TAI PING REBELLION: AE membership token (27.89g), CCH-541, 46mm, Golden Coin Society, a secret society, cast in southeast Zhèjiang and northeast Fújiàn provinces in 1858-62, yi ji jin qian (mark of loyalty - a golden coin) // linked lozenges flanking central hole, with li (for the bagua element of fire) above, VF, RRR, ex Shawn Hamilton Collection. The Golden Coin Society, a branch of the Tiandihui (Heaven and Earth Society) that was active during the Taiping Rebellion, was a fraternal organization dedicated to removing the Manchus from China. Their name was initially derived from their membership badge, a pair of Kang Xi Tong Bao coins fixed back-to-back by a red silk thread, so as to obscure the Manchu inscriptions on the reverse. As the society grew, more personalized badges were needed. Several varieties of these 'coins' exist, all with a curiously written jin character. The first two strokes of the word are written in a way that resembles the element ru (enter).

Estimate: 1,500-2,000 USD