China Chihli Province 50C, Circulation Strikes (1896-1899)

Chihli (or Hopei) Province is one of the smaller areas of China, but the presence of Beijing (Peking) within its border makes it particularly important. This is a small, five-coin set of the silver 50 Cent pieces issued by the Chihli Province between 1896 and 1899 inclusive. The 1896 has the lowest mintage of the group and is the most difficult to locate, but all of the coins are rare and valuable in Mint State. The real challenge here is to obtain the very best examples but this is problematic because few of the coins were saved by collectors.