pro- approximately 3.5% of the T.U.R. Chinese vincial mint in Chengdu (Figure 3, k). Thirty- coins are thought to antedate 1700. 48 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, VOLUME 17

d e f

h I

0 10 20 -MM

FIGURE 2. Obverse faces of East Asian coins recovered in Tucson. a. China, Kang Xi; b. China, Qian Long; c. China, Jia Qing; d. China, Dao Guang; e. China, Xian Feng; f. China, Guang Xu; g. , Kanei; h. Japan, Bunkyu Eiho; i. United Dai Viet, Tu Duc. AN ANALYSIS OF EAST ASIAN COINS 49

b C

e f

h I

J k I

0 10 20 t- MM

FIGURE 3. Reverse faces of East Asian coins recovered in Tucson. a. China, Board of Revenue, Beijing; b. China, Board of Public Works, Beijing; c. China, Linqing, Shandong; d. China, Baoding. Hebei; e. China, Xi'an, Shaanxi; f. China, Hangzhou. Zhejiang; g. China, Ningbo, Zhejiang; h. China, Guangzhou, Guangdong; i. China, Kunming. Yunnan; i. China, Dongchuan, Yunnan; K. China, Chengdu, Sichuan; I. Japan, nami or "Wave Cash." 50 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, VOLUME 17

a b C

0:” 20 MM

FIGURE 4. Reverse faces of Chinese Kang Xi period coins from Tucson thought to antedate 1700. a. Linqing, Shandong; b. Ningbo, Zhejiang; c. Hangzhou (?), Zhejiang.

As Table 2 indicates, coins of the early Qing the Tucson collection of Chinese coins fits the Dynasty are associated principally with the pattern of differential mint representation national mints in Beijing, while those from the established at other frontier ethnic communi- later reign periods derive mainly from south- ties investigated in the western United States. ern mints. Given the extremely small size of the sample analyzed, no firm conclusions can be drawn, yet it is of interest to note that Beals Republic of China (1980:69) observed a similar pattern of repre- sentation in a collection of Qing cash exca- A single, struck brass Republic of China ten vated from aboriginal sites in the northwestern cash (one ) coin, probably minted between United States. 1912 and 1930, was recovered during the This phenomenon has also been noted by T.U.R. investigations (Table 1). This coin Kleeb (1976502) in an assemblage of Chinese bears on the obverse “Republic of China- coins excavated in Ventura, California, and by Issued to Commemorate the Founding of the Farris (l979:4849, 1980:28) among coins un- Republic” in Chinese, while the reverse covered in Yreka, California’s Chinatown and exhibits “The Republic of China, Ten Cash” in Old Sacramento, California. Unfortunately, in English. The obverse also bears the char- sample sizes from all five loci are compara- acters shiwen or ten cash. Crossed flags on the tively small, and Beals’ (1980) data are derived obverse and ears of wheat on the reverse from a cultural milieu rather different from the complete the coin’s decorative motif. No mint others. However. it can at least be said that mark is visible. AN ANALYSIS OF EAST ASIAN COINS 51 Hong Kong Viet Nam

Only two coins from the British Crown From 1428 to 1885, the region of the South- Colony of Hong Kong were recovered in east Asian peninsula now within the territory Tucson (Table 3). both of which are struck of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam was nickel-brass ten cent pieces bearing dates of ruled as an independent nation known as the 1948 and 1949. The obverse faces exhibit a left United Dai Viet. profile of King George VI and the English A single cast zinc dong, attributable to the legend “King George the Sixth.” The reverse reign period of the Tu Duc emperor (1848- sides bear the English inscription “Hong 1883), was identified (Table 3), its obverse Kong, Ten Cents” and the date with the face bearing the Vietnamese “Tu Duc Thor)g Chinese “Xiang Gang Yi Hao,” or Hong Bao“ (Figure 2, i). The reverse face is unin- Kong One Hao (ten cents). Both specimens scribed and exhibits no mint mark, although are reeded with security edges and were these zinc coins are thought to have been minted in Hong Kong. The very recent dates produced at numerous mints within the United borne by these coins may attest to continued Dai Viet, as well as at several locations in Chinese immigration or persistent contact southern China (Schjoth 1965:71). with relatives and friends through travel. The value of a single zinc dong (also called a sapeque) was only roughly 1/10 that of its brass twin, and approximately 2600 zinc dong Japan were required to equal one piastre, or 26 to 27.5 grams of precious metal (Krause and Three coins dating to the Tokugawa Mishler 1980: 1945). The extremely low mone- Shogunate were recovered during the T.U.R. tary value of the zinc dong currency led to investigations (Table 3). Two of the speci- their being produced in large quantities, hence mens, cast mon, bear on their obverse faces their recovery in Asian immigrant communi- the inscription “Kanei Tsuho” (Figure 2, g) ties in the New World is not surprising. designating the period from 1626 to 1643 with- Further, in 1884, the French Protectorate of in the regnal era of the Go-mizuno emperor Annam was established increasing Sino-Viet- (161 1-1680). However, as these coins are namese contact through trade via China’s known to have been minted until at least 1769 Yunnan province, hence the Tu Duc coin (Krause and Mishler 1980: 1229) and possibly found in Tucson, possibly minted as late as 1859, (Schjoth 1%5:66), no accurate means of 1883, may simply be a reflection of this dating them exists. The reverse faces of these expanded interaction. two coins are entirely blank, hence no mint of origin can be identified. A single coin dating to the reign period of Discussion the Komei emperor (1847-1866) was identified bearing on its obverse face the legend Kleeb (1976) has presented a hypothesis to “Bunkyu Eiho” (Figure 2, h). suggesting the explain the presence of East Asian coins in coin was cast between 1863-1867 (Krause and North American frontier archaeological sites Mishler 1980: 1229). as a result of their continued circulation as This cast brass four mon piece is often currency. As he and many other authors have referred to as nami or “Wave Cash” as the pointed out, the currency of China’s Qing reverse surface bears a stylized wave motif in Dynasty and other 19th century East Asian relief (Figure 3, l), although, again, no mint states was based upon the intrinsic value of mark is present. the coin itself rather than upon its value as a 52 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. VOLUME 17 token representing some other medium, No clearly distinguishable coin hoards were generally gold or . Token currency, such recovered in Tucson. The discovery, how- as that employed by the United States after ever, of United States, Mexican, and East the mid-I850s, was unfamiliar, and perhaps Asian coins of low denomination throughout even unacceptable, to recently arrived East the area investigated indicates equal emphasis Asian immigrants in America, hence tradi- may have been placed upon each of these cur- tional brass, bronze, zinc, and other metallic rency systems; a situation possibly exacer- cash may have continued to circulate as cur- bated by the mid- 19th century shortage of low rency within American Asian communities in denomination coins in the western United spite of the relatively low intrinsic value of States (Kleeb 1976:506; Farris 1980:25-26). each coin. Kleeb (1976506) cites a value of Of interest is the fact that at least nine of the approximately 600-700 Chinese cash (about 2 East Asian coins from Tucson were recovered kg of brass) to the silver , graphically as isolated finds in excavated latrines. As demonstrating the relationship between these many other examples of United States and two divergent monetary systems. foreign coins, known to have been in circula- That East Asian immigrants to North Amer- tion, were also discovered in latrine features, ica persisted in conducting commercial trans- the implication that all of these discoveries actions based upon the intrinsic value of represent accidental losses rather than inten- whatever system of coinage was readily ob- tionally discarded items is apparent. In the tainable is attested to by the frequent dis- future, latrine features associated with immi- covery in Mexico of silver coins of many grant ethnic communities should be investi- denominations bearing “chop marks” or seals gated with particular attention to the possible of ownership employed to certify the authen- presence of Asian coins, for the recovery of ticity of a particular coin (Utberg 1963:160; such items in this context may be an indication Schjoth 1975: Plates 135, 146). An Asian of the continued use of these coins on a daily merchant, having verified the metallic content basis. of a coin, would mark it with a bearing, Unfortunately, provenience data relating to most often, his surname (Grierson 1975:63). the collection of T.U.R. coins are inaccessible Once so authorized, the merchant need not at the present time and no detailed interpreta- repeatedly inspect each coin for signs of tion of spatial context is possible. counterfeiting or debasing as it passed through Farris (1979) and Kleeb (1976) provide his hands again and again in a small commun- several possible explanations for the gradual ity. Unfortunately, no examples of such modi- decline in emphasis placed upon East Asian fication have yet been recovered in the coins as essential items in intracommunity Tucson excavations. commerce. Such factors may include: I) the Farris (1979, 1980) has discussed the ques- introduction of token value coinage in the tion of the hypothetical continued use of East United States in the , 2) the opening of Asian coins as currency in North American the San Francisco Mint in 1854, partially alle- frontier communities (cf., Kareofelas 197222; viating the marked shortage of coins in the Kleeb 1976505; Hattori 1979:432) and how western U.S., 3) the demonitization of foreign such a hypothesis may be tested through the currency by the United States government in recovery of coin hoards (cf., Kleeb 1976507). 1857, and 4) the demonitization of Chinese The conclusions that may be reached concern- cash coins by the government of the Republic ing this point based on the T.U.R. collection of China in 1914. To these factors might be are similar to those of Farris (197951) stem- added the Japanese MeGi currency reform of ming from his analysis of the Yreka, California 1870 which imposed fixed rates of exchange monetary remains. between the various silver, gold, and copper AN ANALYSIS OF EAST ASIAN COINS 53 coins in circulation and the French establish- rency did not render it completely undesirable ment of a protectorate over and for talismanic, divinatory, or gaming pur- Annam, on the Southeast Asian peninsula, in poses. 1884 which resulted in extensive monetary reorganization leading to the devaluation of Conclusions zinc dong currency. Thus, throughout the late 19th and early The assemblage of 91 East Asian coins re- 20th centuries, it should be possible to detect covered from late 19th and early 20th century the changing role of East Asian currency in archaeological contexts in Tucson, Arizona, American immigrant communities as these provides further support for the hypotheses of factors began to manifest themselves in daily Kleeb (1976), Farris (1979, 1980), and Hattori commerce. Perhaps one can witness a gradual (1979) which suggest that the significant quan- shift in emphasis from one of token or mone- tities of these present in Asian tary worth to that of talismanic value. For ethnic communities in North America may be example, six of the ten positively identifiable attributed largely to their use in monetary struck Chinese coins dating to the Guang Xu transactions. The persistent presence of such regnal era (1875-1908) are bound together with East Asian currency in the archaeological red string in an intricate pattern (A-49187), record after the demonitization of foreign suggesting they were intended as a wedding, coins in the United States in the 1850s and the birthday, or New Year gift. All six coins devaluation of Qing currency by the Chinese derive from the Guangzhou mint in Guang- government in 1914, and other factors, attests dong province. to their continued importance as intracom- Many specific nonmonetary functions for munity tokens of exchange which served to East Asian cash currency can be postulated, strengthen the traditional cultural bonds most of which are difficult to substantiate which were apparently an important feature in archaeologically. For example, the classical these frontier ethnic enclaves. Confucian divinatory text, Yging, or Book of The role of East Asian currency in non- Changes, is most often consulted using milfoil monetary modes must not, however, be (Achillea spp.) stalks or cash coins as the underestimated. While the quantities of medium of communication with the oracle, Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese coins hence the recovery of such coins, particularly recovered from frontier archaeological con- in groups or multiples of three, may indicate texts in western North America cannot be their use in this context. entirely explained as a product of such activi- Gaming pieces, such as the inscribed tiles ties, the talismanic and oracular properties as- used in the traditional Chinese pastime sociated with many of these coins undoubtedly majiang (Mah-Jongg), were recovered during account for their persistence in such communi- the T. U.R. investigations suggesting another ties. possible explanation for the employment of The most limiting factor in the interpreta- Chinese cash currency. tion of the significance of the T.U.R. collec- The salient point is, however, that a variety tion is the fact that no final report has been of events which took place in the late 1800s prepared and the detailed analysis of artifacts and early 1900s led to the gradual dissipation from the coin proveniences has not been com- of interest in cash currency as viable media of pleted. Block, parcel, building, or even room exchange in North America. Nonetheless, the designations simply are not specific enough to continued presence of such coins in archae- allow accurate interpretation of these finds, ological deposits in the New World suggests particularly when the exact spatial relation- that the demonitization of East Asian cur- ship between coins and adjacent artifacts or 54 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, VOLUME 17 features may provide the only clues as to their BUSHELL,STEPHAN W. function in non-monetary contexts. 1880 Coins of the present dynasty of China. Journal of In addition to Kleeb’s (1976) contention that the Royal Asiatic Society, North China Branch 15: 195-308. coin hoards may provide evidence of the use CHACE,PAUL G. of East Asian currency in monetary transac- 1976 Overseas . In The Changing tions in frontier America, it is suggested that faces of Main Street, by R. S. Greenwood, pp. the recovery of Chinese, Japanese, and Viet- 509-30. Ventura Mission Plaza Archaeological namese coins from latrine features in associa- Project, Redevelopment Agency, Ventura, tion with coins known to have circulated at the California. time of deposition, provides additional sup- CH‘EN, TA 1923 Chinese migrations with special reference to port for the hypothesized daily use of these labor conditions. Bulletin of the US.Bureau of foreign currencies. Most importantly, as Labor Statistics 340:4-12. latrines are far more common in the archae- CHINN,THOMAS W. (EDITOR) ological record than are coin hoards, examina- 1969 A History of the Chinese in California. Chinese tion of these features may allow a large body Historical Society of America, San Francisco. of data supporting this hypothesis to be COOLE,ARTHUR BRADDEN accumulated rather quickly. 1965 Coins in China’s history. Inter-Collegiate, Mis- sion, Kansas. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS CRAIG,WILLIAM D. 1976 Coins of the world, 1750-1850. Third edition. Western, Racine, Wisconsin. 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