It has been about 10 days since I received my copy of 大明泉谱 Dà Míng Quán Pǔ, a Ming Dynasty cash variety guide from the PRC. The following is an update of my review of this publication based on actual use.As I remarked when introducing this catalog in the previous post, it's an inexpensive knock-off a legitimate publication. Maybe it is also a legitimate publication, but there is no copyright information anywhere in it that I can see. None of this detracts from the overall good quality of the print, or its utility. It really is an excellent catalog, and the first affordable variety catalog for Ming Dynasty cash that I have ever encountered. Yes, it is in Chinese throughout, but anyone who has used my Northern Song variety catalog can easily follow it.
Dà Míng Quán Pǔ includes the coins of the Ming dynasty as well as the Southern Ming (Ming pretenders, Ming rebels). As far as I can tell, there are no omissions. The rubbings are by and large identifiable. Each type is grouped by major varieties or series, and then by the variations in each series. The variety names in Chinese are not as brief as in my catalog or other similar publications, varieties often described by a sentence rather than a mere phrase. Some of the terminology is different, e.g., 廓 kuò = profile, instead of 郭 guō = inner rim, when describing the raised border around the square hole. Yet we meet many of the same descriptions as in previous catalogs.
There is no rarity guide, but almost all varieties are shown with an estimated value in 元 yuán, which is helpful enough. Also of immense help is the inclusion of the diameter in millimeters to one tenth, and the weight in grams to one tenth. Both must be taken as averages, but using the catalog, I have found the published diameters to be consistently accurate, and the weights within 10%. To take advantage of this information, a caliper and a scale are necessary. I use a simple non-digital student caliper (not the one in the picture) and visually estimate the tenths of a millimeter, but for a scale I use a 500g Digiweigh scale, model DW-500BX, available from many sources locally or on eBay for about USD $10 + shipping. I've used my scale for over a year, and only last month had to replace the two AAA batteries for the first time.
Dà Míng Quán Pǔ numbers all the varieties sequentially, as do most other variety catalogs coming out of the PRC recently, which of course leaves no room for the introduction of new discoveries. The varieties are numbered 0001 to 3110. Nonetheless, using the variety numbers lets the student and collector organize a collection rationally. I had just reorganized my Ming collection using modified Schjöth numbers, and within months the Dà Míng Quán Pǔ became available. In the first day of working with it, I had easily reclassified my collection of 大中 Dà Zhōng and 洪武 Hóng Wǔ using its rubbings and variety descriptions. After some time I had another chance yesterday to continue and classified nearly all the rest of my Ming collection in about eight hours of steady work.
I had no great trouble finding the varieties with reasonable accuracy for the first two reigns, 大中 Dà Zhōng and 洪武 Hóng Wǔ, and for 泰昌 Tài Chāng, 天啓 Tiān Qǐ, 崇祯 Chóng Zhēn, and all the Southern Ming and Ming Rebels. However, the varieties of 永乐 Yǒng Lè, 宣德 Xuān Dé and 弘治 Hóng Zhì were too subtle and difficult for me (I lacked the patience), and so I left them, along with 嘉靖 Jiā Jìng and 万历 Wàn Lì, for another day. All I have left to finish up are the 利用 Lì Yòng, 昭武 Zhāo Wǔ, 洪化 Hóng Huà and 裕民 Yù Mín coins of the rebels, all of which are easily classified with this catalog.
I had not a few surprises, either, as I was using the catalog. For example, I knew my meagre collection of the 永历通宝 Yǒng Lì Tōng Bǎo in seal script, orthodox and cursive writing (probably cast at Nagasaki and issued by 永历 Yǒng Lì supporter Koxinga, 鄭成功 Zhèng Chénggōng, king of 东宁王国 Dōngníng Wángguó) was very difficult to assemble, all from pieces found in old missionary collections in the States. But I was astonished that their values were listed in a range from 300 to 3000元 yuán! The catalog also gave me a better idea of the relative values of the 'Proclamation' coins of the 永历 Yǒng Lì emperor, of which I have managed to find only five out of the dozen. 明 Míng is valued at a mere 30元 yuán, whereas another in my collection, 留 Liú, is valued at no less than 450元 yuán. The other three fell in at 150元 yuán apiece. No wonder, then, that these others come up for sale in the West so infrequently and at so high a price.
As I had just finished organizing and labeling my Ming collection, I forced myself to start all over again, printing up new labels for every specimen—a labor of love?—well, maybe. It's just that I like to keep my collections well-referenced for the day when I won't be around to tell people what they are.
My final recommendation for 大明泉谱 Dà Míng Quán Pǔ…
If you're serious about 明 Míng… Get it!
If you're serious about 明 Míng… Get it!
