Wang Hing small coin dish. Who is designer and what is the coin?

[GregHodgson1]

Dear Forum

This is my first post so apologies if I have not got it quite right.

I am confident that I have identified the marks as that of the Wang Hing & Co using the resources on this site - many thanks. Although the example given for Wang Hing & Co shows maker, designer and what appears to be a stylised 09, my example has been stamped 09, WH then I assume the designer. Again assumption is made that these marks are applied individually and applied in no particular order.

It is a small dish or saucer, approximately 78mm across. It is very shallow so unsure what it would be used for. I am curious as to why a silver coin was used for this dish, although expect it is something to do with luck.

I am interested in researching the following:

1. Who the designer may be - although appreciate this may not be possible
2. What type of coin was used and why
3. What this piece would have been used for.

I would appreciate any scholastic advice to move me on my journey.

Many thanks.

GH

[davidross]

Welcome to the Forum.

As you mention, the maker is Wang Hing.

I am uncertain what is meant by "designer" in the context of CES. The three marks shown are, from left to right, an upside-down 90 purity mark, the mark of the retailer Wang Hing, and the chop mark of the master. While the photo is sharp enough, the chop mark would need to be cleaned so that its details emerge. Otherwise, it is nearly illegible. To make a wild guess based on this one photo of a dirty mark, maybe it is Lin / Lam?

Only one image, the top one, is showing in my browser, the other two have been moved or deleted. Without additional images, little more can be said.

DR

[dognose]

Hi Greg,

Welcome to the Forum.

I too can no longer see the the two lower images, perhaps you will be kind enough to resubmit them.

Trev.

[GregHodgson1]

Many thanks for taking the time to respond to my post. I have taking the action you suggested and cleaned the mark to make it more visible. I have also sorted out the image problem.

I now know that the third symbol is known as a chop mark and not what I thought would be the designer.



Regards

GH

[davidross]

Thank you for posting the additional images.

Now that the chopmark has been cleaned, I believe it is Lin / Lam as I suspected before.

Regarding your other queries about the purpose and rationale behind making a small dish with a coin in the center, I have no definite answer, and I suppose that no matter what I write someone else will have a different opinion.

Small silver dishes like this one, made with or made entirely out of coin, seem to have been very popular from the 1920s to the 1960s. I imagine their popularity was directly tied to a glut of obsolete silver coinage readily available during those decades. They were made in many parts of the world, of course, not just in China.

What were they used for? Ashtrays, pin dishes, coin dishes, nut dishes, birdfeed bowls.......

As for the coin itself, one side is so badly rubbed that it will be hard to identify, but it looks like a very late Qing so-called dollar coin. The dimensions of the coin, and a coin catalog, should furnish a more precise answer.

DR

[GregHodgson1]

Many thanks for taking the time to respond. It is both useful and interesting information for me to continue the research. When I purchased this dish it also came with a similar one but these have chinese markings only and a different coin.

The idea that this object was fasioned this way for the sole use of pins or as an ashtray is interesting in itself that both silver and coinage were used in its manufacture. Again many thanks.

GH

[Aguest]

I have seen this style from many different European countries with many different European Coins.
My theory is that the earliest pieces were wine-tasters, you can research this form and find similar small cups with coins at the bottom, many of which were Spanish Colonial silver coins and also I have seen Austro-Hungarian empire coins 1500-1700s roughly.
Later, in the 20th century, these evolved into Trophy Presentation Cups and some of them are engraved with winning various awards or celebrating events etcetera. I have seen a few from the 20th century and they were all engraved with a special occasion of some sort.

I have found rare coins made into wine-tasters and hammered into salt spoons, on a side note.

[zheng_jeffrey]

I collect Chinese Silver.

Coin silver is 90% silver. The term commonly used in America.

[SilverK]

Hi, yes this is commonly called a dragon dollar. A simple search on Google images for 'Chinese silver dragon dollar' will give you a bountiful supply to check through. All you need to do is match the characters exactly - a bit difficult from your picture, so I haven't tried too hard.You'll then see also, quite how rubbed is your poor old dragon. Wang Hing did quite a few of these dishes, as did many other Chinese makers.