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THE HORSE GAMING TOKENS OF SZECHUANStack's Bowers Senior Numismatist and Cataloger Jeremy Bostwick published a blog article this week on the horse gaming tokens of Szechuan. I'd never seen these before. -Editor
Much like the American pastime poker often involving some friendly monetary wagering, so too it is for Mahjong in a large portion of the Far East. Though playing cards have been around for over a millennium, likely being introduced in the 9th century A.D. (coincidentally enough, during China's Tang dynasty), the game of Mahjong likely had its debut during China's final imperial family, the Qing dynasty in the mid-18th century. Involving 144 tiles with various symbols and Chinese characters, it is generally played with four players employing a turn-based strategy and may have derived from an earlier game known as Mah-tiae ("hanging horse"). Numerous variants to general game play and house rules can exist, though the overall look to the design on the tiles tends to remain fairly consistent, with bamboo and flowers, for example, playing a large role. Given the scoring system involved, the use of gaming counters or tokens is a necessity, with many tile sets often including them as well. Any type of counter, however, can obviously fill this 'token' role, allowing for a player to personalize their set and, in turn, the gaming experience. In our upcoming October 2020 Hong Kong auction—our largest such auction to date—a vast array of rather unusual gaming tokens will be offered. These interesting pieces of exonumia are not widely understood, though they have been attributed to the province of Szechuan and dated to the second decade of the 20th century. Mostly employ the image of a horse in a variety of poses. The reverses offer a bit more variance, as they generally feature reeds and flowers very similar to those found on some of the Mahjong gaming tiles. In addition to the variety of horse poses and reverse iconography, metallic content and modules can vary, allowing for the collector to pursue any number of collecting avenues. It remains uncertain what their intended role was, but the ubiquitous nature of Mahjong as well as the need for reckoning its scoring make these "horse gaming tokens" a likely candidate in the early years of the Chinese Republic. Whether one is an advanced collector in search of a highly specific variety or a beginner simply looking to add something from the peripheries of numismatics, this incredible group—likely the largest and most diverse offered—will satisfy all who are able to score a token or three.
To read the complete article, see:
Here's one example. The bidding was up to $8,500 last I checked earlier today. -Editor
CHINA. Szechuan. Copper Horse Gaming Token, ND (ca. 1912). PCGS AU-55 Gold Shield. CL-SCM.12a var. (white metal). Though listed on the holder as SCM-12, this example is clearly the more difficult of the two types--SCM-12a--featuring a larger central circle on the reverse as well as fewer berries in the wreath. CL only lists 12a in white metal, making this red copper specimen easily on par with the EXTREMELY RARE level-3, or quite possibly even more so. Estimate: $1,500 - $2,500.
To read the complete lot description, see:
To see all of the lots, see:
Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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