5 Fen – Hupeh Province

In 1895, the currency situation in Hubei (Hupeh) Province was a complex and turbulent reflection of China's late Qing dynasty monetary crisis. The province, a major commercial hub centered on Wuhan, operated with a chaotic multi-currency system. The primary mediums of exchange included silver sycee (measured in taels), copper cash coins (wen), and a growing volume of foreign silver dollars, particularly Mexican "Eagle" dollars. The lack of standardized exchange between these forms created constant friction in trade, as the value of sycee varied by purity and the exchange rate between silver and copper was highly volatile, often to the detriment of peasants and small merchants.

This instability was acutely exacerbated by the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895). The massive indemnity of 230 million taels imposed by the Treaty of Shimonoseki, signed in April 1895, drained silver reserves from the entire empire, including Hubei. Provincial authorities faced severe fiscal strain, leading to increased minting of debased copper cash and the issuance of unofficial paper notes to meet obligations. This further devalued local currency and spurred inflation, placing immense hardship on the population and disrupting the commercial life of the Yangtze River basin.

In response to this crisis, and as part of broader, self-strengthening reforms, Hubei's progressive governor-general, Zhang Zhidong, took decisive action in 1895. He expanded the output of the Hubei Provincial Mint, one of China's most modern, to produce more standardized copper coinage. More significantly, he aggressively petitioned the throne to pioneer a provincial silver coinage. His efforts culminated in 1896 with the successful minting of Hubei's first provincial silver dollars, a crucial step toward monetary standardization that aimed to stabilize the local economy, assert provincial authority, and reduce reliance on chaotic sycee and foreign coinage.